How much does a cooks, institution and cafeteria make?

The median cooks, institution and cafeteria salary in the United States is $37,450 per year ($18.01/hour). Salaries range from $28,480 (10th percentile) to $49,670 (90th percentile). There are 441,050 cooks, institution and cafeteria jobs in the U.S. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS.

Which state pays cooks, institution and cafeterias the most?

The highest paying state for cooks, institution and cafeterias is Washington at $49,670 median salary.

Is cooks, institution and cafeteria a good career?

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria employment is projected to grow 2% from 2024 to 2034 (as fast as average). There are approximately 69,700 job openings per year. Typical education required: No formal educational credential.

What interview questions are asked for cooks, institution and cafeteria roles?

Common cooks, institution and cafeteria interview questions include: "Walk me through how you'd produce 800 lunches for a school cafeteria on a normal weekday.", "A patient tray comes back with the wrong meal — the diet card says renal, low-sodium, but the tray has ham. Walk me through what you do.", "How do you hit a $1.30 per-plate food cost target on a K-12 lunch under the National School Lunch Program?". Interview format at top employers ranges from behavioral panels (STAR method) to technical case rounds — for example Aramark typically uses 3-4 rounds over 2-3 weeks.

What is the career ladder for cooks, institution and cafeterias?

The typical cooks, institution and cafeteria career ladder: Prep Cook / Line Cook (0-2 yrs, $28,480-$34,000 ($14-17/hr)) → Lead Cook / Production Cook (2-5 yrs, $36,000-$44,000 ($18-22/hr) — often with $1-2/hr shift differential) → Sous Chef / Shift Supervisor (5-9 yrs, $42,000-$52,000 salaried) → Executive Chef / Kitchen Manager (single account) (8-15 yrs, $49,670-$65,000 salaried plus 5-12% bonus + benefits).

What certifications should cooks, institution and cafeterias get?

Top-ROI certifications for cooks, institution and cafeterias: ServSafe Manager (National Restaurant Association) ($180 exam + $100-150 prep material); ServSafe Allergens ($25-30 online); HACCP certification (International HACCP Alliance) ($150-300 online; $500-800 in-person).

How do you negotiate a cooks, institution and cafeteria salary?

Anchor on documented market data (BLS median $37,450, p75 $44,800), specific outcomes you've delivered, and the specific band for your years of experience. I appreciate the offer. Given 6 years running an Aramark K-12 hot line, ServSafe Manager plus HACCP certification, and a track record of $1.28 per-plate food cost against a $1.35 target with zero health-department findi...

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria Salary

The median cooks, institution and cafeteria salary in the United States is $37,450 per year ($18.01/hour). Salaries range from $28,480 at the entry level to $49,670+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 441,050 cooks, institution and cafeteria jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 2% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 · Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary

$37,450

per year

Hourly Rate

$18.01

per hour

Employment

441,050

jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile

$28,480

25th percentile

$32,440

Median

$37,450

75th percentile

$44,800

90th percentile

$49,670

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+2%

As fast as average

Annual Openings

69,700

jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

No formal educational credential

Training Needed

Short-term on-the-job training

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for cooks, institution and cafeterias.

Institution and cafeteria cooks produce high-volume meals for schools, hospitals, senior-living communities, prisons, and corporate cafeterias — usually against a fixed menu cycle, tight per-plate cost target, and USDA / state health-code compliance. BLS reports median $37,450 (p10 $28,480, p90 $49,670) across ~441,050 workers. The employer mix is dominated by contract food-service operators (Aramark, Sodexo, Compass Group) plus in-house teams at K–12 districts, HCA hospitals, VA medical centers, and senior-living chains. Entry line cooks earn $14–17/hr; production-line and lead cooks earn $18–24/hr with shift differentials; sous chef / kitchen manager roles at hospital and senior-living accounts push $50–65k plus benefits and pension access on some union or public-sector contracts.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

High-volume batch cooking to a cycle menu

Producing 300–2,000 covers per meal period against a 4- or 6-week rotating cycle menu without deviation. Batch, hold, and reheat safely to protect texture and temperature.

HACCP + ServSafe food-safety compliance

Time / temperature logs, cooling curves (135°F → 70°F in 2 hrs, 70°F → 41°F in 4 hrs), cross-contamination controls, allergen segregation, and daily health-department-ready line checks.

Portion, yield, and food-cost control

Hitting per-plate cost (typically $1.10–2.40 for K–12, $2.80–4.20 for hospitals, $4.50–7.00 for corporate) by scaling recipes, controlling waste, and using standardized portioning tools.

Special-diet and therapeutic-diet execution

Diabetic, cardiac, renal, low-sodium, pureed / mechanical-soft, gluten-free, and allergen-free trays — critical in hospital and senior-living settings where the wrong tray can send a patient back to the ED.

Speed-scratch and heat-and-serve production

Blending scratch cooking (in-house stocks, roasted proteins) with heat-and-serve components (portioned sauces, pre-cooked grains) to hit labor targets — most cafeteria kitchens run 8–14% labor-to-revenue and can't afford full scratch.

Team leadership on a plated line

Running a 3–8 person production line during a 90-minute meal push — expo, stations, dish flow, ticket call — with clear handoffs and no bottleneck at the tray line.

Inventory, ordering, and vendor management

Weekly ordering against pars, receiving invoices from US Foods / Sysco / Gordon Food Service, rotating FIFO, catching short-shipments, and reconciling monthly food cost against budget.

How to Become a Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

1
Finish high school or GED plus food-service basics
No degree is required, but a high school diploma / GED plus ServSafe Food Handler ($15) is the floor for most Aramark, Sodexo, and Compass job reqs. K–12 districts often add a state-specific food-handler card.
2
Take an entry line-cook or prep-cook role
$14–17/hr. School cafeteria, hospital tray line, senior-living kitchen, or corporate B&I account. Learn the cycle menu, HACCP logs, and standardized recipes. Most operators promote from within.
3
Earn ServSafe Manager certification
$180 exam plus prep. Required to be the person-in-charge on shift under FDA Food Code — the credential that unlocks lead cook and shift supervisor roles at almost every operator.
4
Move into a lead cook, production-line cook, or shift supervisor role
$18–24/hr plus shift differentials for early-AM breakfast (3–4 AM starts pay $1–2/hr more) or overnight patient tray line. Own a station, cover the sous chef on days off, and start doing weekly ordering.
5
Advance to sous chef, kitchen manager, or executive chef
$45–65k salaried. Run the kitchen at a single account (a hospital tower, a senior-living community, a corporate cafeteria). Own P&L for food cost, labor cost, and menu compliance. In-house public-sector roles (VA, K–12) trade some pay ceiling for pension and predictable schedules.

Career Progression

Prep Cook / Line Cook

0-2 yrs$28,480-$34,000 ($14-17/hr)

•Prep vegetables, portion proteins, and set up stations against the cycle menu
•Execute a single station (grill, hot line, tray line, or salad) during service
•Log time / temperature readings on cooling, holding, and reheating logs
•Break down and sanitize station per HACCP; hand off to dish and closing crew

Next: Lead Cook / Production Cook at 2-4 years once you can run multiple stations and hold ServSafe.

Lead Cook / Production Cook

2-5 yrs$36,000-$44,000 ($18-22/hr) — often with $1-2/hr shift differential

•Run the hot line or patient tray line during peak service (300-2,000 covers)
•Direct 2-4 line cooks through the meal push; own the expo call
•Scale recipes, adjust for allergens and therapeutic diets, and drive tray-line accuracy
•Cover shift supervisor / sous chef during days off and vacations

Next: Sous Chef / Shift Supervisor at 4-7 years once you're running the kitchen for full shifts.

Sous Chef / Shift Supervisor

5-9 yrs$42,000-$52,000 salaried

•Own the kitchen during your shift — production plan, staffing, quality, safety
•Manage a 6-14 person hourly team; onboard new hires; run daily line-up briefings
•Weekly ordering against pars from US Foods / Sysco / GFS; receive and reconcile invoices
•Own HACCP compliance, daily line checks, and monthly health-department readiness

Next: Executive Chef / Kitchen Manager at 8-12 years once you own the account P&L.

Executive Chef / Kitchen Manager (single account)

8-15 yrs$49,670-$65,000 salaried plus 5-12% bonus + benefits

•Own food cost, labor cost, and menu compliance for a single hospital tower, senior-living community, or corporate cafeteria
•Build the 4- or 6-week cycle menu with the dietitian and client stakeholder
•Manage a 12-40 person team; hire, discipline, coach; own retention and OT
•Present monthly financials to the account's client (hospital F&B director, school FSD, or corporate GM)

Next: District / Multi-Unit Chef Manager or Regional Operations Director at 12-18 years.

District Manager / Multi-Unit Chef Manager

12+ yrs$70,000-$95,000+ salaried plus 10-20% bonus and vehicle allowance

•Oversee 4-12 accounts (schools, hospital towers, or senior-living campuses) in a metro or district
•Coach kitchen managers, run standards audits, and drive food-cost improvement across the district
•Own client retention on multi-year contracts and re-bid decisions
•Represent the operator (Aramark, Sodexo, Compass) at RFP presentations for new accounts

Next: Regional VP of Operations at large operator or F&B Director on the client side (hospital system, university).

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 16 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through how you'd produce 800 lunches for a school cafeteria on a normal weekday.situational

Structure it around the timeline. 5:30 AM — receive and check-in the delivery from US Foods against the invoice, rotate FIFO. 6:00 AM — pull proteins from the walk-in for tempering, start ovens and steam kettles, portion for the day's cycle menu. 7:30 AM — begin batch cooking in staggered pans (say, four 200-count hotel pans of chicken patties, staggered 20 minutes apart so nothing sits over 4 hours before service). 10:15 AM — plate line-check with the kitchen manager, run temps on everything, verify allergen-free tray. 10:45 AM — service opens, run the line, expo the tray for special diets, replenish pans as they hit 40% full. 12:15 PM — service closes, cool leftovers on the 2-hour / 4-hour curve, log everything, break down. Interviewer wants to hear the timeline, the HACCP checkpoints, and the batching logic — not just 'I cook the food.'

Q2. A patient tray comes back with the wrong meal — the diet card says renal, low-sodium, but the tray has ham. Walk me through what you do.situational

First, stop the tray from leaving the line if it's still in the kitchen; if it left, page the tray-line assembler immediately to pull it before delivery to the floor. Notify the RD / clinical dietitian and the charge nurse on the unit right away so they can intercept and confirm the patient didn't eat any of it. Rebuild the correct tray to the diet card — renal-friendly protein (unsalted chicken breast or fish), potassium- and phosphorus-controlled sides, and the correct portion. Complete an internal incident report the same shift. Then root-cause: did the diet-card reader misread it, was the tray-line assembler undertrained, or did the diet office send a stale card? At hospital accounts like HCA and Ascension, tray errors on therapeutic diets are tracked as patient-safety events, so how you handle the incident matters as much as how you avoid the next one.

Q3. How do you hit a $1.30 per-plate food cost target on a K-12 lunch under the National School Lunch Program?technical

Three levers. First, USDA commodity foods — every district gets an allocation, and the cook that uses commodity ground beef, cheese, and grains hits cost. Second, the cycle menu is written for cost — pasta bakes, chili, taco bar, and chicken-and-rice repeat because they cost $0.60-0.90 per plate and let you subsidize a $2.20 grilled chicken day later in the week. Third, portion control — a #12 scoop is 3 fl oz, not 'a scoop,' and hitting portion within +/- 5% is the difference between a $1.30 and a $1.60 average plate. On top of that, you plan A la carte and reimbursable-meal offerings so the free / reduced kids get the full 5-component meal for reimbursement while cash kids fund the fresh items.

Q4. Why institution / cafeteria cooking, not a restaurant?culture

The honest answers hiring managers want to hear: predictable hours (most K-12 and corporate cafeteria roles are 5 AM - 2 PM Monday through Friday with weekends and holidays off; senior-living and hospital roles rotate but never past 8 PM), real benefits (Aramark, Sodexo, Compass, VA, and school districts all offer medical, dental, 401(k) or pension), and the volume is a different kind of craft than plate-by-plate restaurant work. You care about consistent quality at scale, feeding people who depend on you (kids, patients, seniors), and building operations skill you can't build in a la carte kitchens. Avoid saying 'restaurants burned me out' as the only answer — hiring managers screen for people who chose institutional cooking, not people running from something.

Q5. You take over a school kitchen that's failing health inspections. What do you do in the first 30 days?behavioral

Week one, walk the kitchen with the last two health-department reports and the district FSD — identify the recurring violations (usually cooling logs missing, sanitizer buckets under 200 ppm, walk-in temps unlogged, or open dry storage). Week two, install daily line-check discipline — every station lead signs off on temps, sanitizer, hand-wash frequency, and allergen segregation at each shift. Retrain the whole team on ServSafe basics in 2-3 short standup meetings, not a full course; the credentials aren't the gap, the habit is. Week three, calibrate every thermometer, replace any that fail, and audit the walk-in and freezer temp logs against the actual digital readouts. Week four, do a mock health-department inspection with a Sodexo or Aramark district manager and close every finding before the real inspector comes back. This is what an operator like the FSD wants to hear.

Resume Template — Lead Cook / Production Cook (2-5 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Lead Cook / Production Cook (2-5 yrs)

▸Produced 1,200-1,600 lunches daily at a K-12 middle school under Aramark contract; held per-plate food cost at $1.28 against a $1.35 target across the FY24 school year.
▸Ran hospital hot line at a 240-bed HCA facility during peak breakfast (450 patient trays + cafeteria service) with zero therapeutic-diet errors across 18 months.
▸ServSafe Manager certified, state food-handler card, HACCP-trained. Closed 100% of health-department findings within 5 business days across 3 consecutive annual inspections.
▸$21.40/hr + $1.50 early-AM shift differential + full medical, dental, 401(k). Employee of the Quarter Q2 FY24.

What Gets You Rejected

✗Cannot cite ServSafe Manager certification or a state equivalent — operators need at least one certified person-in-charge on every shift.
✗Talks about scratch-cooking philosophy without addressing per-plate food cost or labor-to-revenue targets.
✗No experience with therapeutic / allergen / religious-diet trays — a dealbreaker for hospital and senior-living roles.
✗Weak on HACCP logs and cooling curves — cannot describe the 2-hour / 4-hour rule or holding temps from memory.
✗History of walking off shift or no-call / no-show — cafeteria and hospital operators can't backfill a lead cook on 2 hours' notice.

Salary Negotiation Levers

✓Shift differentials are almost universal — early AM (breakfast, 3-5 AM start) pays $1-2/hr more, overnight patient tray line pays $1.50-3/hr more, weekend / holiday pay is 1.5x at most union or public-sector accounts.
✓ServSafe Manager, HACCP, and allergen certifications add $1-3/hr on the lead-cook wage — bring the credentials to the offer conversation.
✓In-house public-sector roles (K-12, VA, city / county facilities) trade some cash for CalPERS or state pensions, 20-30 PTO days, and predictable schedules. Ask for the total benefits value, not just the hourly rate.
✓Union kitchens (UNITE HERE at some hospital systems, SEIU or AFSCME at K-12 and public hospitals) have posted wage scales with automatic step increases — negotiate the step you enter at based on years of experience.
✓Sign-on bonuses of $500-2,500 are increasingly common for lead cook and sous chef roles at Aramark, Sodexo, and Compass in tight labor markets.
✓Contract operators (Aramark, Sodexo, Compass) offer tuition assistance ($1,500-5,250 / yr) that stacks on top of wage — factor it into the offer if you're pursuing a culinary AAS or hospitality bachelor's.

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Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria Career Kit — $19

✓ All 16 interview questions with expert answers
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Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) →

Salary Map — Click a state for details

$25K

$50K■ No data

Top Paying States

Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.

State	Median	vs. National	Employment
Washington	$49,670	+32.6%	9,780
Alaska	$48,580	+29.7%	1,430
Massachusetts	$47,790	+27.6%	7,430
Hawaii	$47,770	+27.6%	1,570
Rhode Island	$46,570	+24.4%	1,190
California	$46,390	+23.9%	31,660
Vermont	$46,370	+23.8%	1,330
Connecticut	$46,120	+23.2%	4,500
New York	$45,880	+22.5%	17,670
District of Columbia	$45,450	+21.4%	1,500

Showing 1–10 of 51

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria Salary by Metro Area

Metro Area	Median	vs. National
Kahului-Wailuku, HI	$55,400	+47.9%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$51,880	+38.5%
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$51,620	+37.8%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$51,530	+37.6%
Barnstable Town, MA	$49,720	+32.8%
Fairbanks-College, AK	$49,340	+31.7%
Bellingham, WA	$49,320	+31.7%
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$49,280	+31.6%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$49,140	+31.2%
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$48,820	+30.4%

Showing 1–10 of 394

Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.

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A cooks, institution and cafeteria earning $37,450/year would need 1592 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 1709 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.

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