Cooks

Summary

Cooks season and prepare a wide range of food.

Quick Facts: Cooks
2010 Median Pay	$20,260 per year $9.74 per hour
Entry-Level Education	See How to Become One
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	See How to Become One
On-the-job Training	See How to Become One
Number of Jobs, 2010	2,050,800
Job Outlook, 2010-20	8% (Slower than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	161,800

What Cooks Do

Cooks prepare, season, and cook a wide range of foods, such as soups, salads, entrees, and desserts.

Work Environment

Cooks work in restaurants, schools, hospitals, private households, and other places where food is served. They often work early mornings, late evenings, holidays, and weekends. The majority work full time.

How to Become a Cook

Short-term on-the-job training and work-related experience are the most common ways to become a cook. Although no formal education is required, some restaurant cooks and private household cooks attend cooking school.

Pay

The median hourly wage of cooks was $9.74 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of cooks is projected to grow 8 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. Many job openings are expected.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of cooks with similar occupations.

O*NET

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Contacts for More Information

Learn more about cooks by contacting these additional resources.

What Cooks Do About this section

Cooks prepare fresh vegetables.

Cooks prepare, season, and cook a wide range of foods, such as soups, salads, entrees, and desserts.

Duties

Cooks typically do the following:

• Check freshness of food and ingredients before cooking
• Weigh, measure, and mix ingredients according to recipes
• Bake, roast, grill, broil, or fry meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods
• Boil and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods
• Garnish, arrange, and serve food
• Clean work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, and silverware
• Cook, hold, and store food or food ingredients

Large restaurants and food service establishments tend to have varied menus and large kitchen staffs. Teams of restaurant cooks, sometimes called assistant or line cooks, work at assigned stations equipped with the necessary types of stoves, grills, pans, and ingredients.

Job titles often reflect the principal ingredient cooks prepare or the type of cooking they do—vegetable cook, fry cook, or grill cook, for example. Cooks usually work under the direction or supervision of chefs, head cooks, or food service managers. For more information on these occupations, see the profiles on chefs and head cooks and food service managers.

Depending on the type of eating place, cooks use a variety of kitchen equipment, including broilers, grills, slicers, grinders, and blenders.

The responsibilities of cooks vary depending on where they work, the size of the facility, and the complexity and level of service offered. 

The following are types of cooks:

Institution and cafeteria cooks work in the kitchens of schools, cafeterias, businesses, hospitals, and other institutions. For each meal, they prepare a large quantity of a limited number of entrees, vegetables, and desserts, according to preset menus. Because meals generally are prepared in advance, cooks seldom prepare special orders.

Restaurant cooks usually prepare a wide selection of dishes and cook most orders individually. Some restaurant cooks may order supplies, set menu prices, and plan the daily menu.

Short-order cooks prepare foods in restaurants and coffee shops that emphasize fast service and quick food preparation. They usually prepare sandwiches, fry eggs, and cook french fries, often working on several orders at the same time.

Fast-food cooks prepare a limited selection of menu items in fast-food restaurants. They cook and package food, such as hamburgers and fried chicken, to be kept warm until served. For more information on workers who prepare and serve items in fast-food restaurants, see the profile on food preparation workers and food and beverage serving and related workers.

Private household cooks plan and prepare meals in private homes, according to the client’s tastes and dietary needs. They order groceries and supplies, clean the kitchen, and wash dishes and utensils. They also may cater parties, holiday meals, luncheons, and other social events. Most private household chefs typically work for one full-time client.

Work Environment About this section

Cooks usually work in restaurants.

Cooks held about 2.1 million jobs in 2010. The industries that employed the most cooks in 2010 were as follows:

Cooks work in restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels, and other places where food is served. Some work in private homes.

Kitchens are usually hot, crowded, and filled with potential dangers. Cooks usually must stand for a long period of time and work under pressure in a fast-paced environment.

Injuries

Although the work is generally not dangerous, hazards include slips, falls, cuts from sharp knives, and burns from hot ovens.

Work Schedules

Most cooks work full time but many work part time. Work shifts can include early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and holidays. Schedules for cooks in school cafeterias and some institutional cafeterias usually are more regular. Cooks working in schools may work only during the school year, usually for 9 or 10 months. Similarly, resort establishments offer seasonal employment only.

How to Become a Cook About this section

Cooks typically learn their skills on the job from an experienced chef.

Short-term on-the-job training and work-related experience are the most common ways to become a cook. Although no formal education is required, some restaurant cooks and private household cooks attend cooking schools. Others attend vocational or apprenticeship programs.

Training

Most cooks obtain their skills through short-term on-the job training, usually lasting a few weeks. Training usually starts with learning kitchen basics and workplace safety and continues with food handling and cooking procedures.

Professional culinary institutes, industry associations, and trade unions sponsor formal apprenticeship programs for cooks, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Labor. Typical apprenticeships last 2 years and combine technical training and work experience. The American Culinary Federation accredits more than 200 formal academic training programs and sponsors apprenticeship programs around the country.

Some hotels, restaurants, and the Armed Forces have their own training and job-placement programs.  

Work Experience

Many cooks obtain their skills through work-related experience. They typically start as a kitchen helper or food preparation worker and progress into a cooking position. Some learn by working under the guidance of a more experienced cook.

Education

Independent and vocational cooking schools, professional culinary institutes, and college degree programs also provide training for aspiring cooks. Programs generally last from a few months to 2 years or more. Many offer training in advanced cooking techniques, international cuisines, and cooking styles.  

Advancement

The American Culinary Federation certifies chefs and culinarians in different skill levels. For cooks seeking certification and advancement to higher level chef positions, certification can show accomplishment and lead to higher paying positions.

Advancement opportunities for cooks often depend on training, work experience, and the ability to do more sophisticated tasks. Those who demonstrate an eagerness to learn new cooking skills and who accept greater responsibility may advance and be asked to train or supervise kitchen staff who have fewer skills.

Some may become head cooks, chefs, or food preparation and serving supervisors.

Important Qualities

Comprehension. Cooks must be able to understand customers’ orders and to read recipes to prepare dishes correctly.

Customer-service skills. Restaurant and short-order cooks must be able to deal with customer complaints and special requests.

Manual dexterity. Cooks should have excellent hand-eye coordination. For example, they need to know the proper knife techniques for cutting, chopping, and dicing.

Sense of taste and smell. All cooks must have a keen sense of taste and smell to prepare food that customers enjoy.

Stamina. The work of a cook can be physically tiring. They must spend a lot of time standing, cooking food over hot stoves, and cleaning work areas.  

Teamwork. Cooks often prepare only part of a dish. They must coordinate with other cooks and food workers.

Pay About this section

The median hourly wage of cooks was $9.74 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $7.73 per hour, and the top 10 percent earned more than $14.67 per hour.

Median hourly wages for cook occupations in May 2010 were as follows:

• $12.29 for cooks, private household
• $10.93 for cooks, institution and cafeteria
• $10.65 for cooks, restaurant
• $9.42 for cooks, short order
• $8.70 for cooks, fast food
• $10.93 for cooks, all other

Earnings of cooks vary greatly by region and type of employer. Earnings usually are highest in fine dining restaurants and luxury hotels, which are often found in major metropolitan and resort areas.

Most cooks work full time but many work part time. Work shifts can include early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and holidays. Schedules for cooks in school cafeterias and some institutional cafeterias usually are more regular. Cooks working in schools may work only during the school year, usually for 9 or 10 months. Similarly, resort establishments offer seasonal employment only.

Job Outlook About this section

Overall employment of cooks is projected to grow 8 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. Individual growth rates will vary by specialty.

People continue to eat out, buy take-out meals, or have food delivered. In response, more restaurants will open, and nontraditional food-service operations, such as those found inside grocery stores, will serve more prepared food dishes, spurring demand for cooks. Employment growth for cooks will also increase as, in an effort to lower costs, many full-service restaurants will hire lower level cooks instead of chefs and head cooks.  

Job Prospects

Overall job opportunities are expected to be good as a combination of employment growth and current workers leaving the occupation leads to a large number of job openings. Cooks with formal training will have the best job prospects.

Candidates who demonstrate eagerness and are able to do more refined tasks will have the best job opportunities at restaurant chains, upscale restaurants, and hotels. Nonetheless, those seeking full-time jobs at upscale restaurants and hotels are likely to face competition, as the number of job applicants often exceeds the number of job openings.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For information about culinary apprenticeship programs registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, contact the local office of your state employment service agency, check the Employment and Training Administration website, or call the toll-free helpline, 1 (877) 872-5627.

For more information about cooking careers, visit

National Restaurant Association

American Culinary Federation