Meal cook vs fry cook

The differences between meal cooks and fry 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 meal cook and a fry cook. Additionally, a meal cook has an average salary of $33,089, which is higher than the $30,622 average annual salary of a fry cook.

The top three skills for a meal cook include food safety, food preparation and companionship. The most important skills for a fry cook are kitchen equipment, customer service, and safety standards.

Meal cook vs fry cook overview

	Meal Cook	Fry Cook
Yearly salary	$33,089	$30,622
Hourly rate	$15.91	$14.72
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	147,104	246,323
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 53%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Meal cook vs fry cook salary

Meal cooks and fry cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Meal Cook	Fry Cook
Average salary	$33,089	$30,622
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $41,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	-	Fresno, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Anthony
Best paying industry	-	Hospitality

Differences between meal cook and fry cook education

There are a few differences between a meal cook and a fry cook in terms of educational background:

	Meal Cook	Fry Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 53%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Meal cook vs fry cook demographics

Here are the differences between meal cooks' and fry cooks' demographics:

	Meal Cook	Fry Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0%	Male, 80.8% Female, 19.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 59.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 8.5% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between meal cook and fry cook duties and responsibilities

Meal cook example responsibilities.

Develop ability to manage multiple stations simultaneously while maintaining high levels of culinary excellence.
Assist with heavy lifting and drive car to help with groceries and other supplies.
Verify patient information, new medications and allergies educate patients by providing medication and diet information.
Create pizzas for customers as listed or request and run a large pizza oven.

Fry cook example responsibilities.

Develop ability to manage multiple stations simultaneously while maintaining high levels of culinary excellence.
Grill burgers and used the deep fryers for various foods, clean all equipment at the end of the shift.
Bread and cook chicken, fry foods, run and clean fryers, clean coolers, do dishes general utilities.
Job responsibilities include preparing and executing dishes, as well as assuming responsibility for cleanliness of restaurant.
Provide friendly, quality, customer service to each Chipotle customer.

Meal cook vs fry cook skills

Common meal cook skills

Food Safety, 29%
Food Preparation, 22%
Companionship, 10%
Doctor Appointments, 8%
Food Orders, 6%
Administer Medications, 5%

Common fry cook skills

Kitchen Equipment, 23%
Customer Service, 11%
Safety Standards, 10%
Deep-Fat Fryers, 9%
Food Products, 5%
Fine Dining, 5%

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Meal Cook vs Fry Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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