How To Become A Master Cook: What It Is and Career Path

What is a master cook and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a master cook. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.7 an hour? That's $34,732 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 16% and produce 419,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreMaster CookUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,732

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.2

Growth rate 16%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.22%

Asian 9.50%

Black or African American 11.32%

Hispanic or Latino 21.46%

Unknown 4.85%

White 51.66%

Gender

female 21.85%

male 78.15%

Age - 37

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 37

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.3

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.4

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a master cook

Explore master cook education requirements

Most common master cook degrees

Associate

50.0 %

High School Diploma

24.1 %

Bachelor's

14.1 %

Start to develop specific master cook skills

Skills	Percentages
Kitchen Equipment	18.94%
Customer Service	17.79%
Culinary	12.49%
Food Quality	7.16%
Food Products	6.00%

Complete relevant master cook training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New master cooks learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a master cook based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real master cook resumes.

Research master cook duties and responsibilities

Inventory and run register, check merchandise in when arrive in facility.
Mentore cooks and other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, and presentation of food.
Contribute innovated ideas for new and unique cuisine and presentation techniques.
Maintain and follow proper hygiene and sanitation standards.

Prepare your master cook resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your master cook resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a master cook resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable master cook resume templates

Build a professional master cook resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your master cook resume.

Apply for master cook jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a master cook job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do master cooks rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Master cook reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

I like being able to work with food and get creative. I enjoy learning new techniques for a set of skills that can be applied outside the workplace.

Cons

It's pretty stressful on the body. I definitely could not see myself doing this the rest of my life; I am 19 and I can admit it's hard work - and I would consider myself in shape. Like dishwashers, I do consider myself underappreciated as well. We don't make very much money - In some cases, the servers make more than us! I think it's because our specific organization doesn't allow the kitchen staff to get tips at all.