What does a specialty cook do?
Specialty cook responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real specialty cook resumes:
- 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.
- Maintain and follow proper hygiene and sanitation standards.
Specialty cook skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Specialty Cooks are proficient in Food Handling, Culinary, and Kitchen Equipment. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Physical stamina, and Sense of taste and smell.
We break down the percentage of Specialty Cooks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Food Handling, 23%
Trained employees for food safety and food handling procedures.
- Culinary, 16%
Prepared different types of culinary items, assisted executive chefs and food technologists, and participated in identifying new products
- Kitchen Equipment, 16%
Prepared community donated ingredients; planned meals based on available food; cooked meals from prepared ingredients using commercial kitchen equipment
- Cuisine, 12%
Contributed innovated ideas for new and unique cuisine and presentation techniques.
- Food Quality, 7%
Verified that the prepared orders met the company's standard for food quality and quantity.
- Fine Dining, 5%
Corner Brook, NL, CanadaExtremely busy, fine dining establishment.
Common skills that a specialty cook uses to do their job include "food handling," "culinary," and "kitchen equipment." You can find details on the most important specialty cook responsibilities below.
Dexterity. One of the key soft skills for a specialty cook to have is dexterity. You can see how this relates to what specialty cooks do because "cooks should have excellent hand–eye coordination." Additionally, a specialty cook resume shows how specialty cooks use dexterity: "prepare food in fast paced kitchen responsible for all cooked food organize food orders keep workspace clean and organized heavy lifting dishwashing"
Physical stamina. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling specialty cook duties is physical stamina. The role rewards competence in this skill because "cooks spend a lot of time standing in one place, cooking food over hot stoves, and cleaning work areas." According to a specialty cook resume, here's how specialty cooks can utilize physical stamina in their job responsibilities: "maintained stamina, capitalized on ability to multi-task and demonstrated a professional attitude * provided excellent customer service. "
Sense of taste and smell. specialty cooks are also known for sense of taste and smell, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to specialty cook responsibilities, because "cooks must have a keen sense of taste and smell to prepare meals that customers enjoy." A specialty cook resume example shows how sense of taste and smell is used in the workplace: "complied with all servsafe and tulsa's food handling and principles"
The three companies that hire the most specialty cooks are:
- Marriott International20 specialty cooks jobs
- Caesars Entertainment10 specialty cooks jobs
- Hilton6 specialty cooks jobs
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Compare different specialty cooks
Specialty cook vs. Cook/trainer
A line cook/prep cook is responsible for assisting with food preparations, ensuring that all ingredients are readily available and stored safely. Line cook/prep cook tasks also include reviewing and updating menus to keep the customers' patronization. Their duties also include researching the current food industry trends, managing customers' inquiries, resolving serving complaints, monitoring food supplies and inventories, and complying with sanitary regulations. A line cook/prep cook must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform various tasks under strict time demands and a fast-paced environment.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between specialty cooks and cook/trainer. For instance, specialty cook responsibilities require skills such as "cuisine," "fine dining," "roasting," and "steamers." Whereas a cook/trainer is skilled in "cleanliness," "food safety," "customer service," and "cash handling." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that cook/trainers earn slightly differ from specialty cooks. In particular, cook/trainers are 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a specialty cook. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Specialty cook vs. Cook manager
Each career also uses different skills, according to real specialty cook resumes. While specialty cook responsibilities can utilize skills like "food handling," "culinary," "cuisine," and "fine dining," cook managers use skills like "customer service," "food service," "payroll," and "customer complaints."
In general, cook managers achieve similar levels of education than specialty cooks. They're 1.2% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Specialty cook vs. Cook/baker
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a specialty cook is likely to be skilled in "cuisine," "food quality," "health code," and "food preparation equipment," while a typical cook/baker is skilled in "food service," "patients," "cleanliness," and "math."
Cook/bakers earn the best pay in the hospitality industry, where they command an average salary of $32,857. Specialty cooks earn the highest pay from the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $34,749.Most cook/bakers achieve a similar degree level compared to specialty cooks. For example, they're 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Specialty cook vs. Line cook, prep cook
Types of specialty cook
Updated January 8, 2025
