Specialty foods cook vs prep cook

The differences between specialty foods cooks and prep 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 prep cook. Additionally, a prep cook has an average salary of $32,292, 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 prep cook are food handling, culinary, and sanitation standards.

Specialty foods cook vs prep cook overview

	Specialty Foods Cook	Prep Cook
Yearly salary	$31,497	$32,292
Hourly rate	$15.14	$15.53
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	189,118	168,265
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 48%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Specialty foods cook vs prep cook salary

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

	Specialty Foods Cook	Prep Cook
Average salary	$31,497	$32,292
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $39,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Washington
Best paying company	Ncar - The National Center For Atmospheric Research	Kemps
Best paying industry	Retail	Manufacturing

Differences between specialty foods cook and prep cook education

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

	Specialty Foods Cook	Prep Cook
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 48%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	-	-

Specialty foods cook vs prep cook demographics

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

	Specialty Foods Cook	Prep Cook
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 72.7% Female, 27.3%	Male, 61.3% Female, 38.7%
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, 9.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.6% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between specialty foods cook and prep 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.

Prep cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Provide students with first-rate customer service and ensure correct time-temperature control of culinary dishes.
Learned and become CPR certify for emergencies.
Direct and ensure that HACCP procedures are follow.
Plan menu items as needed for caf or catering.
Earn first aid, CPR, and a certification.

Specialty foods cook vs prep 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 prep cook skills

Food Handling, 15%
Culinary, 15%
Sanitation Standards, 12%
Kitchen Equipment, 9%
Cleanliness, 7%
Team Work, 7%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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