What does a Line Cook do?
Line cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. The term line cook brings to mind an assembly line. This is apt because line cooks are usually assigned to a specific station to work on a specific part of a meal or a preparation process. They are part of a bigger group of cooks in the restaurant. This is done so that meal preparation is more efficient. Line cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients, ensuring that the pantry is well-stocked, and doing their assigned activity in the line. They are expected to be good team players, have experience as a cook, and be able to follow recipes and provide alternatives when necessary.
Line cook responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real line cook resumes:
- Used strong organizational skills to manage steamers efficiently for both eat-in and take-out services.
- Supervise cooks and manage the preparation, portioning, garnishing, and storage of all food items, cutting meat size.
- Manage the POS system (adding/deleting specials, editing prices, viewing server appetizer/dessert sales and their server report information).
- Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
- Used equipment such as meat slicers, salamanders and steamers.
- Develop food preparation skills and knowledge of tools involve; such as proper use of knives and automate slicers.
- Ensure all food preparation areas, utensils, stoves and cooking surfaces are always sanitize and ready for service.
- Work side-by-side with international chefs to prepare intercontinental cuisine.
- Operate electric slicers and cheese grates-maintain cleanliness of work area.
- Demonstrate exceptional customer service in the culinary industry and the capability to handle stressful situations.
- Used math to break down recipes.
- Work with chef directly for 5 star wine dinners.
- Resolve customer queries about food and wine using previous experience and knowledge
- Operate large-volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep-fryers and/or griddles.
- Communicate openly and honestly with all workers to ensure each shift run smoothly.
Line cook skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Line Cooks are proficient in Culinary, Sanitation Standards, and Food Handling. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Physical stamina, and Sense of taste and smell.
We break down the percentage of Line Cooks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Culinary, 12%
Coordinated with the Culinary Director in conducting daily inventory and organizing restaurant, including creating prep list and cleaning procedures.
- Sanitation Standards, 11%
Well Trained in Sanitation standards and practices including implementation and maintaining high cleanliness standard.
- Food Handling, 11%
Conducted quality control meetings to ensure proper food handling procedures were implemented properly.
- Team Work, 9%
Promoted effective team communications and team work under arduous circumstances.
- Kitchen Equipment, 8%
Sanitized kitchen equipment and areas to approved health standards, helped maintain overall restaurant cleanliness.
- Cleanliness, 8%
Maintained cleanliness of dinning room/bathroom facilities while also assisting customers and stocking inventory.
"culinary," "sanitation standards," and "food handling" are among the most common skills that line cooks use at work. You can find even more line cook responsibilities below, including:
Dexterity. One of the key soft skills for a line cook to have is dexterity. You can see how this relates to what line cooks do because "cooks should have excellent hand–eye coordination." Additionally, a line cook resume shows how line cooks use dexterity: "augmented culinary skills and gained hands on business experience to advance professional career in culinary arts and hospitality"
Physical stamina. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling line cook duties is physical stamina. The role rewards competence in this skill because "cooks spend a lot of time standing in one place, cooking food over hot stoves, and cleaning work areas." According to a line cook resume, here's how line cooks can utilize physical stamina in their job responsibilities: "maintained stamina, capitalized on ability to multi-task and demonstrated a professional attitude * provided excellent customer service. "
Sense of taste and smell. This is an important skill for line cooks to perform their duties. For an example of how line cook responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "cooks must have a keen sense of taste and smell to prepare meals that customers enjoy." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a line cook: "fry and salad stations i prepared a variety of hand tossed salads, and also breaded and deep-fried foods to order. ".
The three companies that hire the most line cooks are:
- Chili's Grill & Bar7,699 line cooks jobs
- Red Robin1,886 line cooks jobs
- Red Lobster1,587 line cooks jobs
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Compare different line cooks
Line cook vs. Cook/trainer
A prep cook and dishwasher is responsible for cleaning and sanitizing kitchen items and utensils, and performing basic cooking tasks under the supervision of chefs or cooks. It is also their responsibility to prepare ingredients by washing, chopping, weighing, and ensuring that they are the correct quantity and quality. Furthermore, a prep cook and dishwasher may also have to maintain cleanliness in the kitchen, clear tables, monitor inventory of ingredients in storage, coordinate with the kitchen staff, and meet all health standards and policies.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a line cook are more likely to require skills like "sanitation standards," "team work," "quality food," and "basic math." On the other hand, a job as a cook/trainer requires skills like "food safety," "haccp," "cash handling," and "workstations." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Cook/trainers tend to reach similar levels of education than line cooks. In fact, cook/trainers are 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Line cook vs. Prep cook/dishwasher
A short-order cook takes responsibility for preparing foods in cafes and restaurants. Usually, they fry eggs, cook fries, and prepare sandwiches. Short order cooks work alongside line chefs in the foodservice market. Their manner of preparing food is quick, easy, and simple. They plan and handle work orders ensuring that all orders are complete and served on time. Strong communication, customer service, a good sense of taste, and the ability to work efficiently are necessary requirements for the job.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that line cook responsibilities requires skills like "culinary," "food handling," "team work," and "cleanliness." But a prep cook/dishwasher might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "wash dishes," "food preparation equipment," "cooking equipment," and "line cooks."
On average, prep cook/dishwashers earn a lower salary than line cooks. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, prep cook/dishwashers earn the most pay in the retail industry with an average salary of $30,948. Whereas line cooks have higher pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $32,363.prep cook/dishwashers earn similar levels of education than line cooks in general. They're 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Line cook vs. Short order cook
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from line cook resumes include skills like "culinary," "sanitation standards," "team work," and "cleanliness," whereas a short order cook is more likely to list skills in "food preparation equipment," "good communication," "food service," and "making sandwiches. "
Short order cooks make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $31,094. On the other hand, line cooks are paid the highest salary in the hospitality industry, with average annual pay of $32,363.Most short order cooks achieve a similar degree level compared to line cooks. For example, they're 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Line cook vs. Grill cook/prep
Types of line cook
Updated January 8, 2025
