kitchen assistant
Kitchen assistants assist in the preparation of food and cleaning of the kitchen area.
kitchen assistant kitchen assistants assist in the preparation of food and cleaning of the kitchen area. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include comply with food safety and hygiene, receive kitchen supplies, design indicators for food waste reduction, monitor stock level, comply with standard portion sizes.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £22,886 a year for Kitchen and catering assistants (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £18,811 to £26,766 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 9263). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Elementary occupations” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only kitchen assistant, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 9. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Customer and Personal Service
- Food Production
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Psychology
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
What you'd actually do
- Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware.
- Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items.
- Take and record temperature of food and food storage areas, such as refrigerators and freezers.
- Carry food supplies, equipment, and utensils to and from storage and work areas.
- Remove trash and clean kitchen garbage containers.
- Store food in designated containers and storage areas to prevent spoilage.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does kitchen assistant do?
Kitchen assistants assist in the preparation of food and cleaning of the kitchen area.
What skills does kitchen assistant need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include comply with food safety and hygiene, receive kitchen supplies, design indicators for food waste reduction, monitor stock level, comply with standard portion sizes, use food preparation techniques. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace kitchen assistant?
Our AI-durability model gives kitchen assistant a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.