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.
U.S. Workers
150,420
Median Salary
$35,620
10-Year Growth
-5.6%
Annual Openings
20,600
Typical entry: No formal educational credential
11 of 11 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Accept payments, and make change or write charge slips as necessary.
AI: Fully automatable - Point-of-sale systems, card/mobile payments, cash recyclers, and automated billing fully handle payments and charge slips in most settings by 2025.
Clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables.
AI: Partial - Cleaning can be partially automated (dishwashers, floor scrubbers, some robotic surface cleaners), yet comprehensive sanitizing, equipment disassembly and variable spot-cleaning in kitchens still need humans.
Perform food preparation tasks, such as making sandwiches, carving meats, making soups or salads, baking breads or desserts, and brewing coffee or tea.
AI: Partial - Many individual short-order tasks (sandwich assembly, coffee brewing, basic salads) can be automated, but the broad mix of duties and on-the-fly adjustments means full automation in restaurant short-order contexts is partial.
Perform general cleaning activities in kitchen and dining areas.
AI: Partial - Robots and machines can handle routine cleaning tasks, but complete general cleaning of complex kitchen and dining areas, including detailed sanitation and handling unpredictable messes, is not fully automated.
Restock kitchen supplies, rotate food, and stamp the time and date on food in coolers.
AI: Partial - Inventory systems, labeling machines and guided restocking robots can automate many aspects of restocking, rotation and dating, but full autonomous management in dynamic restaurant environments remains partial.
Grill, cook, and fry foods such as french fries, eggs, and pancakes.
AI: Partial - Robotic fryers and automated griddles can handle repetitive tasks like fries, eggs, and pancakes but struggle with variability, delicate handling, and consistent quality across all scenarios, so only partial automation is realistic in 2025.
Plan work on orders so that items served together are finished at the same time.
AI: Partial - Algorithmic scheduling and kitchen-display systems can sequence items to finish together, but full reliability requires real-time perception and tight integration with variable human workflows, so planning is only partially automatable today.
Take orders from customers and cook foods requiring short preparation times, according to customer requirements.
AI: Partial - Taking orders is already largely automated (kiosks/voice/online) and short-prep cooking can be automated for standard items, but handling varied customer requirements and exceptions still needs human intervention.
Grill and garnish hamburgers or other meats, such as steaks and chops.
AI: Partial - Automated grill systems can produce consistent burgers and basic garnishes, but handling a wide range of meats, doneness preferences, and nuanced plating remains only partially automatable.
Complete orders from steam tables, placing food on plates and serving customers at tables or counters.
AI: Partial - Plating from steam tables and counter service can be mechanized and delivered by robots in controlled settings, but variability in service context and final presentation means full automation is not yet ubiquitous.
Order supplies and stock them on shelves.
AI: Partial - Procurement and reordering can be fully automated via software and forecasting, but the physical task of stocking shelves still relies largely on humans or limited-capability robots, so the end-to-end task is only partially automatable.