Cook
Prepare and cook food in restaurants, cafes or other catering businesses.
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Typical salary
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What's it like to be a Cook?
A Cook prepares fast and simple food. Cooks usually work on several orders at once to get the food out as quickly as possible to customers. They apply food safety and hygiene techniques to maintain a clean kitchen and ensure the freshness and quality of their ingredients.
Tasks and duties
- Leading cost and inventory control measures to minimise food wastage and spoilage
- Ensuring excellence of menu delivery to ensure the highest standards of quality
- Preparing menus and considering clients' in choice and selection where appropriate.
- Monitoring and complying with Workplace Health and Safety and Environmental practices.
- Keeping up with trends in cooking and the restaurant business to ensure that guests have a positive experience.
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Specific tasks and duties of the role vary depending on where you are working. In some takeaway food outlets or restaurants you may need knowledge in preparing and cooking a particular type of food (for example pizza or fried chicken), or you may need to specialise in a particular type of cuisine (such as Italian, Vietnamese or Indian).
Salary lookup
What can I earn as a Cook?
Find out the average salary for a Cook across Australia
Latest Cook jobs on SEEK
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How to become a Cook
It’s possible to work as a Cook without a formal qualification, however, many employers require a vocational qualification such as a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (SIT30816).
- Complete a vocational qualification in cookery. This may be a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (SIT30816) or a Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery (SIT40516).
- It’s also recommended you hold a Food Handler’s Certificate.
- Work your way up the kitchen ladder to become a supervisor or pursue a career as a Chef working in a commercial kitchen.
Explore related qualifications
SEEK users who have worked as a Cook have studied these qualifications.
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Certificate III in Commercial Cookery
This certificate gives you the skills to prepare food and menu items and may provide a pathway into roles in cafes and restaurants.
Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery
This qualification provides the skills to prepare for a supervisory or team leader role within a commercial kitchen.
Food Handler's Certificate
This certification will give you the basic skills and knowledge to work with food.
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Skills and experience employers are looking for
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CookingHygienicFood PreparationFood HandlingHACCPFood HygieneAged CareFood Safety Supervisor CertificateEarly Childhood StudiesFirst Aid CertificateSkills listed in your SEEK Profile
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Is Cook the right role for me?
Working hours for Cooks
Overtime
Weekends
Shift work
Late nights
Often
Sometimes
Never
Job market trends for Cooks
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Source: SEEK job ads and SEEK Role Reviews
Latest Cook reviews
Latest reviews from 60 Cooks surveyed on SEEK
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Positive
Negative
Cooking is tough job but it suits my way of living. It helps me to grow daily, it let me play with my imagination and experiments.
Reviewer's Qualification
Certificate III in Commercial Cookery
Experience
5 – 9 years
Organisation size
Medium (20-199 employees)
Specialisation
Chef
The good things
My job gives me satisfaction when i cook for the people and they admire it , makes me feel i am achieving.
The challenges
Only challenge is night shifts and weekend shifts but if someone is willing to do it will receive really good perks.
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Cooking is all about setting up what needs to be done first.
Reviewer's Qualification
Bachelor of Commerce
Experience
5 – 9 years
Organisation size
Medium (20-199 employees)
Specialisation
Cooking
The good things
Good things- cooking is my passion and it came to me since i saw my mum cooking at home and when learnt cooking at the commercial cooking training centre, since then I have been in love with cooking. ...
The challenges
Challenges are common in nature is cooking the right food for the right person and at the right time. Matching the food for the right table and considering the allergies now-days. I'm not trying to sc...
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Source: SEEK Role Reviews
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