Specialty foods cook vs assistant cook

The differences between specialty foods cooks and assistant 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 foods cook and an assistant cook. Additionally, an assistant cook has an average salary of $34,244, which is higher than the $31,497 average annual salary of a specialty foods cook.

The top three skills for a specialty foods cook include food handling, basic math and dishes. The most important skills for an assistant cook are food handling, kitchen equipment, and dishes.

Specialty foods cook vs assistant cook overview

	Specialty Foods Cook	Assistant Cook
Yearly salary	$31,497	$34,244
Hourly rate	$15.14	$16.46
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	189,118	190,245
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 37%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Specialty foods cook vs assistant cook salary

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

	Specialty Foods Cook	Assistant Cook
Average salary	$31,497	$34,244
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $39,000	Between $26,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	California
Best paying company	Ncar - The National Center For Atmospheric Research	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Retail	Hospitality

Differences between specialty foods cook and assistant cook education

There are a few differences between a specialty foods cook and an assistant cook in terms of educational background:

	Specialty Foods Cook	Assistant Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 37%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Specialty foods cook vs assistant cook demographics

Here are the differences between specialty foods cooks' and assistant cooks' demographics:

	Specialty Foods Cook	Assistant Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 72.7% Female, 27.3%	Male, 45.5% Female, 54.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 7.0% White, 58.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 8.6% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between specialty foods cook and assistant cook duties and responsibilities

Specialty foods cook example responsibilities.

Develop ability to manage multiple stations simultaneously while maintaining high levels of culinary excellence.
Operate a large volume of cooking equipment such as grills, deep fryers, and griddles.
Collect orders from customers, clean dining room, wash dishes, safely cook food to customer liking.
Ensure food are stored and cook at correct temperatures by regulating temperature of oven, broilers, grills and roasters.
Bag merchandise by following standard procedures.maintain Drive-thru times.
Leverage teamwork to fully utilize kitchen staff to generate remarkable food and service to ensure customer satisfaction.

Assistant cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Operate stoves, food processors, steamers, slices, ovens.
Ensure ovens and stoves are clean and ready for use.
Train new and current cooks on menu conversion, garnishing, and food presentation.
Prepare and deliver food trays to hospital patients for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Supervise and maintain HACCP standards, training processes for cooks and monitor aspects of contract compliance.

Specialty foods cook vs assistant cook skills

Common specialty foods cook skills

Food Handling, 45%
Basic Math, 35%
Dishes, 5%
Food Service, 4%
Safety Standards, 3%
Food Products, 1%

Common assistant cook skills

Food Handling, 12%
Kitchen Equipment, 11%
Dishes, 9%
Food Service, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Cleanliness, 6%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Specialty Foods Cook
Specialty Foods Cook vs Assistant Cook

Updated January 8, 2025

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