What does a Prep Cook do?
Prep cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients. They are usually part of an assembly line-like structure in the kitchen. They are often the first station in this assembly line. Prep cooks are in charge of thawing, skinning, cutting, mincing, slicing, and chopping ingredients so that the line cooks can just get these ingredients for their own stations. Prep cooks may also start doing some of the initial activities in the cooking process, such as preparing water for boiling, laying out ingredients, and ensuring that the stoves are clear.
Prep cook responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real prep cook resumes:
- Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
- Provide students with first-rate customer service and ensure correct time-temperature control of culinary dishes.
- Learned and become CPR certify for emergencies.
- Direct and ensure that HACCP procedures are follow.
- Plan menu items as needed for caf or catering.
- Earn first aid, CPR, and a certification.
- Prepare and cook nutritious meals for children per USDA standards.
- Complete production of daily caf items including braises, soups, and vegetables salads.
- Used the food-buying guide to ensure USDA requirements are meet and prepare sufficient meals.
- Prepare all potentially hazardous foods at the correct temperature (i.e., HACCP guidelines).
- Gain familiarity with braising, steaming, breading, fat frying, roasting, and grilling.
- Hand on experience in garnishing & serving food also substantial knowledge of food safety & handing.
- Prepare fruit, vegetables, meats, and salad by roasting, frying, broiling and boiling.
- Cook menu items according to customer specifications and ServSafe standards, ensuring quality, freshness and flavor.
- Maintain clean and safe work environment to comply with all sanitation, ServSafe, and safety requirements.
Prep cook skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Prep Cooks are proficient in Food Handling, Culinary, and Sanitation Standards. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Physical stamina, and Sense of taste and smell.
We break down the percentage of Prep Cooks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Food Handling, 15%
Maintain sanitation requirements related to personal hygiene, food handling, and equipment safety and sanitation.
- Culinary, 15%
Provided students with first-rate customer service and ensured correct time-temperature control of culinary dishes.
- Sanitation Standards, 12%
Supervised cleaning of kitchen area and complied with established food sanitation standards.
- Kitchen Equipment, 9%
Assist managers maintain inventory -Prepped food by correct ingredients, monitored product expiration -Broke down and cleaned all kitchen equipment
- Cleanliness, 7%
Maintained total restaurant cleanliness for every shift and ensured following shift would have a clean facility for transition
- Team Work, 7%
Team work is very important as well as communication in order to insure a healthy environment for both workers and customers.
Common skills that a prep cook uses to do their job include "food handling," "culinary," and "sanitation standards." You can find details on the most important prep cook responsibilities below.
Dexterity. One of the key soft skills for a prep cook to have is dexterity. You can see how this relates to what prep cooks do because "cooks should have excellent hand–eye coordination." Additionally, a prep cook resume shows how prep cooks use dexterity: "follow all rules/regulations for proper food handling/safety, 8-12+ hour shifts, operatemachinery/forklifts, refrigerator/freezer environments. "
Physical stamina. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling prep cook duties is physical stamina. The role rewards competence in this skill because "cooks spend a lot of time standing in one place, cooking food over hot stoves, and cleaning work areas." According to a prep cook resume, here's how prep cooks can utilize physical stamina in their job responsibilities: "performed all physical activity required in the food preparation and dishwashing process. "
Sense of taste and smell. This is an important skill for prep cooks to perform their duties. For an example of how prep cook responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "cooks must have a keen sense of taste and smell to prepare meals that customers enjoy." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a prep cook: "designed watermelon carvings - boats, animals, etc., made food trays for parties, cooked and prepared food. ".
The three companies that hire the most prep cooks are:
- Chili's Grill & Bar3,598 prep cooks jobs
- Red Lobster1,586 prep cooks jobs
- Brinker International1,177 prep cooks jobs
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Compare different prep cooks
Prep cook vs. Cook/dishwasher
Cooks/dishwashers must develop kitchen skills to excel in this line of job. Each cook or dishwasher must learn to develop skills in food preparation, sanitation, and customer service. Cooks or dishwashers can be assigned to different areas, either in the kitchen area, food preparation, or in washing dishes. The scope of their responsibilities may include the cooking surface area, specific food items, or menu items. Also, they are expected to maintain the cleanliness of the kitchen, assist in preparing food, and may do any other duties demanded by the chef.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a prep cook are more likely to require skills like "food handling," "culinary," "sanitation standards," and "cleanliness." On the other hand, a job as a cook/dishwasher requires skills like "wash dishes," "mop floors," "bus tables," and "quality food." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Cook/dishwashers tend to make the most money working in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $27,723. In contrast, prep cooks make the biggest average salary, $33,423, in the manufacturing industry.cook/dishwashers tend to reach similar levels of education than prep cooks. In fact, cook/dishwashers are 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Prep cook vs. Cook/trainer
Cooks/servers are employees who take on the dual role of being a cook and a server in the restaurant. They are usually trained cooks who are in charge of preparing meals for the guests. They prepare ingredients, cook them according to the recipe, and serve them to guests. They are responsible for ensuring that the food is prepared and served to guests within the promised time. They are in charge of managing the pantry, ensuring that the stock is fresh, and checking whether the stock is low. They are expected to have culinary skills, precision, and time management skills.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, prep cook responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "sanitation standards," "team work," "food service," and "worksheets." Meanwhile, a cook/trainer has duties that require skills in areas such as "food safety," "haccp," "cash handling," and "workstations." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Cook/trainers tend to reach similar levels of education than prep cooks. In fact, they're 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Prep cook vs. Cook/server
A line cook/dishwasher is primarily in charge of prepping food and maintaining their work station's cleanliness while adhering to health standards and protocols. Among their duties include washing and chopping vegetables, cutting meat according to requirements, preparing sauces, and cooking according to an executive chef's directives. They also participate in cleaning and sterilizing kitchen tools and equipment, monitoring the inventory of ingredients, unloading stock deliveries, and taking care of leftovers. Additionally, as a line cook/dishwasher, it is essential to maintain an open communication line with fellow kitchen staff for an efficient workflow.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from prep cook resumes include skills like "food handling," "culinary," "sanitation standards," and "cleanliness," whereas a cook/server is more likely to list skills in "drink orders," "mathematics," "customer complaints," and "quality food. "
Cook/servers make a very good living in the retail industry with an average annual salary of $29,014. On the other hand, prep cooks are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $33,423.cook/servers typically earn similar educational levels compared to prep cooks. Specifically, they're 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Prep cook vs. Line cook/dishwasher
Even though a few skill sets overlap between prep cooks and line cook/dishwashers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a prep cook might have more use for skills like "team work," "food service," "worksheets," and "quality standards." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of line cook/dishwashers require skills like "food orders," "bus tables," "quality food," and "kitchen utensils. "
The average resume of line cook/dishwashers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to prep cooks. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.1%.Types of prep cook
Updated January 8, 2025
