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.
Also called: Bakery Fryer, Blanching Machine Operator, Boiler, Brine Maker, Casing Cooker, Chip Fryer
Median pay
$41,590
per year, U.S.
Pay range (10th–90th)
$31,680 – $54,410
People employed
31,250
Holland code
RCI
Realistic · Conventional · Investigative
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Is this career right for you?
These are the things that stand out in this job compared with other U.S. jobs (O*NET 31.0 work context). Answer honestly.
- 1.Are you OK being on your feet and moving most of the day?
- 2.Do you want a lot of freedom to make your own decisions?
- 3.Are you OK with hours that change?
The hard parts
- Tight deadlines are common
- Long hours on your feet
- Mistakes can have serious consequences
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders pay by state
Annual median pay by state (41 states with published data). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025.
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders salary in every state →
What food cooking machine operators and tenders do
- 01Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.
- 02Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications.
- 03Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.
- 04Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers.
- 05Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.
- 06Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results.
Skills that matter most
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Active Learning
Knowledge
- Production and Processing
- Food Production
- Administration and Management
- Education and Training
- Mechanical
Work styles that stand out
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
Education and first steps
Share of workers by required education, as reported to O*NET.
How people get started
- Usually needs a high school diploma (O*NET Job Zone 2).
- Related work experience: over 1 month, up to and including 3 months.
- On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.
Most common answers from O*NET 31.0 Education, Training and Experience.
Interest fit (Holland code)
O*NET occupational interest scores, scale 1–7. Take the Free Career Test to compare with your own.
Career changes
Change from food cooking machine operators and tenders
- Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders89% · +5%
- Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders85% · −1%
- Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders84% · +24%
- Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders84% · +16%
- Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders82% · +4%
Change into food cooking machine operators and tenders
Jobs whose skills carry over best (skill match, their median pay).
- Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders83% · $43,530
- Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders82% · $41,330
- Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products81% · $35,730
- Cooks, Restaurant77% · $37,390
- Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria76% · $37,450