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Cook

Also called fry cook, communard, food cook

Cooks are culinary operatives who are able to prepare and present food, normally in domestic and institutional environments.

Will there be jobs?Yes, good prospectsShortage in 16 countries now. 26 jobs to fill by 2035 for every 100 people doing this work today.Personal service workersWhat does it pay?Below averageFrom about €900 (Bulgaria) to €3,900 (Denmark) a month, depending on the country.Estimate · Personal service workersWhat do I need to study?Upper secondary or vocational6 in 10 finished upper secondary or vocational training.Personal service workersWill AI change it?Very littleLevel 1 of 6. AI could help with only small parts of the tasks.Cooks · ILO

What you'd do

Cooks · ILO
  • Planning meals, preparing and cooking foodstuffs
  • Planning, supervising and coordinating the work of kitchen helpers
  • Checking the quality of food
  • Weighing, measuring and mixing ingredients according to recipes and personal judgement
  • Regulating the temperature of ovens, grills, roasters and other cooking equipment
  • Inspecting and cleaning the kitchen, kitchen equipment and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food handling practices
  • Operating large-volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep-fat fryers or griddles
Receive kitchen suppliesUse culinary finishing techniquesMaintain kitchen equipment at correct temperatureHandover the food preparation areaUse reheating techniques+ 10 more essential skills
What the work is like
  • Indoors
  • On your feet most of the day
  • Lots of contact with people
  • Some freedom to decide
  • Usually 40 hours a week
  • Deadlines now and then
  • Some repetitive tasks
US data: based on the O*NET profile of the US job "Cooks, Restaurant"

Will there be jobs?

Yes, good prospects

16 EU countries are short of cooks now, and a typical number of jobs will need filling by 2035.

People working as personal service workers in the EU
10.21m10.63m10.46m 201520232035

Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.

Jobs to fill, 2026–2035
3,074,000 replacing leavers 244,000 jobs disappear
Jobs to fill per 100 people working now
Personal service workers26
All jobs29
Right now
16 of 27 countries report a shortage of cooks, 3 a surplus.
Cooks · EURES

What does it pay?

Below average

Pay depends a lot on the country: from about €900 a month (Bulgaria) to €3,900 (Denmark), before tax.

Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.

Among service and sales workers in the EU, women earn 3% less per hour than men. Service and sales workers · Eurostat

What do I need to study?

Upper secondary or vocational

Upper secondary or vocational training is the usual route.

Highest qualification of personal service workers (EU, 2025)
Degree 15%Vocational 46%General secondary 16%Basic schooling 23%

Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.

Will AI change it?

Very little

AI could help with only small parts of the tasks.

How exposed is this job? ILO scale
Very low
Low
Some tasks
Moderate
Significant
High

Average task score 0.18 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).

See the score for each of the 7 tasks
Planning, supervising and coordinating the work of kitchen helpers0.29
Regulating the temperature of ovens, grills, roasters and other cooking equipment0.25
Planning meals, preparing and cooking foodstuffs0.19
Checking the quality of food0.17
Inspecting and cleaning the kitchen, kitchen equipment and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food handling practices0.15
Weighing, measuring and mixing ingredients according to recipes and personal judgement0.14
Operating large-volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep-fat fryers or griddles0.10

Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for cooks. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).