← UK Occupations
🇬🇧 UKSOC 5435· Textiles, Printing and Other Skilled Trades

Cooks

Cooks prepare, season and cook food, often using pre-prepared ingredients, in clubs, private households, fast food outlets, shops selling food cooked on the premises and the catering departments and canteens of other establishments.

CookCook-supervisorFish fryerHead cook
£17,885
median salary
£12,752 – £21,698
46,600
currently employed
73,033
projected 2035
Stable
4 tasks scored2 AI Assists2 Human-Led

Task Bundle Breakdown

How AI interacts with this occupation's task bundle

50%
50%
0%
AI automates
50%
AI assists
50%
Human-led

Task-by-Task Breakdown

Every task scored individually — sorted highest to lowest AI exposure

44

plans meals, prepares, seasons and cooks foodstuffs

AI Assists

AI tools like ChatGPT or specialised apps like Meez can suggest meal plans, scaling recipes, and flavour pairings, but the actual physical preparation, seasoning adjustments, and cooking technique remain firmly human skills.

44

plans and co-ordinates kitchen work such as fetching, clearing and cleaning of equipment and utensils

AI Assists

AI scheduling and workflow tools like Deputy or ChatGPT can help plan kitchen rotas, cleaning schedules, and task coordination, but physical execution and real-time supervision remain human responsibilities.

33

requisitions or purchases foodstuffs and checks quality

Human-Led

AI tools like ChatGPT can assist with supplier research or generating order lists, but physical inspection of food quality, freshness, and sensory checks require human presence and judgment.

22

cooks and sells a range of meals, such as fish and chips, over the counter

Human-Led

This task is almost entirely physical — cooking, serving, and customer interaction at a counter — with AI having negligible direct impact beyond possibly assisting with pricing or menu display.

ROI Calculator

Cooks

8.4hrs
saved per week
405hrs
per year ≈ 10.8 weeks
£4,024
salary-equivalent capacity freed per year

This is not a pay rise — it's 405 hours of productive capacity that AI could return to you, valued at your current rate.

£8,943
value at risk — 50% of role exposed to AI

The portion of your current salary tied to tasks AI can automate or augment. Not a prediction of job loss — a signal of where your role is changing fastest.

How is this calculated?▾

Task weights — each task is weighted by its O*NET frequency rating. Where frequency data is absent, equal weighting is applied.

AI time reduction — tasks scored as "AI Automates" assume 80% time saving; "AI Assists" assumes 40%; "Human-Led" assumes 5%.

Salary equivalent — annual hours saved × (salary ÷ 1,800 working hours/year).

Value at risk — salary × share of role time in AI-automate or AI-assist tasks.

Figures are indicative estimates for planning purposes, not guarantees of productivity gain or job loss risk.