Restaurant Cooks
On the Job
Restaurant Cooks prepare dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts. They may order supplies, keep records, plan menus, and price items on menus.
Physical Demands 
This career requires time standing, walking, or running.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Assess equipment functioning.
- Check quality of foods or supplies.
- Inspect facilities, equipment or supplies to ensure conformance to standards.
- Arrange food for serving.
- Assist chefs or caterers with food or drink preparation.
- Cook foods.
- Cut cooked or raw foods.
- Prepare breads or doughs.
- Prepare foods for cooking or serving.
- Determine prices for menu items.
Typical Working Conditions
- Standing.
- Working with a group or team.
- Close physical proximity with other people.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- Having face-to-face discussions.
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.
- Working in very hot or cold temperatures.
- Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings.
- Responsibility for others' health and safety.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
