Explore unit group

Version:
NOC 2021 Version 1.0

63200 – Cooks

Cooks prepare and cook a wide variety of foods. They are employed in restaurants, hotels, hospitals and other health care institutions, central food commissaries, educational institutions and other establishments. They are also employed aboard ships and at construction and logging campsites. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Profile

Index of titles Example job titles

  • Apprentice cook
  • Assistant cook
  • Banquet cook
  • Breakfast cook
  • Broiler cook
  • Cafeteria cook
  • Camp cook
  • Caterer cook
  • Construction camp cook
  • Cook
  • Cook - Canadian Armed Forces
  • Diet kitchen cook
  • Dietary cook
  • Domestic cook
  • Ethnic food cook
  • First cook
  • Fishing and merchant vessel cook
  • Grill cook
  • Hospital cook
  • Institutional cook
  • Journeyman/woman cook
  • Kosher foods cook
  • Licensed cook
  • Line cook
  • Logging camp cook
  • Mess cook
  • Pastry cook
  • Pizza cook
  • Railway cook
  • Restaurant cook
  • Second cook
  • Ship's cook
  • Short order cook
  • Small establishment cook
  • Special diet cook
  • Special order cook - hospital
  • Therapeutic diet cook
  • Third cook
  • Apprentice cook
  • Cook
  • Dietary cook
  • First cook
  • Grill cook
  • Hospital cook
  • Institutional cook
  • Journeyman/woman cook
  • Licensed cook
  • Line cook
  • Second cook
  • Short order cook

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

  • Prepare and cook complete meals or individual dishes and foods
  • Prepare and cook special meals for patients as instructed by dietitian or chef
  • Schedule and supervise kitchen helpers
  • Oversee kitchen operations
  • Maintain inventory and records of food, supplies and equipment
  • May set up and oversee buffets
  • May clean kitchen and work area
  • May plan menus, determine size of food portions, estimate food requirements and costs, and monitor and order supplies
  • May hire and train kitchen staff.

Employment requirements

  • Completion of secondary school is usually required.
  • Completion of a three-year apprenticeship program for cooks or completion of college or other program in cooking or food safety or several years of commercial cooking experience may be required.
  • Trade certification is available, but voluntary, in all provinces and territories.
  • Red Seal endorsement is also available to qualified cooks upon successful completion of the interprovincial Red Seal examination.

Additional information

  • Progression to supervisory or more senior positions, such as chef, is possible with experience and training.
  • The Red Seal endorsement allows for interprovincial mobility.
  • There is mobility among the various types of cooks in this group.

Exclusions

  • Chefs (62200)
  • Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations (65201)

Breakdown summary

Broad occupational category
6 – Sales and service occupations
TEER
3 – Occupations usually require a college diploma or apprenticeship training of less than two years; or more than six months of on-the-job training
Major group
63 – Occupations in sales and services
Sub-major group
632 – Occupations in services
Minor group
6320 – Cooks, butchers and bakers
Version
NOC 2021 Version 1.0