Pantry cook vs fry cook

The differences between pantry 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 pantry cook and a fry cook. Additionally, a pantry cook has an average salary of $33,568, which is higher than the $30,622 average annual salary of a fry cook.

The top three skills for a pantry cook include food handling, cleanliness and kitchen equipment. The most important skills for a fry cook are kitchen equipment, customer service, and safety standards.

Pantry cook vs fry cook overview

	Pantry Cook	Fry Cook
Yearly salary	$33,568	$30,622
Hourly rate	$16.14	$14.72
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	145,348	246,323
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 39%	High School Diploma, 53%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Pantry cook vs fry cook salary

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

	Pantry Cook	Fry Cook
Average salary	$33,568	$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 pantry cook and fry cook education

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

	Pantry Cook	Fry Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 39%	High School Diploma, 53%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Pantry cook vs fry cook demographics

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

	Pantry Cook	Fry Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 56.8% Female, 43.2%	Male, 80.8% Female, 19.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 8.8% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	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 pantry cook and fry cook duties and responsibilities

Pantry cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Use of meat slicers, oven and stove.
Monitor garnishing of desserts and salads for plating.
Handle mixing machines and deli slicers per health regulations.
Maintain all HACCP sanitation guidelines on a daily basis.
Perform culinary skills such as cooking, prepping, and cleaning.

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.

Pantry cook vs fry cook skills

Common pantry cook skills

Food Handling, 20%
Cleanliness, 18%
Kitchen Equipment, 18%
Quality Standards, 16%
Fine Dining, 7%
Salad Dressings, 4%

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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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Pantry Cook
Pantry Cook vs Fry Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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