Pizza chef vs cook

The differences between pizza chefs and cooks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a pizza chef, becoming a cook takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a pizza chef has an average salary of $32,223, which is higher than the $31,803 average annual salary of a cook.

The top three skills for a pizza chef include food handling, food products and food safety. The most important skills for a cook are food handling, food service, and cleanliness.

Pizza chef vs cook overview

	Pizza Chef	Cook
Yearly salary	$32,223	$31,803
Hourly rate	$15.49	$15.29
Growth rate	15%	16%
Number of jobs	30,536	184,818
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	High School Diploma, 45%
Average age	42	38
Years of experience	6	4

Pizza chef vs cook salary

Pizza chefs and cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pizza Chef	Cook
Average salary	$32,223	$31,803
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $42,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between pizza chef and cook education

There are a few differences between a pizza chef and a cook in terms of educational background:

	Pizza Chef	Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	High School Diploma, 45%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Stanford University	-

Pizza chef vs cook demographics

Here are the differences between pizza chefs' and cooks' demographics:

	Pizza Chef	Cook
Average age	42	38
Gender ratio	Male, 79.2% Female, 20.8%	Male, 70.2% Female, 29.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 9.7% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	6%

Differences between pizza chef and cook duties and responsibilities

Pizza chef example responsibilities.

Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
Place order, host, run cash register creative ideas for new menu items.
Create and prepare international cuisine for executive clientele by using ingenuity, organization, efficiency in production and attention to detail
Train replacement dishwasher employee upon being promote!

Cook example responsibilities.

Achieve completion to cook, prep and dish meticulous meals to an immense amount of customers with proficient dexterity quality.
Organize production and set up broiler station for lunch shift, manage grill with 30-40 steaks at varying temps and cuts.
Lead cook line and instruct cooks and other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, and presentation of dishes.
Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Develop ability to manage multiple stations simultaneously while maintaining high levels of culinary excellence.
Operate large volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep fryers, and griddles.

Pizza chef vs cook skills

Common pizza chef skills

Food Handling, 57%
Food Products, 14%
Food Safety, 13%
Dishes, 5%
Customer Service, 4%
Food Service, 1%

Common cook skills

Food Handling, 14%
Food Service, 10%
Cleanliness, 10%
Kitchen Equipment, 9%
Basic Math, 7%
Culinary, 6%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Pizza Chef
Pizza Chef vs Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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