Specialty cook vs fry cook

The differences between specialty cooks and fry 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 specialty cook and a fry cook. Additionally, a specialty cook has an average salary of $33,829, which is higher than the $30,622 average annual salary of a fry cook.

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

Specialty cook vs fry cook overview

	Specialty Cook	Fry Cook
Yearly salary	$33,829	$30,622
Hourly rate	$16.26	$14.72
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	141,369	246,323
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 44%	High School Diploma, 53%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Specialty cook vs fry cook salary

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

	Specialty Cook	Fry Cook
Average salary	$33,829	$30,622
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Fresno, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Washington
Best paying company	Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics	Anthony
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between specialty cook and fry cook education

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

	Specialty Cook	Fry Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 44%	High School Diploma, 53%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Specialty cook vs fry cook demographics

Here are the differences between specialty cooks' and fry cooks' demographics:

	Specialty Cook	Fry Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 77.4% Female, 22.6%	Male, 80.8% Female, 19.2%
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, 10.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 8.5% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between specialty cook and fry cook 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.

Fry cook example responsibilities.

Develop ability to manage multiple stations simultaneously while maintaining high levels of culinary excellence.
Grill burgers and used the deep fryers for various foods, clean all equipment at the end of the shift.
Bread and cook chicken, fry foods, run and clean fryers, clean coolers, do dishes general utilities.
Job responsibilities include preparing and executing dishes, as well as assuming responsibility for cleanliness of restaurant.
Provide friendly, quality, customer service to each Chipotle customer.

Specialty cook vs fry cook skills

Common specialty cook skills

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

Common fry cook skills

Kitchen Equipment, 23%
Customer Service, 11%
Safety Standards, 10%
Deep-Fat Fryers, 9%
Food Products, 5%
Fine Dining, 5%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Specialty Cook
Specialty Cook vs Fry Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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