What does a School Cafeteria Cook do?
School cafeteria cook responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real school cafeteria cook resumes:
- Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
- Ensure customers convenience are met/exceed by accommodating and notifying customers of ingredients that may trigger food allergies or intolerance.
- Manage inventory and purchasing of groceries.
School cafeteria cook skills and personality traits
We calculated that 54% of School Cafeteria Cooks are proficient in Food Handling, Kitchen Equipment, and Safety Standards. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Sense of taste and smell, and Business skills.
We break down the percentage of School Cafeteria Cooks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Food Handling, 54%
Followed sate issued guidelines for food handling proficiently.
- Kitchen Equipment, 20%
Utilized computer software specific to nutrition analysis, menu planning, scheduled maintenance and repairs for kitchen equipment.
- Safety Standards, 10%
Maintained high food quality through recipe adherence, accurate production planning, ensuring proper sanitation/safety standards and service production time standards.
- CPR, 8%
Earned first aid, CPR, and AED certification.
- HACCP, 4%
Maintained HACCP sanitation standards, recognized trouble areas and responded accordingly.
- Customer Service, 3%
Maintained customer satisfaction by receiving and handling customer complaints and issues by providing customer service and professionalism at all times.
Common skills that a school cafeteria cook uses to do their job include "food handling," "kitchen equipment," and "safety standards." You can find details on the most important school cafeteria cook responsibilities below.
Dexterity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a school cafeteria cook to have is dexterity. Their role and responsibilities require that "cooks should have excellent hand–eye coordination." School cafeteria cooks often use dexterity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "wash hands, sanitize work area, cook meals according to specified menu.prepare and maintained accurate records of food inventory. "
Sense of taste and smell. Many school cafeteria cook duties rely on sense of taste and smell. "cooks must have a keen sense of taste and smell to prepare meals that customers enjoy.," so a school cafeteria cook will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways school cafeteria cook responsibilities rely on sense of taste and smell: "set up workstations with all needed ingredients and cooking equipment. "
The three companies that hire the most school cafeteria cooks are:
- AAramark31 school cafeteria cooks jobs
- LLearning Care Group20 school cafeteria cooks jobs
- SThe SOS Group
18 school cafeteria cooks jobs
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Compare different school cafeteria cooks
School cafeteria cook vs. Cook chill technician
A cook/dietary aide is an individual who works along with the dietary managers, cooks, and dieticians. Dietary aides prepare meals, beverages, and snacks. They set up tables or dining areas with proper order and cleanliness. They serve meals and make sure that the hygiene and safety protocols for food are followed all the time. The skills significant for this job include attention to detail, strong communication skills, excellent customer service, and knowledge in food preparation and its safety protocols.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, school cafeteria cook responsibilities require skills like "food handling," "safety standards," "cpr," and "customer service." Meanwhile a typical cook chill technician has skills in areas such as "cooling towers," "fryers," "chill," and "culinary." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, cook chill technicians reach similar levels of education than school cafeteria cooks. Cook chill technicians are 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.School cafeteria cook vs. Cook/dietary aide
Cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. They must be knowledgeable about the different recipes and ingredients needed. They are also responsible for managing the inventory and ensuring that the pantry is well-stocked. They prepare meals from scratch, cutting ingredients, measuring them, and following recipes. Cooks should be creative, especially when ingredients are lacking, and they must find alternatives that will not compromise the food taste. They should be precise, imaginative, and patient. Cooks should also have good time management skills and decision-making skills.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that school cafeteria cook responsibilities requires skills like "cpr," "haccp," "kids," and "hot food." But a cook/dietary aide might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "meal service," "patients," "food service," and "diet orders."
On average, cook/dietary aides earn a lower salary than school cafeteria cooks. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, cook/dietary aides earn the most pay in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $29,467. Whereas school cafeteria cooks have higher pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $33,836.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Cook/dietary aides tend to reach similar levels of education than school cafeteria cooks. In fact, they're 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.School cafeteria cook vs. Cook/baker
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from school cafeteria cook resumes include skills like "cpr," "customer service," "kids," and "cooking meals," whereas a cook/baker is more likely to list skills in "food service," "patients," "cleanliness," and "math. "
Cook/bakers earn the best pay in the hospitality industry, where they command an average salary of $32,857. School cafeteria cooks earn the highest pay from the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $33,836.When it comes to education, cook/bakers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to school cafeteria cooks. In fact, they're 1.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.School cafeteria cook vs. Cook
Types of school cafeteria cook
Updated January 8, 2025
