Cook
Cooks turn raw ingredients into the dishes a kitchen sends out, working to recipes, food safety rules and the pace of service.
- Median salary
- $74,500
3.6%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 30,700
0.7%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +12.5%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 42/wk
+2h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- In shortage
national
Cooks prepare, cook and plate food in commercial kitchens: restaurants, pubs, cafes, hospitals, aged care homes and catering operations. Unlike a chef, who designs the menu and runs the kitchen, a cook usually follows recipes and standards someone else has set, though in smaller venues the two roles often blur into one. Most cooks work shifts timed around when people eat, so evenings, weekends and public holidays are part of the normal roster.
How much do cooks earn?
The median full-time salary for a cook is $74,500 per annum, before tax, up $15,300 since 2018.
What a cook takes home depends heavily on the employer. Hospitals, aged care providers and large caterers usually pay under enterprise agreements with set classifications, while small cafes and restaurants often pay award rates plus penalty rates for nights, weekends and public holidays. A Certificate III in Commercial Cookery and experience running a section are what move you into a higher classification.
What does a cook do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Working several orders at once during a service rush without letting anything slip out of sequence
- Prepping and portioning ingredients before the doors open so the line runs clean
- Standing at the grill, fryer or range for hours at a time
- Checking deliveries and rotating stock through the coolroom so little is wasted
- Coordinating with other stations so plates leave the pass together
What skills do cooks need?
Employers look for food preparation and cooking, food safety and hygiene, backed by Commercial ovens fluency and strong attention to detail.
Specialist skills
- Food preparation and cooking
- Food safety and hygiene
Software and tools
- Commercial ovens
- Gas stoves and range tops
- Food scales and measuring equipment
- Food storage and refrigeration systems
- Knife sets and prep tools
General skills
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving
- Time and deadline management
- Written communication
- Customer service
Is the job growing?
About 30,700 people work as cooks in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 12.5% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become a cook?
Here's the path most cooks take, step by step.
- 1Start in a kitchen
You can begin as a kitchen hand or in fast food without a qualification, and it is paid work that shows you fairly quickly whether the pace, heat and hours suit you.
- 2Complete a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery
This is the standard qualification for the trade, usually through a three-year apprenticeship where you earn while you train, or roughly a year of full-time study at TAFE or a private training provider.
- 3Hold a food safety certificate
Food handler and Food Safety Supervisor certificates are required for many kitchen roles, and which one applies to your position varies by state.
- 4Build experience across the sections
Moving between the grill, pans and larder teaches you timing and consistency, and this is what employers look at when hiring for better-paid senior cook roles.
- 5Add a management qualification if you want to run the kitchen
A Diploma of Hospitality Management (SIT50422) opens up kitchen management, cafe manager and restaurant manager roles, which draw on your cooking background but add rostering, budgeting and staff supervision.
Study routes we have checked
Qualifications that are a recognised way into this role, and what else you need.
- Certificate III in Commercial Cookery
A recognised route into this role
Complete the qualification and its stated entry and workplace requirements; check employer-specific requirements.
Ready to apply as a cook?
Whether you're working toward becoming a cook or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a cook move to?
Moving into Cafe Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $11,000 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cafe Manager Cooks understand food preparation and kitchen operations, but cafe manager roles need business and staff management skills.Known move | +$11,000 | 29% | reskill |
| Restaurant Manager Cooks bring kitchen workflow knowledge, but restaurant manager roles require broader hospitality management and financial skills.Known move | +$11,000 | 14% | reskill |
| Chef Cooks bring practical kitchen experience and food safety knowledge, but chef roles require formal apprenticeship training in menu planning and kitchen management.Known move | −$500 | 50% | requalify |
| Pastry Chef Cooks can apply general cooking skills to pastry, but need specialised patisserie training and qualification.Known move | −$800 | 53% | requalify |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a cook?
The typical cook is 36 years old; 52% are women, 45% work full-time, and full-timers average 42 hours a week.
- 36
- Median age
- 52%
- Female share
- 45%
- Full-time
- +2h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a cook?
Cooking for a living is shift work with a sharp peak: the kitchen builds through prep, then everything happens at once during service. It suits people who like working with their hands, keeping several things moving and seeing a plate go out the way they intended. The trade-off is heat, time on your feet and hours that fall when other people are off, which is a pattern you either don't mind or you do.
What people like
- The push of a busy service. A full rail of orders and a team moving together is the part many cooks keep coming back for, and the shift tends to pass quickly.
- Work you can see finished. At the end of a section you have a stack of plates that went out and customers who ate them, which is a more immediate result than most jobs offer.
- Skills that travel. Cooking is portable. The same techniques work in a pub in Queensland, a ski lodge or a hotel kitchen overseas, and the qualification is recognised in most places.
- A close-knit team. Kitchens are small, noisy and interdependent, and the people you work a line with tend to become the reason you stay in a venue.
What people find hard
- Evenings, weekends and public holidays. Kitchens run when people eat, so missing family dinners and Christmas lunch is a routine part of the job rather than an occasional one.
- Heat and hours on your feet. Standing at a range or fryer for a whole shift, often in a hot room, is physically demanding and takes a toll on knees, backs and wrists over the years.
- Split shifts and quiet patches. Some venues break the day into a lunch and a dinner shift, which cuts the middle out of your day, and slow trading periods mean repetitive prep with little variety.
- Pressure that comes from outside the kitchen. When a table sends food back or a delivery arrives short, the cook is often working with decisions made elsewhere, in a room where there is no time to argue about them.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ cooks?
Accommodation and Food Services employs the largest share of cooks, followed by Health Care and Social Assistance.
Top employing industries
- 1Accommodation and Food Services
- 2Health Care and Social Assistance
- 3Retail Trade
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Year 12 or below | 45.6% | |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate III/IV | 20.4% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 12.9% | |
| Bachelor degree | 11.6% | |
| Postgraduate | 3.7% |
Will AI replace cooks?
Cooking has a low exposure to AI and automation because the core of the job happens in your hands and senses. Kitchens already use software for stock ordering, food costing and temperature logging, and that changes the paperwork rather than the cooking. Timing a service, tasting as you go and judging when food is right stay with the person at the range.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Cooking orders during serviceGetting several dishes to the pass at the same moment depends on sight, smell and touch, so digital timers can prompt a cook but not take over.35%low
- Prepping and portioning ingredientsWeighing, chopping and portioning ahead of service is hands-on work, and consistency comes from a cook's eye and knife rather than from software.30%low
- Ordering stock and tracking food costsInventory and costing systems can suggest order quantities from past sales, which saves the arithmetic but still needs a cook to check quality, storage space and what is actually selling.20%moderate
- Keeping temperature and food safety recordsDigital probe thermometers and logging apps record cooling and holding temperatures automatically, replacing the paper log while the cook still checks the food itself.15%high
Common questions about becoming a cook
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do cooks earn in Australia?
Cooks earn a median of $74,500 per year before tax. Where you work moves that figure more than anything else: enterprise agreements in health care and aged care set higher classifications, while small venues lean on award rates plus penalty rates for nights, weekends and public holidays.
How do you become a cook?
The usual route is a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (SIT30821), taken as a paid apprenticeship over about three years or as roughly a year of full-time study. You will also need a food safety certificate for most kitchen roles, and the requirement varies by state. Many cooks start as kitchen hands before they begin training.
Are cooks in demand in Australia?
Cooks are currently in shortage nationally, and employment is projected to grow 12.5% over the decade to 2035. Kitchens have high turnover and run on shift work, so vacancies come up steadily; holding the Certificate III and a food safety certificate is what makes you competitive for the better-paid positions rather than the entry-level ones.
Will AI or automation replace cooks?
Cooking has low exposure to automation because the central work happens in your hands and senses. Software already handles stock ordering, food costing and temperature logging in many kitchens, which removes paperwork rather than the job. Timing a service, tasting and adjusting a sauce, and judging when meat is ready all stay with the person at the range.
What can a cook move into next?
Management is the common step up: a cafe manager role pays $11,000 more and uses the same kitchen knowledge, with rostering and budgeting skills added on. Moving into a chef role means completing an apprenticeship, since chef positions carry formal training in menu planning and kitchen management. Some cooks eventually open their own cafe or small catering business, which is often where earnings grow most.
Do cooks work nights and weekends?
Yes, most do. Kitchens are busiest at lunch and dinner, so rosters include evenings, weekends and public holidays, and a full-time cook averages around 42 hours a week. Some venues also split the day into two shifts with a long break in between.
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