Specialty foods cook vs line cook/dishwasher

The differences between specialty foods cooks and line cook/dishwashers 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/dishwasher. Additionally, a line cook/dishwasher has an average salary of $34,435, 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/dishwasher are food handling, cleanliness, and dishwashers.

Specialty foods cook vs line cook/dishwasher overview

	Specialty Foods Cook	Line Cook/Dishwasher
Yearly salary	$31,497	$34,435
Hourly rate	$15.14	$16.56
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	189,118	133,370
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 54%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Specialty foods cook vs line cook/dishwasher salary

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

	Specialty Foods Cook	Line Cook/Dishwasher
Average salary	$31,497	$34,435
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $39,000	Between $26,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	-
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	-
Best paying company	Ncar - The National Center For Atmospheric Research	-
Best paying industry	Retail	-

Differences between specialty foods cook and line cook/dishwasher education

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

	Specialty Foods Cook	Line Cook/Dishwasher
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 54%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Specialty foods cook vs line cook/dishwasher demographics

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

	Specialty Foods Cook	Line Cook/Dishwasher
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 72.7% Female, 27.3%	Male, 84.2% Female, 15.8%
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, 8.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 8.1% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between specialty foods cook and line cook/dishwasher 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.

Line cook/dishwasher example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Maintain superb conditions of all grills, fryers, prep areas, and work spaces in the kitchen.
Have to follow certain steps for battering prior to cooking, and use a timer for the fryers for fry.
Leverage teamwork to fully utilize kitchen staff to generate remarkable food and service to ensure customer satisfaction.
Operate dishwasher to fully sanitize incoming dishes and silverware.
Prepare food items with special attention to individual orders concerning allergies and temperatures.

Specialty foods cook vs line cook/dishwasher 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/dishwasher skills

Food Handling, 35%
Cleanliness, 32%
Dishwashers, 25%
Kitchen Equipment, 3%
Culinary, 2%
Line Cooks, 1%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Specialty Foods Cook
Specialty Foods Cook vs Line Cook/Dishwasher

Updated January 8, 2025

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