Special diet cook vs lead cook

The differences between special diet 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 special diet cook and a lead cook. Additionally, a lead cook has an average salary of $35,964, which is higher than the $33,777 average annual salary of a special diet cook.

The top three skills for a special diet cook include food handling, food preparation and food safety. The most important skills for a lead cook are customer service, food handling, and culinary.

Special diet cook vs lead cook overview

	Special Diet Cook	Lead Cook
Yearly salary	$33,777	$35,964
Hourly rate	$16.24	$17.29
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	85,543	160,223
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 36%	Associate Degree, 35%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Special diet cook vs lead cook salary

Special diet cooks and lead cooks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Special Diet Cook	Lead Cook
Average salary	$33,777	$35,964
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $45,000	Between $27,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	Bainbridge Island, WA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Washington
Best paying company	St Anthony of Padua High Ridge Catholic Church	Freeport-McMoRan
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between special diet cook and lead cook education

There are a few differences between a special diet cook and a lead cook in terms of educational background:

	Special Diet Cook	Lead Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 36%	Associate Degree, 35%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Special diet cook vs lead cook demographics

Here are the differences between special diet cooks' and lead cooks' demographics:

	Special Diet Cook	Lead Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 59.2% Female, 40.8%	Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 8.5% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%	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 special diet cook and lead cook duties and responsibilities

Special diet cook example responsibilities.

Coordinate with in-house & outside counsel, practice development
Prep individual food plates for children with allergies, intolerances, and special diets.
Prepare three meals daily for individuals with dietary restrictionsKeep organize lists of all dietary restrictions and allergies.
Cook with convection oven, large tilt skillets, flat grills, fryers, large chef knives, and measuring utensils.
Learned successful techniques for operating a small business including leadership skills, time-management skills, and decision-making skills.
puree, soft, normal, no dairy, etc.

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.

Special diet cook vs lead cook skills

Common special diet cook skills

Food Handling, 41%
Food Preparation, 35%
Food Safety, 20%
Allergies, 4%

Common lead cook skills

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

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Special Diet Cook
Special Diet Cook vs Lead Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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