Short order cook vs lead cook

The differences between short order cooks and lead 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 short order cook and a lead cook. Additionally, a lead cook has an average salary of $35,964, which is higher than the $30,734 average annual salary of a short order cook.

The top three skills for a short order cook include food handling, customer service and food preparation equipment. The most important skills for a lead cook are customer service, food handling, and culinary.

Short order cook vs lead cook overview

	Short Order Cook	Lead Cook
Yearly salary	$30,734	$35,964
Hourly rate	$14.78	$17.29
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	176,187	160,223
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 43%	Associate Degree, 35%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

What does a short order cook do?

A short-order cook takes responsibility for preparing foods in cafes and restaurants. Usually, they fry eggs, cook fries, and prepare sandwiches. Short order cooks work alongside line chefs in the foodservice market. Their manner of preparing food is quick, easy, and simple. They plan and handle work orders ensuring that all orders are complete and served on time. Strong communication, customer service, a good sense of taste, and the ability to work efficiently are necessary requirements for the job.

What does a lead cook do?

A lead cook, or lead line cook, is an individual restaurant employee who is in charge of supervising the chain of food preparation done by line cooks. Lead cooks work directly under head cooks or chefs who provide instructions in preparing meals. They are well-versed in the restaurant's food health and safety, such as regular hand washing, utensil sanitizing, and proper garbage disposal. To be a successful lead cook, they must obtain knowledge of various cooking techniques and be passionate about food.

Short order cook vs lead cook salary

Short order cooks and lead cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Short Order Cook	Lead Cook
Average salary	$30,734	$35,964
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $38,000	Between $27,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	Anaheim, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Washington	Washington
Best paying company	Columbia University in the City of New York	Freeport-McMoRan
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between short order cook and lead cook education

There are a few differences between a short order cook and a lead cook in terms of educational background:

	Short Order Cook	Lead Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 43%	Associate Degree, 35%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Short order cook vs lead cook demographics

Here are the differences between short order cooks' and lead cooks' demographics:

	Short Order Cook	Lead Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9%	Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 8.1% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 9.4% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between short order cook and lead cook duties and responsibilities

Short order cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Ensure that ovens and stoves remain at appropriate temperatures.
Clean kitchen including wiping down grills, slicers and deep-frying equipment.
Develop teamwork skills with cooks, dishwashers and wait staff, through efficient clean up and preparation of food.
Prepare guest food orders as they are either transmit via the POS system or orally convey at the counter.
Cook foods on the grill station, oven, barbecue grill, deep fryers, and other industrial cooking apparatus.

Lead cook example responsibilities.

Manage food expo; facilitate food temp logs; creation of menu specials; management and supervision of production staff
Manage inventory and purchasing of groceries.
Operate standard cooking equipment including slicers, food choppers, fryers, refrigerators, ovens and stoves.
Operate ovens, stoves, grills, microwaves, turbo chefs, and fryers.
Use and clean commercial ovens, meat slicers, steamers, combination ovens and steam kettles.
Operate ovens, stoves, grills, microwaves, kettles, and tilt skillet.

Short order cook vs lead cook skills

Common short order cook skills

Food Handling, 20%
Customer Service, 14%
Food Preparation Equipment, 11%
Kitchen Equipment, 9%
Food Service, 7%
Safety Standards, 7%

Common lead cook skills

Customer Service, 14%
Food Handling, 14%
Culinary, 11%
Food Service, 11%
Kitchen Equipment, 7%
Math, 5%

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Short Order Cook vs Lead Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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