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.
Also called: Back Line Cook · Banquet Cook · Breakfast Cook · Cook · Fry Cook · Grill Cook
Median pay (national)
$36,830
$28,010–$47,340 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
1,452,130
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+14.9%
~250,700 openings/yr
Typical entry
No formal educational credential
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for cooks, restaurant shows a relatively narrow range: the top 10% earn $47,340 versus $28,010 at the bottom 10% — 1.7x. The median of $36,830 leaves roughly 29% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +14.9% from 2024 to 2034 — much faster than the 3% average for all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 250,700 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 54 states with released data, Massachusetts pays the most for this role (median $46,280, +26% vs the national median), while Guam sits lowest at $22,900 — a 102% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Speaking, Critical Thinking, Monitoring as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Learning
- Writing
- Mathematics
- Learning Strategies
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.
- Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods.
- Observe and test foods to determine if they have been cooked sufficiently, using methods such as tasting, smelling, or piercing them with utensils.
- Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
- 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.
- Turn or stir foods to ensure even cooking.
- Substitute for or assist other cooks during emergencies or rush periods.
- Wash, peel, cut, and seed fruits and vegetables to prepare them for consumption.
- Bake breads, rolls, cakes, and pastries.
Tools & technology
- Food safety labeling systems
- Menu planning software
- Point of sale POS restaurant software
- Recipe cost control software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Word
Knowledge areas
- Food Production
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Production and Processing
- Education and Training
- Mathematics
- Administration and Management
- Sales and Marketing