Duties and Responsibilities of a Line Cook

The duties and responsibilities of a line cook are directly proportionate to the size of the establishment that they are working in.

A large busy restaurant would have various sections in the kitchen with a few line cooks and some staff under them, while other smaller establishment would have line cooks working their particular section alone.

The duties with respect to their positions would vary. Given below are a few common duties that a line cook would have to perform in their line of work.

• Station Settings: The first duty of a line cook is to set up his station whether it be sauté, fry or any other by bring all the ingredients necessary for the dishes as well as all the equipment which would be required for the various functions of cooking.
• Prepare Ingredients for Service: The next thing that he does is prepare all the items that he would require such as cut the vegetables, make the sauces, butchering meat etc. They may be required to prepare items for other stations or for special occasions.
• Coordination: A line cook will have to keep in mind that they are preparing the meal of a table in unison with the other line cooks to ensure that everything gets finished simultaneously and at the same time. Accuracy, presentation, cleanliness, and timing are the key factors to determine a successful line cook.
• Station Cleanliness: After the service time is over for the day a line cook has to ensure that their station are spic and span and that all the unused items are wrapped and put in the proper containers and  stored in the walk-in or lowboy refrigerators. They have to check that all the equipment on their watch have been shut for the night.
• Other Duties: Sometimes a line cook might be asked to perform other duties such as cleaning the kitchen and its equipment, organize produce delivery, train a new cook, and complete the night time inventory.

Education needed for a line cook

Not much of education is required to be a line cook, sometimes not even a high school diploma. Line cooks learn on the job and they start with learning about safety, sanitation and food preparation. They learn the job at one station and after mastering it they might get experience at another station and in that way they can make their way through the entire kitchen. But education can give them better opportunities.

• Enrol in high school co-op programs.
• These programs conduct classes in food preparation and about restaurant business and then work part-time at participating restaurants.
• This is good way by which a person can ease into the restaurant business but only a few schools offer this kind of program.
• If a line cook wants to advance to becoming a chef then he must join a culinary school.
• With a two year or four year college with a degree in hospitality.

What are the certification and licensure requirement to become a line cook?

There is no requirement for a license to work as a line cook. Line cooks who want to advance in their careers and become chefs or go further can obtain degrees in culinary arts and cooking from top colleges in hotel management.

Skill and Ability needed by a Line Cook

• Must have the desire to cook and being creative in the culinary art.
• Must have a keen sense of taste and smell.
• Personal cleanliness is important as most states require that workers are free from any communicable disease.
• To manage a small staff the line cook has to have good people skills along with communication skills.
• Must have a cool head and be ready to work calmly and effectively under pressure without losing their head.
• Must be able to take directions as well as work with a team.
• Must be self motivated and should be organised and have problem solving skills.
• Must be clean and tidy and must have a commitment to quality service.
• Must be able to read, speak and understand basic cooking directions.
• Must have the strength to stand for long periods of time and be able to work in occasional cold, heat and water environments.
• Must have the strength to carry weights of up to 50lb.
• Must have the ability to multitask i.e. be able to prepare more than one dish at a time.

What is the salary or remuneration that a line cook receives?

Line cooks gets better at their craft when they have some years of experience behind them.

The salary is also incremental to the years of experience that they have.

The other factors that influence the salary of a line cook are the industry that they work in, what type of employer hires them, the city that they work in amongst others.

A few of the factors that have an impact on their salary have been enumerated below.

Years of Experience

• Experience of less than one year the salary range is between $ 14,752 and $ 30,521 and the hourly wage range is between $ 7.21 and $ 11.12.
• Experience between one to four years the salary range is between $ 14.786 and $ 39,732 and the hourly wage range is between $ 7.89 and $ 12.07.
• Experience between five to nine years the salary range is between $ 18,865 and $ 38,612 and an hourly wage range is between $ 8.59 and $ 13.77.
• Experience between ten to nineteen years the salary range is between $ 17,330 and $ 42,500 and an hourly wage range is between $ 9.00 and $ 14.63.
• Experience of more than twenty years the salary range is between $ 21,225 and $ 30,521 and an hourly wage range is between 8.55 and 14.47.

Industry

• A line cook working in a restaurant(s) gets an annual salary range between $ 19,515 and $ 34,030and an hourly wage rate between $ and $.
• A line cook working in food service gets an annual salary range between $ 12,798 and $ 40,048 and an hourly wage rate between $ 8.10 and $ 12.72.
• A line cook working in a hotel and hospitality management gets an annual salary range between $ 21,815 and $ 37,532 and an hourly wage rate between $ 9.02and $ 15.10.
• A line cook working in a bar or restaurant or nightclub gets an annual salary range between $ 26,400 and $ 35,159 and an hourly wage rate between $ 7.94 and $ 13.03.

Employer Type

• A line cook working for a company gets an annual salary range between $ 16,442 and $ 39,342 and an hourly wage rate between $ 8.29 and $ 13.52.
• A line cook working for a franchise gets an annual salary range between $ 13,602and $ 38,783 and an hourly wage rate between $ 7.91 and $ 12.26.
• A line cook working for other organization gets an annual salary range between $ 12,255 and $ 52,851and an hourly wage rate between $ 8.03 and $ 13.69.
• A line cook working for a private practice or firm gets an annual salary range between $ 24,960 and $ 35,520 and an hourly wage rate between $ 7.71 and $ 13.79.
• A line cook who is self-employed gets an annual salary range between $ 21,618 and $ 30,283 and an hourly wage rate between $ 7.61 and $ 12.35.

City

• A line cook working in New York, New York gets an annual salary range between $ 19,392 and $ 49,833 and an hourly wage rate between $ 8.48 and $ 16.41.
• A line cook working in Boston, Massachusetts gets an annual salary range between $ 23,583 and $ 36,530.
• A line cook working in Minneapolis, Minnesota gets an annual salary range between $ 19,592 and $ 30,750.
• A line cook working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania gets an annual salary range between $ 20,180 and $ 42,500.
• A line cook working in Orlando, Florida gets an annual salary range between $ 20,400 and $ 35,668 and an hourly wage rate between $ 8.85 and $ 13.15.

In the profession of a line cook there are more males than females and their percentile ratio is females 19% to males 81%. The average annual salary of a female line cook is between the range of $ 14,400 and $ 50,000. Their male counterparts received an average annual salary between the range of $ 16,442 and $ 39,445.

They also get the usual benefits and perks such as 401(k), paid sick leave, paid holidays or vacations, life insurance/disability, etc. 30% of them said that they got medical benefits, 23% said that they received dental benefits, 16% said that they received benefits towards vision while a greater part of them i.e. 68% said that they do not receive any common health benefits.

About Line Cooks

When a waiter hands in an order the term used to get ready for cooking it is known as “fire.” The frontline of the kitchen staff that prepares or fires the food are called line cooks. This cooks preparing the food may be two or three or even four depending on the size of the establishment or menu. A line cook or as they are also known as chef de partie or station cook supervises a particular area of the kitchen, instead of the whole kitchen. In large kitchens a line cook might have several cooks and assistants under them. In most kitchens though, they are the only workers for that particular section. They are identified by the particular type of cooking that they handle and could be known as sauté chef, fish chef, roast chef, grill chef, fry chef, vegetable chef, roundsman, butcher, pantry chef, pastry chef, etc. The kitchen itself could be divided into sauté section, a broiler, a grill, a salamander, deep fryer, cold reach-ins or drawers and hot water wells. Everything that comes out of the specific area of the kitchen is the responsibility of the line cook and the job could have extremely high pressure especially if the kitchen is a busy one.

A line cook may work alone in their section or they oversee a small staff. A line cook has to coordinate with the other parts of the kitchen so that the food which is prepared comes out timely and simultaneously. During the peak hours a line cook would have to work on a variety of dishes simultaneously, often having to fulfil complex requests. A line cook reports either to the sous-chef (under chef of the kitchen) or the executive or head chef or as they are called in French as chef de cuisine.