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Lead crew member vs food preparer

The differences between lead crew members and food preparers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lead crew member has an average salary of $32,857, which is higher than the $27,717 average annual salary of a food preparer.

The top three skills for a lead crew member include drive-thru, customer service and customer orders. The most important skills for a food preparer are food handling, work ethic, and food products.

Lead crew member vs food preparer overview

Lead Crew MemberFood Preparer
Yearly salary$32,857$27,717
Hourly rate$15.80$13.33
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs152,202134,113
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 36%High School Diploma, 41%
Average age2323
Years of experience--

What does a lead crew member do?

A lead crew member is responsible for supervising crew members during their tasks, ensuring that they provide the highest customer service to ensure customer satisfaction that would boost the business' reputation, generate revenues, and increase profitability. Lead crew members assist the team on food handling procedures for safe consumption, as well as reiterating the sanitary and hygienic standards during operations. A lead crew member must have excellent time-management and the ability to multitask, especially on serving customers on high volume days while performing administrative and clerical tasks as needed.

What does a food preparer do?

A food preparer or food preparation worker is the person who executes routine tasks under the supervision of chefs, food service managers, and cooks. Food preparation workers slice meat, cut vegetables, and prepare cold foods. They prepare ingredients of food for recipes as they assist cooks and chefs. Their duties and responsibilities include sifting, marinating, food safety, grating, and knife skills. They are also expected to weigh and measure dry and liquid ingredients.

Lead crew member vs food preparer salary

Lead crew members and food preparers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Lead Crew MemberFood Preparer
Average salary$32,857$27,717
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $43,000Between $20,000 And $37,000
Highest paying City-Commack, NY
Highest paying state-New Hampshire
Best paying company-Mount Sinai Health System
Best paying industry-Retail

Differences between lead crew member and food preparer education

There are a few differences between a lead crew member and a food preparer in terms of educational background:

Lead Crew MemberFood Preparer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 36%High School Diploma, 41%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Lead crew member vs food preparer demographics

Here are the differences between lead crew members' and food preparers' demographics:

Lead Crew MemberFood Preparer
Average age2323
Gender ratioMale, 51.6% Female, 48.4%Male, 46.6% Female, 53.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between lead crew member and food preparer duties and responsibilities

Lead crew member example responsibilities.

  • Manage food preparation, maintain cleanliness and punctuality while effectively support customers in daily transactions with suggestive selling methods.
  • Demonstrate exceptional leadership and customer service skills while gaining solid understanding of retail operations and thorough knowledge of product line.
  • Maintain all database and POS systems to ensure they are up-to date.
  • Operate and maintain cooking equipment such as grills, deep fryers and griddles.
  • Maintain all databases, and POS systems, ensuring that they are up- to-date.
  • Used steamers and grills to prepare meals, as well as fryers and ovens.
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Food preparer example responsibilities.

  • Maintain cleanliness, organization and time management of order preparation, customer service
  • Follow closing procedures and maintain cleanliness of food preparation area and bathrooms.
  • Operate on a POS system, and would prep and serve food.
  • Clean fryers daily, closing shop with overhaul of cleaning routines and stocking freezers.
  • Operate a variety of commercial cooking equipment including grills, deep fryers, and ovens.
  • Clean and sanitize workstations, utensils and equipment according to sanitation guidelines.
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Lead crew member vs food preparer skills

Common lead crew member skills
  • Drive-Thru, 13%
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Customer Orders, 8%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 6%
  • Customer Complaints, 6%
  • Food Quality, 6%
Common food preparer skills
  • Food Handling, 20%
  • Work Ethic, 13%
  • Food Products, 11%
  • Kitchen Utensils, 8%
  • Safety Standards, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%

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