Lunch cook vs kitchen cook

The differences between lunch cooks and kitchen 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 lunch cook and a kitchen cook. Additionally, a lunch cook has an average salary of $32,796, which is higher than the $31,452 average annual salary of a kitchen cook.

The top three skills for a lunch cook include kitchen equipment, culinary and food handling. The most important skills for a kitchen cook are dishes, food handling, and cleanliness.

Lunch cook vs kitchen cook overview

	Lunch Cook	Kitchen Cook
Yearly salary	$32,796	$31,452
Hourly rate	$15.77	$15.12
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	141,550	250,354
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 44%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Lunch cook vs kitchen cook salary

Lunch cooks and kitchen cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lunch Cook	Kitchen Cook
Average salary	$32,796	$31,452
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $40,000	Between $25,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Hilltop Ski Area
Best paying industry	-	Retail

Differences between lunch cook and kitchen cook education

There are a few differences between a lunch cook and a kitchen cook in terms of educational background:

	Lunch Cook	Kitchen Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 44%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Business
Most common college	-	-

Lunch cook vs kitchen cook demographics

Here are the differences between lunch cooks' and kitchen cooks' demographics:

	Lunch Cook	Kitchen Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 57.4% Female, 42.6%	Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 8.1% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 9.1% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between lunch cook and kitchen cook duties and responsibilities

Lunch cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Operate ovens, stoves, microwaves, fryers, slicers, blenders, scales, and food processor.
Work saut, grill and fryers.
Prepare omelets and pasta make to order as well as carving station.
Implement cleanliness and sanitation of establishment.
Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.

Kitchen cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Inspect clean and utilize ovens, grills, fryers, mixers, etc.
Experience on grills, fryers, knife handling and slicers.
Experience with fryers, weigh machines, slicers and other similarities.
Used electric ovens and electric stoves.
Regulate temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.

Lunch cook vs kitchen cook skills

Common lunch cook skills

Kitchen Equipment, 14%
Culinary, 14%
Food Handling, 14%
Dishes, 13%
Cleanliness, 10%
Lunch Orders, 6%

Common kitchen cook skills

Dishes, 13%
Food Handling, 11%
Cleanliness, 8%
Math, 8%
Basic Math, 8%
Culinary, 7%

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Lunch Cook vs Kitchen Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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