10 of the Most Popular Types of Entry Level Kitchen Jobs in 2026

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Top Types Of Entry Level Kitchen Jobs

• Kitchen

  Salary range: $28,000 - $34,500

  Kitchen is a popular job search query. Most salaries for Kitchen jobs pay between $28,000 (25th percentile) and $34,500 (75th percentile) annually. Take a look at the variety of open positions nationwide for Kitchen job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter.

• Kitchen Helper

  Salary range: $29,000 - $33,500

  As a kitchen helper, you perform a variety of duties in a restaurant, cafe, or large commercial kitchen. You use food service skills to assist chefs, wait staff, and restaurant managers with a variety of tasks to keep the kitchen functioning smoothly and safely. Although there are no formal qualifications required for this career, you typically have some form of previous restaurant work experience, such as dishwashing or bussing tables. You do not interact directly with customers, although your job may be near customer areas. Kitchen helpers must be detail oriented and capable of multi-tasking in a fast-paced environment.

• Chef

  Salary range: $35,000 - $64,500

  A chef is a highly trained culinary professional who works as the chief cook in the kitchen of a restaurant. Many chefs earn a culinary degree and are formally trained by another accomplished chef, making them very skilled and competent in their craft. A chef spends a majority of their time in the kitchen cooking and directing other food preparers on the best ways to put together dishes, including appropriate garnish and presentation. Chefs are creative professionals, and are often involved in planning and making menus for the restaurant. Because chefs work as the head cooks in the kitchen, they are the supervisors of the other kitchen workers. In addition to overseeing food preparation, chefs coach and develop the other kitchen staff and help them grow and improve their skills. They are responsible for managing the logistics of the kitchen operations. They order necessary supplies, provide cost estimates to their employer, and monitor staff requirements and schedules.

• Test Kitchen

  Salary range: $42,000 - $59,500

  Test kitchen jobs focus on the preparation and use of ingredients, particularly when trying to create a new recipe for others to follow. These positions typically involve a significant amount of culinary expertise, and you may be asked to taste and cook a wide variety of new or unfamiliar foods. Many test kitchen jobs have additional requirements based on the needs of the company. For example, test kitchens for chain restaurants need to set up a supply chain for every ingredient, so there may be limits on the types of ingredients available. Other restaurants may work with less skilled chefs, so the recipes must be written to accommodate these skill levels. Balancing the creation of good food with operational limitations is one of the most important aspects of a test kitchen job.

• Entry Level Chef

  Salary range: $35,000 - $64,500

  Entry Level Chef is a common job search query. Most salaries for Entry Level Chef jobs pay between $35,000 (25th percentile) and $64,500 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for Entry Level Chef job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.

• Prep Cook

  Salary range: $28,500 - $36,000

  A prep cook works in a restaurant or private kitchen, preparing ingredients for other chefs to cook. As a prep cook, your responsibilities center on simplifying the cooking process for everyone in the kitchen. Your duties include cleaning, peeling, chopping, cutting, slicing, and dicing vegetables, fruits, meats, cheeses, and other food. You are also responsible for maintaining health and safety standards in the kitchen, which is a responsibility of everyone on the staff. You need excellent knife skills to safely and quickly prepare food, and you need communication skills to follow instructions and collaborate with your coworkers. Experience working in a kitchen is helpful when you look for jobs as a prep cook, but a prep cook can sometimes be considered to be an entry-level position.

• Cook

  Salary range: $28,000 - $37,500

  A Cook—also called a Chef—is ultimately responsible for preparing the food that is served in restaurants or other dining establishments. As the head of the kitchen, Cooks also supervise other work and oversee the kitchen to ensure it all runs smoothly. In some restaurants, Cooks are responsible for creating recipes and menus, planning events, ensuring that food and kitchen regulations are followed, and sticking to a restaurant budget. There are different levels of this position that you can earn, meaning that there can be a wide range to all the potential possibilities and responsibilities of a daily Cook. For example, there’s the Head Chef who runs the kitchen while the other Cooks are responsible for specific types of food.

• No Experience Chef

  Salary range: $35,000 - $64,500

  No Experience Chef is a typical job search query Most salaries for No Experience Chef jobs pay between $35,000 (25th percentile) and $64,500 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for No Experience Chef job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.

• Am Prep Cook

  Salary range: $28,500 - $36,000

  Am Prep Cook is a typical job search query Most salaries for Am Prep Cook jobs pay between $28,500 (25th percentile) and $36,000 (75th percentile) annually. Take a look at the variety of open positions nationwide for Am Prep Cook job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter.

• Seasonal Chef

  Salary range: $35,000 - $64,500

  Seasonal Chef is a common job search query. Most salaries for Seasonal Chef jobs pay between $35,000 (25th percentile) and $64,500 (75th percentile) annually. Take a look at the variety of open positions nationwide for Seasonal Chef job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter.