How to become a food cooking machine operators and tender

Operate or tend cooking equipment, such as steam cooking vats, deep fry cookers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers, to prepare food products.

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 food cooking machine operators and tenders do

• Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications.
• Collect and examine product samples during production to test them for quality, color, content, consistency, viscosity, acidity, or specific gravity.
• Pour, dump, or load prescribed quantities of ingredients or products into cooking equipment, manually or using a hoist.
• Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.
• Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.
• Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers.

Skills that matter most

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

Is food cooking machine operators and tender a good career?

On the numbers, this job is close to the average across occupations. Median pay is 18% 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 $51,100
• Utah $48,620
• Massachusetts $47,960
• Iowa $47,900
• Michigan $47,260

Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders 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.