Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Production
Tends steam vats, fryers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers that cook ingredients to a set time, temperature, and pressure. The day is spent reading recipes or work orders, weighing ingredients, starting pumps and conveyors, and watching gauges and the product itself so heat, pressure, and flow stay on target. Cooked batches come out of the equipment, then processing steps, steam readings, and test results get written down. Equipment and the cooking area are washed and sterilized with hoses and cleaning solutions. Suits people who like following formulas closely, watching instruments, and keeping cooking equipment clean and on target.
Typical education: High School Diploma or GED
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$41'590
Median Wage Market Position
$41'590
What you might do
- Tend cookers, vats, kettles, and boilers
- Set heat, pressure, and cooking times
- Weigh ingredients to match the formula
- Watch gauges and adjust temperature or flow
- Hose down and sterilize equipment and floors
- Log batch times, steam readings, and tests
Skills that matter
- Reading work orders for cook times
- Running kettles, fryers, and pressure cookers
- Adjusting heat, pressure, and ingredient flow
- Recording steam readings and cook times
- Figuring out why heat or pressure drifts
- Timing cooker unloading with nearby workers
AI & the future of this role
Timed fryers and boilers lend themselves to recipe automation, so routine cook cycles may need fewer watchers. Cleaning, line stops, and deciding when a batch looks or smells off still call for someone present.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details