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Cooks, Restaurant
Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.
Other titles employers use
Back Line Cook · Banquet Cook · Breakfast Cook · Cook · Fry Cook · Grill Cook · Line Cook · Prep Cook (Preparation Cook)
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
- Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.
- Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons.
- Ensure freshness of food and ingredients by checking for quality, keeping track of old and new items, and rotating stock.
- Season and cook food according to recipes or personal judgment and experience.
- Coordinate and supervise work of kitchen staff.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to practical, organizing and persuading work.
- Practical
- Building, repairing, using tools, or working outdoors
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
- Persuading
- Leading, selling, starting projects, or making a case
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Time Management
Subjects to know
- Food Production
- English Language
Useful strengths
- Near Vision
- Manual Dexterity
- Problem Sensitivity
- Oral Comprehension
- Oral Expression
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 4.0 | Shared rooms, but not shoulder to shoulder |
| On your feet | 4.8 | Standing or moving for most of it |
| Talking face to face | 3.4 | Occasional |
| Working with your hands | 4.5 | Handling tools, instruments or materials |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Most employers do not ask for a formal credential. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- High school or less 82%
- A two-year degree 12%
- A certificate or some college 6%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Web page creation and editing software
- Spreadsheet software
- Office suite software
- Electronic mail software
- Word processing software
- Compliance software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Point of sale POS software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 184,000
- Job openings each year
- 28,610
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 29.5%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 184,000 | 28,610 | 29.5% |
| Texas | 158,830 | 24,920 | 39.7% |
| Florida | 141,640 | 21,730 | 17.2% |
| New York | 85,780 | 1,460 | 20.5% |
| North Carolina | 66,050 | 10,350 | 38.4% |
| Illinois | 63,780 | 9,840 | 21.6% |
| Ohio | 57,540 | 8,850 | 18.9% |
| Pennsylvania | 56,390 | 8,680 | 20.0% |
| Georgia | 56,070 | 8,770 | 36.1% |
| Colorado | 44,800 | 6,980 | 31.1% |
| Michigan | 44,610 | 6,830 | 15.7% |
| Virginia | 42,650 | 6,560 | 19.0% |
| Missouri | 39,310 | 6,070 | 22.9% |
| Arizona | 38,830 | 6,060 | 34.4% |
| Tennessee | 38,240 | 5,980 | 36.2% |
| Indiana | 34,350 | 5,310 | 23.0% |
| South Carolina | 33,820 | 5,270 | 31.6% |
| Washington | 33,110 | 5,700 | 19.9% |
| Wisconsin | 32,190 | 5,010 | 29.9% |
| New Jersey | 30,240 | 4,700 | 28.5% |
| Minnesota | 30,010 | 4,580 | 12.1% |
| Nevada | 27,730 | 4,320 | 31.4% |
| Oregon | 25,960 | 4,030 | 26.8% |
| Maryland | 25,450 | 3,950 | 26.6% |
| Oklahoma | 22,760 | 3,540 | 29.8% |
| Alabama | 21,910 | 3,420 | 34.0% |
| Kentucky | 21,580 | 3,360 | 29.4% |
| Utah | 20,160 | 3,200 | 56.4% |
| Connecticut | 17,710 | 2,780 | 38.3% |
| Louisiana | 17,300 | 2,670 | 22.4% |
| Iowa | 15,840 | 2,440 | 20.1% |
| Arkansas | 15,530 | 2,400 | 23.8% |
| Kansas | 14,850 | 2,300 | 25.8% |
| Massachusetts | 13,400 | 2,080 | 29.7% |
| New Mexico | 12,930 | 2,030 | 43.0% |
| Mississippi | 12,080 | 1,870 | 22.9% |
| Idaho | 10,660 | 1,660 | 32.8% |
| District of Columbia | 9,500 | 1,500 | 47.7% |
| Puerto Rico | 9,340 | 1,460 | 31.4% |
| Rhode Island | 8,760 | 1,350 | 23.2% |
| Montana | 8,680 | 1,360 | 33.5% |
| West Virginia | 8,450 | 1,300 | 21.1% |
| New Hampshire | 8,150 | 1,270 | 27.7% |
| Delaware | 7,160 | 1,120 | 33.3% |
| Maine | 5,850 | 900 | 16.3% |
| Nebraska | 5,680 | 880 | 27.6% |
| North Dakota | 4,770 | 740 | 24.9% |
| Vermont | 4,030 | 630 | 34.3% |
| Wyoming | 3,900 | 610 | 33.1% |
| Alaska | 2,570 | 390 | 7.1% |
| South Dakota | 2,090 | 330 | 31.4% |
| Guam | 1,720 | 270 | 52.2% |
| Virgin Islands | 860 | 130 | 26.5% |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.
Where to study
Colleges with strong activity in these fields.
Start with program size, admission, and likely cost. Open a college for the full picture.
Johnson & Wales University-Providence
- Degrees each year
- 168
- Admit rate
- 84%
- Annual cost after aid
- $28,000
SUNY College of Technology at Delhi
- Degrees each year
- 22
- Admit rate
- 88%
- Annual cost after aid
- $19,000
Drexel University
- Degrees each year
- 10
- Admit rate
- 78%
- Annual cost after aid
- $35,000
College of the Ozarks
- Degrees each year
- 4
- Admit rate
- 15%
- Annual cost after aid
- $5,000
Texas Woman's University
- Degrees each year
- 3
- Admit rate
- 95%
- Annual cost after aid
- $11,000
Central Washington University
- Degrees each year
- 3
- Admit rate
- 90%
- Annual cost after aid
- $16,000
Dominican University
- Degrees each year
- 1
- Admit rate
- 80%
- Annual cost after aid
- $12,000
Southern New Hampshire University
- Degrees each year
- 1
- Admit rate
- 96%
- Annual cost after aid
- $37,000
Compare every college offering culinary arts and related services