Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders

Operate or tend cooking equipment, such as steam cooking vats, deep fry cookers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers, to prepare food products.

What you'd actually do

• Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.
• Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications.
• Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.
• Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers.
• Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.
• Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

The feel of the work

Time pressure is a real part of the job; it rewards working independently. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 6.2% of food cooking machine operators and tenders are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are hands-on and organized and detail-focused.

Related careers

• Tool and Die Makers
• Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
• First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
• Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers
• Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers
• Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers

Quick questions

How much does a food cooking machine operators and tender make?

The median pay is $20.00 per hour — roughly $41,500 a year, with the real range running from about $15.23/hr (10th percentile) to $26.16/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a food cooking machine operators and tender?

The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

What does a food cooking machine operators and tender actually do all day?

Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses. Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications. Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.