Specialty cook vs pizza cook

The differences between specialty cooks and pizza 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 pizza cook. Additionally, a specialty cook has an average salary of $33,829, which is higher than the $27,278 average annual salary of a pizza cook.

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

Specialty cook vs pizza cook overview

	Specialty Cook	Pizza Cook
Yearly salary	$33,829	$27,278
Hourly rate	$16.26	$13.11
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	141,369	197,416
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 44%	High School Diploma, 49%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Specialty cook vs pizza cook salary

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

	Specialty Cook	Pizza Cook
Average salary	$33,829	$27,278
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $20,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Washington
Best paying company	Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics	Bertucci's
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Retail

Differences between specialty cook and pizza cook education

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

	Specialty Cook	Pizza Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 44%	High School Diploma, 49%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Specialty cook vs pizza cook demographics

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

	Specialty Cook	Pizza Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 77.4% Female, 22.6%	Male, 73.5% Female, 26.5%
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, 7.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 8.7% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between specialty cook and pizza 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.

Pizza cook example responsibilities.

Develop ability to manage multiple stations simultaneously while maintaining high levels of culinary excellence.
Maintain cooking equipment such as ovens and deep fryers.
Operate large-volume cooking equipment such as grills & deep fryers.
Make pizzas, calzones, etc., serve pizza to customers, cashier, use POS system.
Leverage teamwork to fully utilize kitchen staff to generate remarkable food and service to ensure customer satisfaction.
Maintain dry food storage areas: inventory, FIFO rotation, par supply levels, ordering.

Specialty cook vs pizza cook skills

Common specialty cook skills

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

Common pizza cook skills

Food Handling, 24%
Kitchen Equipment, 22%
Cleanliness, 16%
Dishes, 16%
Customer Satisfaction, 10%
Culinary, 3%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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