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Cooks, Restaurant

  • Bright Outlook
  • Rapid Growth
  • Numerous Job Openings

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.

What you’d do

  • 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.
  • Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods.
  • Weigh, measure, and mix ingredients according to recipes or personal judgment, using various kitchen utensils and equipment.

Skills that matter

  • Critical Thinking
  • Monitoring
  • Speaking
  • Time Management
  • Active Listening
  • Active Learning

How to get there

Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

Also called

  • Banquet Cook
  • Grill Cook
  • Line Cook
  • Prep Cook (Preparation Cook)
  • Back Line Cook
  • Breakfast Cook

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