Food Service35-1011.00Specialization

Chefs and Head Cooks

Direct and may participate in the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, fish, meats, vegetables, desserts, or other foods. May plan and price menu items, order supplies, and keep records and accounts.

$58,920

Median Pay

2 to 4 years

Training

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Food Service Supervisors

Career Overview Video

AI Impact Assessment

AI Resilience Score

Score 4/6: growing job demand means AI will assist but humans remain essential

🟡AI-Augmented

How we calculated this:

AI Exposure

Medium+1

26% of tasks can be accelerated by AI

Job Growth

Growing+2

+7% projected (2024-2034)

Human Advantage

Moderate+1

EPOCH score: 14/25

Total Score4/6

Methodology: v2.0 - GPTs are GPTs / BLS / EPOCH Additive ScoringUpdated: 2026-01-09

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Key Responsibilities

Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations.
Instruct cooks or other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, or presentation of food.
Supervise or coordinate activities of cooks or workers engaged in food preparation.
Order or requisition food or other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation.
Inspect supplies, equipment, or work areas to ensure conformance to established standards.
Check the quantity and quality of received products.
Check the quality of raw or cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients.
Coordinate planning, budgeting, or purchasing for all the food operations within establishments such as clubs, hotels, or restaurant chains.
Analyze recipes to assign prices to menu items, based on food, labor, and overhead costs.

Education & Training

Typical Entry Education

Associate's degree

Time to Job Ready

1-3 years

Based on Job Zone 3. For formal education duration only, see education_duration.

Technology Skills

Recipe management softwarePOS systemsInventory managementMicrosoft OfficeScheduling tools

Key Abilities

Oral ExpressionProblem SensitivityOral ComprehensionInformation OrderingDeductive ReasoningSpeech ClarityInductive ReasoningNear VisionSpeech RecognitionWritten Comprehension

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Compensation Details

$36,040

10th Percentile

$58,920

Median

$93,900

90th Percentile

Based on 172,370 employed workers

Also Known As

BakerBanquet ChefBread and Pastry BakerCake FrosterCake IcerCake MakerCake MixerCertified Executive Chef (CEC)ChefChef de Cuisine

Data from O*NET 30.1 and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics

O*NET Code: 35-1011.00