Cooks, Restaurant
Also called: Back Line Cook, Banquet Cook, Breakfast Cook, Broiler Cook, Cook, Foreign Food Specialty Cook, Fry Cook, Grill Cook
Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants.
What cooks, restaurant do
Typical tasks
- 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.
- Turn or stir foods to ensure even cooking.
- Observe and test foods to determine if they have been cooked sufficiently, using methods such as tasting, smelling, or piercing them with utensils.
- Substitute for or assist other cooks during emergencies or rush periods.
- Wash, peel, cut, and seed fruits and vegetables to prepare them for consumption.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Cooks, Restaurant salary
The median annual wage for cooks, restaurant is $37,390 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $28,700 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $47,900. The mean annual wage is $38,730.
The mean hourly wage of $18.00 is 2.5× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Cooks, Restaurant (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $37,390 → in 3 years $41,500 → in 5 years $44,400 → in 10 years $52,700 (10-year range $45,400–$61,200). The model assumes pay growth of +3.5% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Cooks, Restaurant
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Cooks, Restaurant? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Cooks, Restaurant
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Cooks, Restaurant United States | 中華料理調理人 Japan | ラーメン調理人 Japan | 日本料理調理人（板前） Japan | すし職人 Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $37,390 | ¥3.79M ≈ $24,107 | ¥3.79M ≈ $24,107 | ¥3.79M ≈ $24,107 | ¥3.79M ≈ $24,107 |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $52,700 | ¥5.35M | ¥5.35M | ¥5.35M | ¥5.35M |
| Outlook score | 65 | 63 | 61 | 70 | 64 |
| AI replacement risk | 19% Very low | 21% Low | 22% Low | 14% Very low | 36% Low |
| Workers | 1.4M | — | — | — | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Cooks, Restaurant
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★☆☆☆☆ Easy to enter (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become cooks, restaurant
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as cooks, restaurant
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.