Lead line cook vs grill cook

The differences between lead line cooks and grill 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 line cook and a grill cook. Additionally, a lead line cook has an average salary of $34,293, which is higher than the $31,895 average annual salary of a grill cook.

The top three skills for a lead line cook include kitchen equipment, culinary and fine dining. The most important skills for a grill cook are sanitation standards, kitchen equipment, and safety standards.

Lead line cook vs grill cook overview

	Lead Line Cook	Grill Cook
Yearly salary	$34,293	$31,895
Hourly rate	$16.49	$15.33
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	173,672	184,603
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 47%	High School Diploma, 48%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

What does a lead line cook do?

Typically, lead line cooks work under the supervision of a chef or head cook in a kitchen. Leadline cooks oversee the food preparation process from start to end. Their duties include the supervision of kitchen staff, recruitment and training of new kitchen employees, and monitoring of food quality. They comply with the sanitation and nutrition regulations of food as well as their safety standards. They should be knowledgeable and have skills in food preparation, customer service, attention to detail, and communication.

What does a grill cook do?

A grill cook's primary role is to take charge of grilling food in restaurants or a similar establishment. Aside from grilling different kinds of food, they are also responsible for the plating, ensuring that it looks presentable and mouth-watering. Moreover, grill cooks have other duties such as preparing supplies and ingredients, maintaining the cleanliness of the work area, and training new members of the workforce. It is also essential to coordinate with other restaurant staff at all times as the operations can be fast-paced and will require accuracy and speed.

Lead line cook vs grill cook salary

Lead line cooks and grill cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lead Line Cook	Grill Cook
Average salary	$34,293	$31,895
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $45,000	Between $25,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Kirkland, WA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Washington	Washington
Best paying company	The Culinary Institute of America	St. Petersburg Yacht Club
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between lead line cook and grill cook education

There are a few differences between a lead line cook and a grill cook in terms of educational background:

	Lead Line Cook	Grill Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 47%	High School Diploma, 48%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Lead line cook vs grill cook demographics

Here are the differences between lead line cooks' and grill cooks' demographics:

	Lead Line Cook	Grill Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 81.2% Female, 18.8%	Male, 76.9% Female, 23.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 8.9% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 58.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between lead line cook and grill cook duties and responsibilities

Lead line cook example responsibilities.

Manage food expo; facilitate food temp logs; creation of menu specials; management and supervision of production staff
Skil in the preparation of a variety of culinary styles ranging from contemporary American cuisine to many international culinary styles.
Train and supervise many of the Spanish- speaking dishwashers to work effectively on the line.
Observe workers engage in preparing, portioning, and garnishing foods to ensure that standards are met.
Follow HACCP system, and practice safety and sanitation as well adhere to the company policies and regulations.
Produce HACCP forms and guidelines to have better awareness of quality of food being produce in the kitchen.

Grill cook example responsibilities.

Manage portions of grill food items and garnish them, regulate temperature of broilers, grills and roasters.
Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Utilize for relief management, new hire training, inventory control and profitable aspects of people and service.
Maintain station clean food preparation areas; operate large volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep fryers, or griddles.
High-Pace business catering to the consumer needs using hospitality and culinary expertise to provide proper customer satisfaction.
Cook foods by baking, roasting, broiling, frying, saut? ing, steaming and grilling.

Lead line cook vs grill cook skills

Common lead line cook skills

Kitchen Equipment, 20%
Culinary, 11%
Fine Dining, 9%
Cleanliness, 8%
Food Handling, 8%
Customer Service, 7%

Common grill cook skills

Sanitation Standards, 16%
Kitchen Equipment, 14%
Safety Standards, 13%
Food Handling, 9%
Math, 7%
Dexterity, 5%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Lead Line Cook
Lead Line Cook vs Grill Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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