Cooks, short order

Pay

Getting in

Typical entry education

No formal educational credential

On-the-job training

Short-term on-the-job training

Prior experience

None

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What the work is like

Core tasks

• Clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables.
• Restock kitchen supplies, rotate food, and stamp the time and date on food in coolers.
• Complete orders from steam tables, placing food on plates and serving customers at tables or counters.
• Plan work on orders so that items served together are finished at the same time.
• Grill, cook, and fry foods such as french fries, eggs, and pancakes.
• Perform food preparation tasks, such as making sandwiches, carving meats, making soups or salads, baking breads or desserts, and brewing coffee or tea.
• Perform general cleaning activities in kitchen and dining areas.
• Take orders from customers and cook foods requiring short preparation times, according to customer requirements.

Also called: Broiler Cook · Cook · Deli Cook (Delicatessen Cook) · Food and Beverage Attendant · Grill Cook · Line Cook · Pizza Maker · Prep Cook (Preparation Cook)

Outlook and AI

Cooks, short order held 138,700 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 131,500 by 2035 (−5%, declining; all jobs: +3.5%).

Compare with

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