Pastry cook vs line cook

The differences between pastry cooks and line 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 pastry cook and a line cook. Additionally, a pastry cook has an average salary of $34,858, which is higher than the $32,894 average annual salary of a line cook.

The top three skills for a pastry cook include culinary, cleanliness and food handling. The most important skills for a line cook are culinary, sanitation standards, and food handling.

Pastry cook vs line cook overview

	Pastry Cook	Line Cook
Yearly salary	$34,858	$32,894
Hourly rate	$16.76	$15.81
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	136,754	168,993
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 51%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

What does a pastry cook do?

The Pastry Cook's responsibilities include preparing quality pastry items such as breakfast items, desserts, breads, ice creams, creams, simple syrups, amenities, and others. They are also responsible for minimizing waste and maintaining control to attain forecasted food cost.

What does a line cook do?

Line cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. The term line cook brings to mind an assembly line. This is apt because line cooks are usually assigned to a specific station to work on a specific part of a meal or a preparation process. They are part of a bigger group of cooks in the restaurant. This is done so that meal preparation is more efficient. Line cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients, ensuring that the pantry is well-stocked, and doing their assigned activity in the line. They are expected to be good team players, have experience as a cook, and be able to follow recipes and provide alternatives when necessary.

Pastry cook vs line cook salary

Pastry cooks and line cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pastry Cook	Line Cook
Average salary	$34,858	$32,894
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $44,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Hawaii
Best paying company	Sailfish Club of Florida	Gate City Bank
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between pastry cook and line cook education

There are a few differences between a pastry cook and a line cook in terms of educational background:

	Pastry Cook	Line Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 51%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Cornell University	-

Pastry cook vs line cook demographics

Here are the differences between pastry cooks' and line cooks' demographics:

	Pastry Cook	Line Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 29.8% Female, 70.2%	Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 22.5% Asian, 9.6% White, 51.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.9% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between pastry cook and line cook duties and responsibilities

Pastry cook example responsibilities.

Manage cold kitchen production for a luxury hotel with a Michelin star restaurant
Clean steamers, hot @ cold line.
Serve customers ordering at the bistro.
Work in dining room during Sunday brunch and buffets serving desserts.
Engage in meetings including an annual board presentation of USDA budget.
Focuse on maintaining budget while meeting USDA and BSA nutrition requirements.

Line cook example responsibilities.

Used strong organizational skills to manage steamers efficiently for both eat-in and take-out services.
Supervise cooks and manage the preparation, portioning, garnishing, and storage of all food items, cutting meat size.
Manage the POS system (adding/deleting specials, editing prices, viewing server appetizer/dessert sales and their server report information).
Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Used equipment such as meat slicers, salamanders and steamers.
Develop food preparation skills and knowledge of tools involve; such as proper use of knives and automate slicers.

Pastry cook vs line cook skills

Common pastry cook skills

Culinary, 17%
Cleanliness, 10%
Food Handling, 10%
Quality Standards, 7%
Fine Dining, 6%
Food Safety, 6%

Common line cook skills

Culinary, 12%
Sanitation Standards, 11%
Food Handling, 11%
Team Work, 9%
Kitchen Equipment, 8%
Cleanliness, 8%

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Pastry Cook vs Line Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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