AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 35-2012.00
Will AI replace Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria?
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria: AI can already handle 2 of 17 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 17 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria, from most to least exposed. 2 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compile and maintain records of food use and expenditures. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Plan menus that are varied, nutritionally balanced, and appetizing, taking advantage of foods in season and local availability. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Train new employees. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Clean and inspect galley equipment, kitchen appliances, and work areas to ensure cleanliness and functional operation. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Monitor and record food temperatures to ensure food safety. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Rotate and store food supplies. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean, cut, and cook meat, fish, or poultry. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Monitor use of government food commodities to ensure that proper procedures are followed. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Direct activities of one or more workers who assist in preparing and serving meals. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Monitor menus and spending to ensure that meals are prepared economically. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Take inventory of supplies and equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Requisition food supplies, kitchen equipment, and appliances, based on estimates of future needs. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Determine meal prices, based on calculations of ingredient prices. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Cook foodstuffs according to menus, special dietary or nutritional restrictions, or numbers of portions to be served. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Wash pots, pans, dishes, utensils, or other cooking equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Apportion and serve food to facility residents, employees, or patrons. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Bake breads, rolls, or other pastries. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 1 of 17 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 16 of 17. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 24% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 24% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 77% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 441,050
- Median annual wage
- $37,450
- Middle half of earners
- $32,440 to $44,800
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +2.0%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Cooks, Restaurant 72% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure20
- Chefs and Head Cooks 68% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure23
- Cooks, Fast Food 67% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure21
- Cooks, Private Household 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure29
- Food Preparation Workers 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure16
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria and AI
Will AI replace Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria?
AI already handles 2 of the 17 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 22 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +2.0% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria?
22 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 1 of the 17 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 16 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Compile and maintain records of food use and expenditures; Plan menus that are varied, nutritionally balanced, and appetizing, taking advantage of foods in season and local availability. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 24% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 77% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria, and what do they earn?
441,050 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $37,450 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +2.0% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/cooks-institution-and-cafeteria
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