About This Career Path
Operate or tend cooking equipment, such as steam cooking vats, deep fry cookers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers, to prepare food products.
Manufacturing
Operate or tend cooking equipment, such as steam cooking vats, deep fry cookers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers, to prepare food products.
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Average
$37,450
ANNUAL
$18.00
HOURLY
Entry Level
$27,460
ANNUAL
$13.20
HOURLY
Mid Level
$37,270
ANNUAL
$17.92
HOURLY
Expert Level
$47,700
ANNUAL
$22.93
HOURLY
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
860
Projected job openings through 2030
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Supporting Programs
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
01
Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.
02
Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications.
03
Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.
04
Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers.
05
Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.
06
Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results.
07
Set temperature, pressure, and time controls, and start conveyers, machines, or pumps.
08
Remove cooked material or products from equipment.
09
Collect and examine product samples during production to test them for quality, color, content, consistency, viscosity, acidity, or specific gravity.
10
Activate agitators and paddles to mix or stir ingredients, stopping machines when ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Common knowledge, skills & abilities needed to get a foot in the door.
KNOWLEDGE
Production and Processing
KNOWLEDGE
Food Production
KNOWLEDGE
Administration and Management
KNOWLEDGE
Education and Training
KNOWLEDGE
Mechanical
SKILL
Operations Monitoring
SKILL
Monitoring
SKILL
Operation and Control
SKILL
Reading Comprehension
SKILL
Active Listening
ABILITY
Problem Sensitivity
ABILITY
Oral Comprehension
ABILITY
Written Comprehension
ABILITY
Near Vision
ABILITY
Control Precision
Manufacturing
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