# Cooks, 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.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/cooks-restaurant
- SOC code: 35-2014.00
- Career family: Food service
- Median annual pay: $37,390 (10th percentile $28,700, 90th percentile $47,900)
- Projected growth: Much faster than average, +12.1%
- Openings a year: 218,600
- Typical entry education: No formal credential
- Bright outlook: yes
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code RCE)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 77 |
| Investigative (I) | 9 |
| Artistic (A) | 28 |
| Social (S) | 31 |
| Enterprising (E) | 45 |
| Conventional (C) | 47 |

## What you'd do

- Handling and Moving Objects (importance 63/100)
- Performing General Physical Activities (importance 56/100)
- Getting Information (importance 51/100)
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings (importance 51/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 50/100)
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work (importance 48/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 47/100)
- Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People (importance 47/100)
- Training and Teaching Others (importance 46/100)
- Processing Information (importance 46/100)

## Skills

Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Speaking, Time Management, Active Listening, Active Learning, Reading Comprehension, Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making, Operations Monitoring

## Knowledge

Food Production, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Production and Processing, Education and Training, Mathematics, Administration and Management, Sales and Marketing, Mechanical, Chemistry

## Also called

Back Line Cook, Banquet Cook, Breakfast Cook, Broiler Cook, Cook, Foreign Food Specialty Cook, Fry Cook, Grill Cook, Hotel Cook, Larder Cook

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Culinary Arts and Related Services](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1205) (CIP 1205, 510 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Culinary Institute of America-New York](https://www.collegesref.com/college/culinary-institute-of-america-new-york-729) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | $48,130 | $61,944 | $22,875 |
| [Johnson & Wales University-Providence](https://www.collegesref.com/college/johnson-wales-university-providence-1346) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | $45,406 | $55,056 | $27,000 |
| [SUNY College of Technology at Delhi](https://www.collegesref.com/college/suny-college-of-technology-at-delhi-2651) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | $37,680 | $51,716 | $22,199 |
| [Drexel University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/drexel-university-834) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | not reported | $48,094 | not reported |
| [Walnut Hill College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/walnut-hill-college-3154) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | $37,008 | $47,308 | $27,000 |
| [Nicholls State University-Louisiana](https://www.collegesref.com/college/nicholls-state-university-louisiana-1873) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | $32,721 | $46,969 | $24,750 |

## Related careers

- [Cooks, Short Order](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/cooks-short-order): $35,880 median pay
- [Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/cooks-institution-and-cafeteria): $37,450 median pay
- [Food Preparation Workers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/food-preparation-workers): $35,320 median pay
- [Bakers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/bakers): $37,160 median pay
- [Cooks, Fast Food](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/cooks-fast-food): $30,890 median pay
- [Butchers and Meat Cutters](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/butchers-and-meat-cutters): $40,140 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.