How to become a cook, restaurant

Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.

Steps to get there

Most employers expect usually requires a high school diploma or ged, though some occupations may not..Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

What cooks, restaurant do

• Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.
• Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods.
• Observe and test foods to determine if they have been cooked sufficiently, using methods such as tasting, smelling, or piercing them with utensils.
• Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
• 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.

Skills that matter most

• Speaking
• Critical Thinking
• Monitoring
• Active Listening
• Reading Comprehension
• Active Learning
• Writing
• Mathematics

Is cook, restaurant a good career?

On the numbers, this job is close to the average across occupations. Median pay is 27% below the all-occupation median. Whether it fits you depends on the work itself, the schooling you are willing to do and where you want to live.

Where it pays most

• Washington $46,800
• District of Columbia $46,130
• Massachusetts $45,600
• Hawaii $45,420
• Vermont $45,390

Cooks, Restaurant salary by state and city

Sources: O*NET® 31.0 (CC BY 4.0, USDOL/ETA) and BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025.