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The differences between lead cooks and prep cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a lead cook and a prep cook. Additionally, a lead cook has an average salary of $35,964, which is higher than the $32,292 average annual salary of a prep cook.
The top three skills for a lead cook include customer service, food handling and culinary. The most important skills for a prep cook are food handling, culinary, and sanitation standards.
| Lead Cook | Prep Cook | |
| Yearly salary | $35,964 | $32,292 |
| Hourly rate | $17.29 | $15.53 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 160,223 | 168,265 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A lead cook, or lead line cook, is an individual restaurant employee who is in charge of supervising the chain of food preparation done by line cooks. Lead cooks work directly under head cooks or chefs who provide instructions in preparing meals. They are well-versed in the restaurant's food health and safety, such as regular hand washing, utensil sanitizing, and proper garbage disposal. To be a successful lead cook, they must obtain knowledge of various cooking techniques and be passionate about food.
Prep cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients. They are usually part of an assembly line-like structure in the kitchen. They are often the first station in this assembly line. Prep cooks are in charge of thawing, skinning, cutting, mincing, slicing, and chopping ingredients so that the line cooks can just get these ingredients for their own stations. Prep cooks may also start doing some of the initial activities in the cooking process, such as preparing water for boiling, laying out ingredients, and ensuring that the stoves are clear.
Lead cooks and prep cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Cook | Prep Cook | |
| Average salary | $35,964 | $32,292 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $46,000 | Between $25,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Freeport-McMoRan | Kemps |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a lead cook and a prep cook in terms of educational background:
| Lead Cook | Prep Cook | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Culinary Arts |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between lead cooks' and prep cooks' demographics:
| Lead Cook | Prep Cook | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4% | Male, 61.3% Female, 38.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 9.4% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.6% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |