Meal cook vs kitchen cook

The differences between meal 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 meal cook and a kitchen cook. Additionally, a meal cook has an average salary of $33,089, which is higher than the $31,452 average annual salary of a kitchen cook.

The top three skills for a meal cook include food safety, food preparation and companionship. The most important skills for a kitchen cook are dishes, food handling, and cleanliness.

Meal cook vs kitchen cook overview

	Meal Cook	Kitchen Cook
Yearly salary	$33,089	$31,452
Hourly rate	$15.91	$15.12
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	147,104	250,354
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 44%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Meal cook vs kitchen cook salary

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

	Meal Cook	Kitchen Cook
Average salary	$33,089	$31,452
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $41,000	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 meal cook and kitchen cook education

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

	Meal Cook	Kitchen Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 44%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Business
Most common college	-	-

Meal cook vs kitchen cook demographics

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

	Meal Cook	Kitchen Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0%	Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2%
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, 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 meal cook and kitchen 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.

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.

Meal cook vs kitchen cook skills

Common meal cook skills

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

Common kitchen cook skills

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

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Meal Cook vs Kitchen Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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