How to become a cook

Official title: Cook

Also called: Second cook, Restaurant cook, Fry cook, Takeaways cook, Cafe cook, Trainee cook

Cooks prepare and cook food in restaurants, cafes and other hospitality places.

Main tasks

• Cook food quickly and efficiently
• Prepare raw ingredients
• Arrange food on plates or wrap takeaways
• Create new recipes and plan menus
• Decide prices for menu items
• Order food supplies
• Organise deliveries
• Restock shelves and fridges

How to become one

You usually learn on the job to become a cook and experience and a qualification may be useful. You usually don't need specific NCEA levels for this job, but Level 2 may be useful. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a New Zealand Certificate in Cookery (Level 3); a New Zealand Certificate in Hospitality (Level 3); to do an apprenticeship in cookery; a driver licence.

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Ways in

• Certificates and diplomas: Intermediate certificates in cookery. TEC links this job to study in food tourism and hospitality. Qualifications: NZ Cert in Cookery. Usually 1 year. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $44,000 a year one year after study and $54,000 five years after; 63% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

• Median pay: $54,000 a year, a TEC estimate before tax.
• Upper: $84,000 a year
• TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $25.96 an hour.
• TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
• Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Decrease (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
• People employed in the group Cooks: 6,639 at the 2018 Census and 5,076 at the 2023 Census (-23.5%). Past change, not a forecast.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• About 4,300 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
• In the group Cooks, 61% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
• Where people in the group Cooks work (2023 Census): Auckland 27%, Canterbury 12.9%, and Waikato 10.4%.

Related jobs

• Restaurant manager
• Chef
• Food service worker supervisor
• Fast food cook
• Food preparation worker
• Bartender

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Questions people ask

How do I become a cook?

You usually learn on the job to become a cook and experience and a qualification may be useful. You usually don't need specific NCEA levels for this job, but Level 2 may be useful. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a New Zealand Certificate in Cookery (Level 3); a New Zealand Certificate in Hospitality (Level 3); to do an apprenticeship in cookery; a driver licence.

How much does a cook earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $54,000 a year, before tax.

Has the number of people working as a cook grown in New Zealand?

It has shrunk: TEC records a decrease in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a cook?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
• Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026