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Specialty foods cook vs line cook

The differences between specialty foods cooks and line 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 a line cook. Additionally, a line cook has an average salary of $32,894, 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 a line cook are culinary, sanitation standards, and food handling.

Specialty foods cook vs line cook overview

Specialty Foods CookLine Cook
Yearly salary$31,497$32,894
Hourly rate$15.14$15.81
Growth rate16%16%
Number of jobs189,118168,993
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 50%High School Diploma, 36%
Average age3838
Years of experience44

Specialty foods cook vs line cook salary

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

Specialty Foods CookLine Cook
Average salary$31,497$32,894
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $39,000Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MASeattle, WA
Highest paying stateMassachusettsHawaii
Best paying companyNcar - The National Center For Atmospheric ResearchGate City Bank
Best paying industryRetailHospitality

Differences between specialty foods cook and line cook education

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

Specialty Foods CookLine Cook
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 50%High School Diploma, 36%
Most common majorBusinessCulinary Arts
Most common college--

Specialty foods cook vs line cook demographics

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

Specialty Foods CookLine Cook
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 72.7% Female, 27.3%Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9%
Race ratioBlack 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, 9.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.9% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between specialty foods cook and line 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.
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Line cook example responsibilities.

  • Used strong organizational skills to manage steamers efficiently for both eat-in and take-out services.
  • Supervise cooks and manage the preparation, portioning, garnishing, and storage of all food items, cutting meat size.
  • Manage the POS system (adding/deleting specials, editing prices, viewing server appetizer/dessert sales and their server report information).
  • Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
  • Used equipment such as meat slicers, salamanders and steamers.
  • Develop food preparation skills and knowledge of tools involve; such as proper use of knives and automate slicers.
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Specialty foods cook vs line 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 line cook skills
  • Culinary, 12%
  • Sanitation Standards, 11%
  • Food Handling, 11%
  • Team Work, 9%
  • Kitchen Equipment, 8%
  • Cleanliness, 8%

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