Cooks

Cooks season and prepare foods, including soups, salads, entrees, and desserts.

Duties

Cooks typically do the following:

• Ensure the freshness of ingredients
• Weigh, measure, and mix ingredients according to recipes
• Bake, grill, or fry meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods
• Boil and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods
• Arrange and garnish food on serving dishes
• Clean work areas, equipment, utensils, and dishes
• Cook, handle, and store food or ingredients

Cooks usually work under the direction of chefs, head cooks, or food service managers. Large restaurants and food service establishments often have multiple menus and large kitchen staffs. Teams of restaurant cooks, sometimes called assistant cooks or line cooks, work at assigned stations equipped with the stoves, grills, pans, and ingredients they need to prepare food.

Job titles often reflect the principal ingredient cooks prepare or the type of cooking they do, such as fry cook or grill cook.

Cooks use a variety of kitchen equipment, including broilers, grills, slicers, grinders, and blenders.

Cooks' responsibilities vary depending on the type of food service establishment, the size of the facility, and the level of service offered. However, in all establishments, they follow sanitation procedures when handling food. For example, they store food and ingredients at the correct temperatures to prevent bacterial growth.

The following are examples of types of cooks:

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 about workers who prepare and serve items in fast-food restaurants, see the profiles on food preparation workers and food and beverage serving and related workers.

Institution and cafeteria cooks work in the kitchens of schools, cafeterias, businesses, hospitals, and other establishments. They typically prepare a large quantity of entrees, vegetables, and desserts according to preset menus. However, they sometimes customize meals, such as for diners’ dietary considerations.

Private household cooks, sometimes called personal chefs, plan and prepare meals in private homes, according to the client’s tastes and dietary needs. They pick up groceries and supplies, clean the kitchen, and wash dishes and utensils. They also may cater parties, holiday meals, luncheons, and other events. Private household cooks typically work full-time for one client, although many are self-employed or employed by an agency, regularly preparing meals for multiple clients.

Restaurant cooks prepare a variety of dishes, usually by individual order, in eating establishments. Some restaurant cooks order supplies and help maintain the stock room.

Short order cooks prepare and sometimes serve foods in restaurants and coffee shops that emphasize fast service. For example, they might make sandwiches, fry eggs, and cook french fries, often working on several orders at the same time.

Cooks held about 2.8 million jobs in 2024. Employment in the detailed occupations that make up cooks was distributed as follows:

The largest employers of cooks were as follows:

Cooks work in restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels, and other establishments where food is prepared and served. They often prepare only part of a dish and coordinate with other cooks and kitchen workers to complete meals on time. Some work in private homes.

Cooks stand for long periods and work under pressure in a fast-paced environment. Although most cooks work indoors in kitchens, some may work outdoors at food stands, at catered events, or in mobile food trucks.

Injuries and Illnesses

Kitchens are usually crowded and filled with potential dangers, such as hot ovens or slippery floors. Cooks, all other, in particular, have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations. ("All other" titles represent occupations with a wide range of characteristics that do not fit into any of the other detailed occupations.)

The most common hazards are slips, falls, cuts, and burns, although injuries are seldom serious. To reduce the risks, cooks wear gloves, long-sleeve shirts, aprons, and nonslip shoes.

Work Schedules

Most cooks work full time, although part-time work is common. Work schedules vary and may include early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and holidays. In school cafeterias and some institutional cafeterias, cooks usually have more regular hours.

Cooks who are employed in schools may work only during the school year, typically for 9 or 10 months. Similarly, cooks who are employed in some resort establishments work only for seasonal operation.

Cooks typically learn their skills through on-the-job training and related work experience. Although no formal education is required, some cooks attend culinary school.

The median hourly wage for cooks was $17.19 in May 2024.

Overall employment of cooks is projected to grow 5 percent from 2024 to 2034, faster than the average for all occupations.

About 432,200 openings for cooks are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.