Line cook vs grill cook

The differences between 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 line cook and a grill cook. Additionally, a line cook has an average salary of $32,894, which is higher than the $31,895 average annual salary of a grill cook.

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

Line cook vs grill cook overview

	Line Cook	Grill Cook
Yearly salary	$32,894	$31,895
Hourly rate	$15.81	$15.33
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	168,993	184,603
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	High School Diploma, 48%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

What does a line cook do?

Line cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. The term line cook brings to mind an assembly line. This is apt because line cooks are usually assigned to a specific station to work on a specific part of a meal or a preparation process. They are part of a bigger group of cooks in the restaurant. This is done so that meal preparation is more efficient. Line cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients, ensuring that the pantry is well-stocked, and doing their assigned activity in the line. They are expected to be good team players, have experience as a cook, and be able to follow recipes and provide alternatives when necessary.

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.

Line cook vs grill cook salary

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

	Line Cook	Grill Cook
Average salary	$32,894	$31,895
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $40,000	Between $25,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Washington
Best paying company	Gate City Bank	St. Petersburg Yacht Club
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between line cook and grill cook education

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

	Line Cook	Grill Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	High School Diploma, 48%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Line cook vs grill cook demographics

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

	Line Cook	Grill Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%	Male, 76.9% Female, 23.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.9% White, 57.6% 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 line cook and grill cook duties and responsibilities

Line cook example responsibilities.

Used strong organizational skills to manage steamers efficiently for both eat-in and take-out services.
Supervise cooks and manage the preparation, portioning, garnishing, and storage of all food items, cutting meat size.
Manage the POS system (adding/deleting specials, editing prices, viewing server appetizer/dessert sales and their server report information).
Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Used equipment such as meat slicers, salamanders and steamers.
Develop food preparation skills and knowledge of tools involve; such as proper use of knives and automate slicers.

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.

Line cook vs grill cook skills

Common line cook skills

Culinary, 12%
Sanitation Standards, 11%
Food Handling, 11%
Team Work, 9%
Kitchen Equipment, 8%
Cleanliness, 8%

Common grill cook skills

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

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Line Cook vs Grill Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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