Specialty cook vs cook manager

The differences between specialty cooks and cook managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a specialty cook and a cook manager. Additionally, a cook manager has an average salary of $36,668, which is higher than the $33,829 average annual salary of a specialty cook.

The top three skills for a specialty cook include food handling, culinary and kitchen equipment. The most important skills for a cook manager are kitchen equipment, customer service, and food service.

Specialty cook vs cook manager overview

	Specialty Cook	Cook Manager
Yearly salary	$33,829	$36,668
Hourly rate	$16.26	$17.63
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	141,369	12,383
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 44%	High School Diploma, 39%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Specialty cook vs cook manager salary

Specialty cooks and cook managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Specialty Cook	Cook Manager
Average salary	$33,829	$36,668
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $26,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	-
Highest paying state	Hawaii	-
Best paying company	Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics	-
Best paying industry	Hospitality	-

Differences between specialty cook and cook manager education

There are a few differences between a specialty cook and a cook manager in terms of educational background:

	Specialty Cook	Cook Manager
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 44%	High School Diploma, 39%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Business
Most common college	-	-

Specialty cook vs cook manager demographics

Here are the differences between specialty cooks' and cook managers' demographics:

	Specialty Cook	Cook Manager
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 77.4% Female, 22.6%	Male, 59.7% Female, 40.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.5% Asian, 9.0% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 7.4% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between specialty cook and cook manager duties and responsibilities

Specialty cook example responsibilities.

Work grill, saut, & expediter stations.
Complete culinary tasks using various cooking methods and techniques/ very good knife handling skills.
Work all stations, saut, grill, pantry, fryer, breakfast, in upscale American bistro.
Maintain cleanliness and a sanitary environment within kitchen area to meet all health and safety requirements.
Unload and store groceries and supplies.
Maintain balance inventories of groceries and supplies.

Cook manager example responsibilities.

Manage food expo; facilitate food temp logs; creation of menu specials; management and supervision of production staff
Utilize FIFO and organize shelves.
Educate and confirm employees follow ServSafe procedures
Utilize fryers, broilers, grills, ovens and other industrial cooking equipment.
Operate large volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep fat fryers, and griddles.
Train and certify in ServSafe food handling, storage, and preparation, and communicate these skills to educate kitchen staff.

Specialty cook vs cook manager skills

Common specialty cook skills

Food Handling, 23%
Culinary, 16%
Kitchen Equipment, 16%
Cuisine, 12%
Food Quality, 7%
Fine Dining, 5%

Common cook manager skills

Kitchen Equipment, 33%
Customer Service, 20%
Food Service, 5%
Payroll, 5%
Food Preparation, 3%
Customer Complaints, 3%

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Specialty Cook
Specialty Cook vs Cook Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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