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.
Short order cook responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real short order cook resumes:
- 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.
- Use of basket fryers, hot wells and gas stove to produce orders off of written tickets for quick service environment.
- Train new employees to operate the POS system properly as well as the grill, fryer, and routine kitchen regulations.
- Prepare meat institutionalize with incorporating flavor searing; maintain high standards of sanitation and cleanliness throughout kitchen areas.
- Grill cook, fryer, hot bar, prep work, dishwasher and stock duties perform daily.
- Cook menu items on a grill, broiler, and used a deep fryer, stove, and toaster.
- Provide friendly, quality, customer service to each Chipotle customer.
Short order cook skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Short Order Cooks are proficient in Food Handling, Customer Service, and Food Preparation Equipment. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Physical stamina, and Sense of taste and smell.
We break down the percentage of Short Order Cooks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Food Handling, 20%
Followed proper food handling methods and maintained the correct temps for all foods.
- Customer Service, 14%
Provide excellent customer service and assistance to customers regarding any customer suggestions, complaints or suggestions.
- Food Preparation Equipment, 11%
Clean food preparation equipment, such as the grill, deep fryers, deli meat slicer.
- Kitchen Equipment, 9%
Maintained high safety standards when operating specialized kitchen equipment.
- Food Service, 7%
Contributed to overall dining experience by ensuring quality food service.
- Safety Standards, 7%
Maintained proper sanitation of kitchen area according to state safety standards.
Common skills that a short order cook uses to do their job include "food handling," "customer service," and "food preparation equipment." You can find details on the most important short order cook responsibilities below.
Dexterity. One of the key soft skills for a short order cook to have is dexterity. You can see how this relates to what short order cooks do because "cooks should have excellent hand–eye coordination." Additionally, a short order cook resume shows how short order cooks use dexterity: "employed grill duties include: heavy lifting food preparation basic knowledge of fast food machinery"
Physical stamina. Another essential skill to perform short order cook duties is physical stamina. Short order cooks responsibilities require that "cooks spend a lot of time standing in one place, cooking food over hot stoves, and cleaning work areas." Short order cooks also use physical stamina in their role according to a real resume snippet: "performed all physical activity required in the food preparation and dishwashing process. "
Sense of taste and smell. This is an important skill for short order cooks to perform their duties. For an example of how short order 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 short order cook: "maintain stock of hot/cold food on the line checking and ensuring correct temperatures. ".
The three companies that hire the most short order cooks are:
- Lizard's Thicket12 short order cooks jobs
- Skidmore College5 short order cooks jobs
- Northwell Health4 short order cooks jobs
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Compare different short order cooks
Short order 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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between short order cooks and cook/dishwasher. For instance, short order cook responsibilities require skills such as "food handling," "good communication," "food service," and "quality standards." Whereas a cook/dishwasher is skilled in "wash dishes," "prep food," "mop floors," and "bus tables." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Cook/dishwashers really shine in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $27,723. Comparatively, short order cooks tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $31,094.cook/dishwashers tend to reach similar levels of education than short order cooks. In fact, cook/dishwashers are 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Short order 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, short order cook responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "food preparation equipment," "good communication," "food service," and "making sandwiches." Meanwhile, a cook/trainer has duties that require skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "culinary," "food safety," and "haccp." 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 short order cooks. In fact, they're 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Short order cook vs. Cook/server
Crew members assist in the overall daily operations of a business, including restaurants, hotels, resorts, and other industries needing a large workforce. Crew members' duties include attending on a customer's needs, processing payments, taking orders, and handling sanitation services. Crew members should have excellent time-management skills and ability to multi-task, especially for the fast-paced operations. They must also adhere to the safety standards and procedures as required by the business. Crew members should also report incidents and escalate concerns from the clients to the management as needed.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a short order cook is likely to be skilled in "food handling," "food preparation equipment," "good communication," and "food service," while a typical cook/server is skilled in "allergies," "drink orders," "mathematics," and "quality food."
Cook/servers earn the highest salary when working in the retail industry, where they receive an average salary of $29,014. Comparatively, short order cooks have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $31,094.Most cook/servers achieve a similar degree level compared to short order cooks. For example, they're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Short order cook vs. Crew member
Even though a few skill sets overlap between short order cooks and crew members, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a short order cook might have more use for skills like "food handling," "food preparation equipment," "kitchen equipment," and "good communication." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of crew members require skills like "cleanliness," "basic math," "english language," and "excellent guest. "
In general, crew members earn the most working in the retail industry, with an average salary of $30,847. The highest-paying industry for a short order cook is the health care industry.The average resume of crew members showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to short order cooks. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.0%.Types of short order cook
Updated January 8, 2025
