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.
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.
Line Cook
Salary range: $31,500 - $39,500
A line cook is a restaurant staff member who works in the kitchen, usually working a particular station on the line during service. As a line cook, your responsibilities and duties may include setting your station mise en place, firing food to order, and plating food. Line cooks work at a station, for example, the grill or fryer, but they are cross-trained to work any position in the kitchen. Your job is to work as a team with the entire kitchen staff to prepare meals that are consistently high in quality and delivered rapidly to the front of the house.
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.
Short Order Cook
Salary range: $29,500 - $38,000
Short Order Cook is a typical job search query Most salaries for Short Order Cook jobs pay between $29,500 (25th percentile) and $38,000 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for Short Order Cook job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.
Entry Level Cook
Salary range: $28,000 - $37,500
Entry Level Cook is a common job search query. Most salaries for Entry Level Cook jobs pay between $28,000 (25th percentile) and $37,500 (75th percentile) annually. Currently, there are not many open positions nationwide for Entry Level Cook job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter. You can take a look at what is available and find similar job searches in this list.
No Experience Cook
Salary range: $28,000 - $37,500
No Experience Cook is a typical job search query Most salaries for No Experience Cook jobs pay between $28,000 (25th percentile) and $37,500 (75th percentile) annually. You’ll find many open positions nationwide for No Experience Cook job searches hiring now on ZipRecruiter.
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.
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.
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.

All Jobs Kitchen Cook Jobs 10 of the Most Popular Types of Kitchen Cook Jobs in 2026