Cooks and food preparation workers prepare, season, and cook a wide range of foods—from soups, snacks, and salads to entrees, side dishes, and desserts. They work in a variety of restaurants, as well as other places where food is served, such as grocery stores, schools and hospitals. Cooks prepare and cook meals while food preparation workers assist cooks by performing tasks, such as peeling and cutting vegetables, trimming meat, preparing poultry, and keeping work areas clean and monitoring temperatures of ovens and stovetops.
Specifically, cooks measure, mix, and cook ingredients according to recipes, using a variety of equipment, including pots, pans, cutlery, ovens, broilers, grills, slicers, grinders, and blenders. Food preparation workers perform routine, repetitive tasks under the direction of chefs, head cooks, or food preparation and serving supervisors. These workers prepare the ingredients for complex dishes by slicing and dicing vegetables, and making salads and cold items. They weigh and measure ingredients, retrieve pots and pans, and stir and strain soups and sauces. Food preparation workers may also cut and grind meats, poultry, and seafood in preparation for cooking. They also clean work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, and silverware.
Larger restaurants and food service establishments tend to have varied menus and larger kitchen staffs. Teams of restaurant cooks, sometimes called assistant or line cooks, each work an assigned station that is equipped with the types of stoves, grills, pans, and ingredients needed for the foods prepared at that station. Job titles often reflect the principal ingredient prepared or the type of cooking performed—vegetable cook, fry cook, or grill cook, for example. Chefs, head cooks, or food preparation and serving supervisors generally direct the work of cooks and food preparation workers.
The number, type, and responsibilities of cooks vary depending on where they work, the size of the facility, and the complexity and level of service offered. Institution and cafeteria cooks, for example, work in the kitchens of schools, cafeterias, businesses, hospitals, and other institutions. For each meal, they prepare a large quantity of a limited number of entrees, vegetables, and desserts according to preset menus. Meals are generally prepared in advance so diners seldom get the opportunity to special order a meal. Restaurant cooks usually prepare a wider selection of dishes, cooking most orders individually. Short-order cooks prepare foods in restaurants and coffee shops that emphasize fast service and quick food preparation. They grill and garnish hamburgers, prepare sandwiches, fry eggs, and cook French fries, often working on several orders at the same time. 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.
Many restaurant and institutional kitchens have modern equipment, convenient work areas, and air conditioning, but kitchens in older and smaller eating places are often not as well designed. Kitchen staffs invariably work in small quarters against hot stoves and ovens. They are under constant pressure to prepare meals quickly, while ensuring quality is maintained and safety and sanitation guidelines are observed. Because the pace can be hectic during peak dining times, workers must be able to communicate clearly so that food orders are completed correctly.
Working conditions vary with the type and quantity of food prepared and the local laws governing food service operations. Workers usually must stand for hours at a time, lifting heavy pots and kettles, and working near hot ovens and grills. The incidence of reported injuries for institution and cafeteria cooks, restaurant cooks, and food preparation workers was comparatively high compared to all occupations, but job hazards, such as falls, cuts, and burns, are seldom serious.
Work hours in restaurants may include early mornings, late evenings, holidays, and weekends. Work schedules of cooks and food preparation workers in factory and school cafeterias may be more regular. In 2008, 31 percent of cooks and almost half of food preparation workers had part-time schedules, compared to 16 percent of workers throughout the economy. Work schedules in fine-dining restaurants, however, tend to be longer because of the time required to prepare ingredients in advance.
The wide range in dining hours and the need for fully-staffed kitchens during all open hours creates work opportunities for students, youth, and other individuals seeking supplemental income, flexible work hours, or variable schedules. Sixteen percent of cooks and food preparation workers were 16 to 19 years old in 2008 and another 18 percent were aged 20 to 24. Kitchen workers employed by schools may work during the school year only, usually for 9 or 10 months. Similarly, resort establishments usually only offer seasonal employment.
| 1. | Clean and inspect galley equipment, kitchen appliances, and work areas to ensure cleanliness and functional operation. |
| 2. | Apportion and serve food to facility residents, employees, or patrons. |
| 3. | Cook foodstuffs according to menus, special dietary or nutritional restrictions, or numbers of portions to be served. |
| 4. | Clean, cut, and cook meat, fish, or poultry. |
| 5. | Monitor use of government food commodities to ensure that proper procedures are followed. |
| 6. | Wash pots, pans, dishes, utensils, and other cooking equipment. |
| 7. | Compile and maintain records of food use and expenditures. |
| 8. | Direct activities of one or more workers who assist in preparing and serving meals. |
| 9. | Bake breads, rolls, and other pastries. |
| 10. | Train new employees. |
| 11. | Take inventory of supplies and equipment. |
| 12. | Monitor menus and spending to ensure that meals are prepared economically. |
| 13. | Plan menus that are varied, nutritionally balanced, and appetizing, taking advantage of foods in season and local availability. |
| 14. | Requisition food supplies, kitchen equipment, and appliances, based on estimates of future needs. |
| 15. | Determine meal prices, based on calculations of ingredient prices. |
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