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Exploring Trades and Occupations

Cooks

On this page

  • Job description
  • Advancement and mobility
  • Hourly wage
  • Job prospects for 2021-2025
  • Sectors of activity
  • Training and requirements
  • Main skills and characteristics
  • Personality profiles (RIASEC)
  • Additional information

Job description

These individuals prepare meals offered on an establishment’s menu independently. They work in:

  • Restaurants
  • Tourist accommodation establishments
  • Hospitals and other health care facilities
  • Food Services
  • Educational institutions
  • Ships
  • Grocery stores
  • Building sites
  • Tourist places and event organization companies
  • Golf clubs and ski resorts

Environment

  • Controlled ambient temperature
  • Equipment, machinery, tools
  • Odours
  • Humidity
  • Fire, steam, hot surfaces

Main tasks

  • Maintain an inventory of food, supplies, and equipment and place orders as required.
  • Organize and supervise buffets, as required.
  • Determine supplies and ingredients available.
  • Break down and assign the work to be done.
  • Prepare recipes according to the instructions of the dietician or chef.
  • Perform service.
  • Prepare food.
  • Ensure food preservation.
  • Maintain the workstation, tools, and equipment.
  • Apply hygiene and food safety rules.

Advancement and mobility

  • Qualified Cooks receive a Red Seal endorsement upon successful completion of the Interprovincial Examination.
  • Experience and additional training may lead to supervisory or management positions.
  • These individuals may specialize in the preparation and cooking of ethnic or special dishes.

Hourly wage

The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2019 to 2021.
Minimum
$14.25
Median
$15.00
Maximum
$21.00

Job prospects for 2021-2025

sr.comparaison-region.titre

Les 2 champs de sélection ci-dessous vous permettent de comparer 2 régions. Les données des régions seront automatiquement mises à jour à la sélection. Par défaut, la province de Québec est sélectionnée pour la première région.

Job prospects for 2021-2025

Job prospects

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Very good

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Non available

Total jobs for 2020

All of Québec

49,000

All of Québec

na

Gender distribution

All of Québec

Not available.
42.3% Female
57.7% Male

Not available.
  • 42.3% Female
  • 57.7% Male

Job types

All of Québec

Not available.
Full time
Part time

Not available.
  • Full time
  • Part time

Yearly wage on 2015

All of Québec

$27,000

All of Québec

Other characteristics

All of Québec

  • None

All of Québec

  • None

Sectors of activity

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Accommodation and Food Services
    NAICS 72
    74% of jobs
  2. Health Care
    NAICS 621, 622, 623
    9% of jobs
  3. Retail Trade
    NAICS 44, 45
    5% of jobs
  4. Social Assistance
    NAICS 624
    5% of jobs
  5. Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
    NAICS 71
    1% of jobs
  6. Others
    6% of jobs

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Accommodation and Food Services
    NAICS 72
    74% of jobs
  2. Health Care
    NAICS 621, 622, 623
    9% of jobs
  3. Retail Trade
    NAICS 44, 45
    5% of jobs
  4. Social Assistance
    NAICS 624
    5% of jobs
  5. Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
    NAICS 71
    1% of jobs
  6. Others
    6% of jobs

Training and requirements

Formation

Most training programs are offered in French only.

Secondary

AVS in contemporary Professional Pastry Making This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : 5842
More on graduates’ employment situation
DVS in cuisine This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : 5311

Placement rate: 74.4%

19.9% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation
STC in cuisine de restauration rapide This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : 4205
AVS in cuisine du marché This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : 5324

Placement rate: 83.3%

13.7% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation
AVS in pâtisserie de restauration contemporaine This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : 5342

Placement rate: 82.9%

3.7% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation
DVS in professional Cooking This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : 5811
More on graduates’ employment situation

Main skills and characteristics

Skills

  • Data collection
  • Coordination
  • Time management
  • Information processing
  • Mathematics
  • Result evaluation
  • Quality control analysis
  • Reading comprehension
  • Oral expression
  • Judgment and decision-making
  • Service oriented
  • Monitoring operations
  • Active learning
  • Critical thought
  • Solving complex problems
More Less skills

Abilities

  • Oral comprehension
  • Basic numeracy
  • Information organization
  • Colour perception and distinction
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Awareness of issues
  • Near vision
  • Reaction time
  • Speech clarity
  • Manual dexterity
  • Time sharing
  • Hand-arm stability
  • Memorization
  • Selective attention
  • Written comprehension
  • Verbal skills
  • Deductive reasoning
  • Inductive reasoning
  • Speech recognition
More Less abilities

Knowledge and attributes

  • Capacity to work under pressure
  • Leadership
  • Sense of responsibility
  • Knowledge of customer and personalized services
  • Capacity to work in a team
  • Tolerance to stress
  • Respect standards and regulations
  • Commitment to quality
  • Availability
  • Timeliness

Interests

  • Work in hotels, restaurants, and tourism
  • Work manually

Personality profiles (RIASEC)

Realistic
People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
Investigative
People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
Social
People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
Additional information

Note about CNP

Occupational information is provided based on the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2016. The 5-digit code of the NOC 2021 is shown in parentheses for information purposes only for occupations that correspond to those of NOC 2016.

Official name of the NOC 6322 (63200)

Cooks

Job titles

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

Skill type

Sales and service

WAP

This occupation is targeted by a Workplace Apprenticeship Program

  • Cook This hyperlink will open in a new window.

Related occupations

  • Chefs
  • Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations

See also

  • Glossary (PDF 229 Kb)
  • Québec emploi This hyperlink will open in a new window.

Last update: December 22, 2022

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