Specialty cook vs short order cook

The differences between specialty cooks and short order 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 short order cook. Additionally, a specialty cook has an average salary of $33,829, which is higher than the $30,734 average annual salary of a short order cook.

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

Specialty cook vs short order cook overview

	Specialty Cook	Short Order Cook
Yearly salary	$33,829	$30,734
Hourly rate	$16.26	$14.78
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	141,369	176,187
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 44%	High School Diploma, 43%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Specialty cook vs short order cook salary

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

	Specialty Cook	Short Order Cook
Average salary	$33,829	$30,734
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Anaheim, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Washington
Best paying company	Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics	Columbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Health Care

Differences between specialty cook and short order cook education

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

	Specialty Cook	Short Order Cook
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 44%	High School Diploma, 43%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Specialty cook vs short order cook demographics

Here are the differences between specialty cooks' and short order cooks' demographics:

	Specialty Cook	Short Order Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 77.4% Female, 22.6%	Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9%
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, 10.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 8.1% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between specialty cook and short order 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.

Short order cook example responsibilities.

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.

Specialty cook vs short order cook skills

Common specialty cook skills

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

Common short order cook skills

Food Handling, 20%
Customer Service, 14%
Food Preparation Equipment, 11%
Kitchen Equipment, 9%
Food Service, 7%
Safety Standards, 7%

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Specialty Cook vs Short Order Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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