What the work involves, what it pays, and grounded tasks, skills, tools, and experience you can choose from.
Also called b b cook, barbecue cook, bed and breakfast cook and breakfast cook.
$35,880
Median pay a year
138,650
People do this work
6
Resume lines ready for you
Real figures for this work, and lines you can use in your own resume. Where they come from is at the foot of this page.
An example
A Short Order Cook resume, filled in
Common skills that can help you remember what you used on the job.
Cooking foods
Cleaning equipment
Storing kitchen supplies
Serving food and beverages
Preparing foods for cooking
Preparing beverages
Arranging food for serving
Preparing breads or doughs
Processing customer payments
Taking customer orders
Maintaining equipment inventories
Ordering equipment
Every line comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Short Order Cook
Summary
Cook preparing and cooking a variety of foods that need short preparation times, taking orders and serving customers at counters or tables. Responsibilities include cleaning work areas, restocking supplies, and performing food preparation tasks
Experience
Short Order Cook
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Cleaned food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables
Restocked kitchen supplies, rotated food, and stamped the time and date on food in coolers
Completed orders from steam tables, placing food on plates and serving customers at tables or counters
Grilled, cooked, and fried foods such as french fries, eggs, and pancakes
Took orders from customers and cooked foods requiring short preparation times, according to customer requirements
Performed food preparation tasks, such as making sandwiches, carving meats, and brewing coffee or tea
Performed general cleaning activities in kitchen and dining areas
Skills
Hands-On Work
Cooking foods, Cleaning equipment, Storing kitchen supplies, Serving food and beverages, Preparing foods for cooking, Preparing beverages, Arranging food for serving, Preparing breads or doughs
Yours will not say this. You choose what matches your experience, and every line remains yours to confirm or change.
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What to put on a Short Order Cook resume
Real duties for this job, already written the way a resume reads. Inside Rung you choose the ones that were yours.
What did you do each day?
Choose what fits, or say your own.
Cleaned kitchen equipment and tablesRestocked kitchen supplies and foodServed food to customers at tablesCooked and grilled various foodsTook customer orders and cooked mealsAccepted payments and gave change
becomes
On your resume
Cleaned kitchen equipment and tables to ensure a sanitary cooking environment
Served food to customers at tables, providing prompt and friendly service
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A few lines could show more. Each one is asked, and answered by choosing.
Confirm what got cleaner or safer because you did this
The line
Cleaned kitchen equipment and tables, making food prep areas cleaner for staff
Confirm what got cleaner or safer because you did this
Pick one that fits
Food prep areas were cleaner for staffTables were safer for customersKitchen equipment was less likely to cause issues
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Show what improved in customer experience because you served them
The line
Served food to customers at tables, providing prompt and friendly service
Show what improved in customer experience because you served them
Pick one that fits
Customers received their meals fasterDining experience was more enjoyableService was smoother during busy hours
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Every ready answer is in plain words, never a figure. Nothing is invented to fill a gap.
The work itself
What a Short Order Cook does
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
Prepare and cook to order a variety of foods that require only a short preparation time. May take orders from customers and serve patrons at counters or tables.
What it pays
How much does a Short Order Cook make?
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
25th percentile
$30,610
Median
$35,880
75th percentile
$42,450
About 138,650 people do this work in the United States.
What it pays in each state
State
25th percentile
Median
75th percentile
AK
$37,650
$37,780
$41,230
AL
$21,220
$22,330
$28,800
AR
$27,940
$30,510
$34,260
AZ
$36,080
$46,630
$50,180
CA
$38,250
$42,930
$45,020
CO
$35,220
$42,450
$45,760
CT
$39,970
$42,450
$45,400
DC
$39,650
$42,450
$42,570
DE
$35,980
$38,500
$42,810
FL
$33,260
$34,240
$35,210
GA
$21,430
$26,870
$37,430
HI
$38,600
$43,110
$46,620
IA
$30,840
$34,090
$37,690
ID
$27,060
$40,090
$45,640
IL
$34,700
$37,440
$38,280
IN
$21,440
$21,940
$31,240
KS
$26,530
$27,400
$28,250
KY
$26,430
$31,840
$39,040
LA
$20,990
$26,260
$35,420
MA
$33,620
$44,290
$50,690
MD
$36,090
$36,800
$43,010
ME
$34,190
$35,360
$37,680
MI
$30,300
$34,510
$36,450
MN
$24,750
$32,150
$39,090
MO
$32,150
$38,490
$38,490
MS
$22,290
$28,180
$30,560
MT
$32,560
$33,240
$33,710
NC
$27,990
$31,290
$34,700
NE
$28,080
$30,530
$36,080
NH
$28,820
$32,330
$36,730
NJ
$36,360
$40,720
$46,900
NM
$33,130
$37,150
$39,290
NV
$29,070
$37,780
$40,430
NY
$33,870
$35,550
$42,800
OH
$23,930
$29,290
$34,290
OK
$30,840
$35,130
$36,010
OR
$35,470
$38,550
$40,250
PA
$17,150
$19,910
$31,360
PR
$21,850
$22,500
$22,690
RI
$41,850
$46,250
$46,700
SC
$25,280
$29,640
$33,280
SD
$29,590
$32,380
$36,750
TN
$26,780
$30,210
$36,350
TX
$23,140
$25,320
$31,070
UT
$34,280
$38,010
$44,970
VA
$27,830
$31,200
$36,380
VT
$36,080
$38,830
$46,320
WA
$36,000
$42,760
$50,870
WI
$27,440
$28,130
$32,590
WV
$24,380
$27,440
$31,380
Other names
Other names for this job
b b cook, barbecue cook, bed and breakfast cook, breakfast cook, breakfast line cook, broiler cook, chuck wagon cook, cook, deli cook, delicatessen cook, griddle cook, grill cook.
More names for this work
grill line cook, grill prep cook, grill preparation cook, line cook, pizza cook, prep cook, preparation cook, short order fry cook, snack bar cook, cooks short order, food and beverage attendant, food clerk, griddle attendant, grill associate, grill attendant, grill person, hash slinger, hasher, pizza maker, prepared foods clerk, sandwich artist.
What you can already claim
What you can already claim as a Short Order Cook
Below are the tasks a Short Order Cook job is made of. Choose the ones you have really done. There is no wrong answer here, and you can change any of it later.
Which of these tasks have you actually done?
4 chosen. Rung never adds a task you did not choose.
You can already claim 4 of the 9 tasks this job is made of.
What you have not done yet. Preparing foods for cooking, Preparing beverages, Arranging food for serving
Your resume, already started
Short Order Cook
Cooking foods
Cleaning equipment
Storing kitchen supplies
Serving food and beverages
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This page is about the occupation Cooks, Short Order. What this job involves and what it is made of come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026; Rung writes those records into the plain sentences you see. Pay comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.