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Overview
This occupation is about food preparation, cooking and kitchen hygiene, with work such as preparing raw ingredients, cooking dishes, planning menus, controlling portions and keeping food areas safe.
In job descriptions, look for kitchen type, meal volume, service times, food categories and hygiene duties.
Explore this occupation
Open in Job ExplorerWhat the work can involve
Cook work happens around preparation, heat, timing and hygiene. A shift may move from receiving ingredients and storing chilled food to cutting vegetables, preparing fish or meat, cooking sauces and sending consistent plates out during service.
Skills and specializations
Key skills are food safety, kitchen hygiene, ingredient storage, knife work, portion control and timing. Some cook roles emphasize sauces, seafood, vegetables, bakery products, special diets or stock ordering.
Salary context
Salary context depends on meal volume, shift pattern, special diets, ordering duties and responsibility for a kitchen section. This guide does not provide salary amounts or current labour-market statistics.
Career paths
Career paths can develop from preparation work into senior cook roles, menu planning, stock control or food production coordination. Progress usually comes from taking on more complex tasks and clearer responsibility for quality or coordination.
Good to know
When reading vacancies, check kitchen type, meal volume, service times, food categories and hygiene duties. Also check what must be documented, who reviews the work and where responsibility starts or ends.
Editorial note
This guide is editorial career context. It is not official labour-market statistics or role-specific salary data.
Map overview
Click the map to search for cook jobs.
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O*NET relationships
See occupations connected to this ESCO occupation in the official O*NET–ESCO mapping. The relationship type comes from the source and is not a ranking or recommendation.
O*NET relationships: 6
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
35-2012.00
O*NET occupation is more specific
The O*NET occupation covers a more specific field of work than this ESCO occupation.
Open in O*NETChefs and Head Cooks
35-1011.00
O*NET occupation is broader
The O*NET occupation covers a broader field of work than this ESCO occupation.
Open in O*NETCooks, Private Household
35-2013.00
O*NET occupation is more specific
The O*NET occupation covers a more specific field of work than this ESCO occupation.
Open in O*NETCooks, Fast Food
35-2011.00
O*NET occupation is more specific
The O*NET occupation covers a more specific field of work than this ESCO occupation.
Open in O*NETCooks, Restaurant
35-2014.00
O*NET occupation is more specific
The O*NET occupation covers a more specific field of work than this ESCO occupation.
Open in O*NETCooks, Short Order
35-2015.00
O*NET occupation is more specific
The O*NET occupation covers a more specific field of work than this ESCO occupation.
Open in O*NETSource and method
These relationships come from the official European Commission O*NET–ESCO crosswalk.
Relationship direction: O*NET occupation to ESCO occupation.
Several O*NET occupations can point to the same ESCO occupation, and one O*NET occupation can point to several ESCO occupations.
AltoTrail preserves the source relationship type. The order is technical and does not show which occupation is best, most relevant or recommended.
AltoTrail validates and presents the source relationships without adding ranking or recommendation semantics.
Alternative labels
grill cook
roast cook
under chief of the kitchen
sauté cook
chief of the kitchen
food keeper
fry cook
culinary operative
deputy kitchen chef
second kitchen chef
apprentice
vegetable cook
communard
senior chef
food cook
chief of the group
fish cook
saucemaker
soup cook
junior cook
pantry supervisor
entrée preparer
kitchen chef
Occupation group
Cooks (5120)
Source facts
| ESCO URI | http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/90f75f67-495d-49fa-ab57-2f320e251d7e |
|---|---|
| ESCO code | 5120.1 |
| ISCO group | 5120 |
| Concept type | Occupation |