Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Kitchen porter to grill cook

A kitchen porter already meets 36% of what the grill cook role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From kitchen porter
36 % overlap
Distant match
To grill cook
8 You already bring
7 Still to learn
33 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

64.4/ 100

1 How much of what a grill cook is expected to do is already part of a kitchen porter’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the grill cook role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A grill cook role treats 7 of its required skills as things a kitchen porter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • comply with food safety and hygiene
  • ensure cleanliness of food preparation area
  • handover the food preparation area
  • maintain a safe, hygienic and secure working environment
  • use food cutting tools
  • use food preparation techniques

What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A grill cook role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a kitchen porter background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held handover the food preparation area handling and moving
  • already held ensure cleanliness of food preparation area information skills
  • already held maintain a safe, hygienic and secure working environment assisting and caring
  • already held use food cutting tools handling and moving
  • already held work in a hospitality team communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held use food preparation techniques assisting and caring

All 8 carried skills, including the 7 the grill cook role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 25 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 assisting and caring 3 required, 12 supplementary
  • still to learn use cooking techniques required
  • still to learn use culinary finishing techniques required
  • still to learn use reheating techniques required
  • optional, not held comply with standard portion sizes optional
  • optional, not held cook dairy products optional
  • optional, not held cook meat dishes optional
  • optional, not held cook sauce products optional
  • optional, not held cook vegetable products optional
  • optional, not held prepare dairy products for use in a dish optional
  • optional, not held prepare egg products for use in a dish optional
  • optional, not held prepare meat products for use in a dish optional
  • optional, not held prepare salad dressings optional
  • optional, not held prepare sandwiches optional
  • optional, not held prepare saucier products for use in a dish optional
  • optional, not held prepare vegetable products for use in a dish optional
02 handling and moving 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn maintain kitchen equipment at correct temperature required
  • still to learn store raw food materials required
  • optional, not held store kitchen supplies optional
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn order supplies required
  • optional, not held plan menus optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
04 management skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn receive kitchen supplies required
  • optional, not held check deliveries on receipt optional
05 information skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held control of expenses optional
06 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held execute chilling processes to food products optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a grill cook role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 8 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held comply with food safety and hygiene skill
  • already held ensure cleanliness of food preparation area skill
  • already held handover the food preparation area skill
  • already held maintain a safe, hygienic and secure working environment skill
  • already held use food cutting tools skill
  • already held use food preparation techniques skill
  • already held work in a hospitality team skill
  • already held handle chemical cleaning agents skill
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held comply with standard portion sizes optional
  • optional, not held cook dairy products optional
  • optional, not held cook meat dishes optional
  • optional, not held cook sauce products optional
  • optional, not held cook vegetable products optional
  • optional, not held execute chilling processes to food products optional
  • optional, not held plan menus optional
  • optional, not held prepare dairy products for use in a dish optional
  • optional, not held prepare egg products for use in a dish optional
  • optional, not held prepare meat products for use in a dish optional
  • optional, not held prepare salad dressings optional
  • optional, not held prepare sandwiches optional
  • optional, not held prepare saucier products for use in a dish optional
  • optional, not held prepare vegetable products for use in a dish optional
  • optional, not held store kitchen supplies optional
  • optional, not held check deliveries on receipt optional
  • optional, not held control of expenses optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
7 held skills the grill cook role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role carry out stock rotation skill
  • not needed by the target role clean kitchen equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role clean surfaces skill
  • not needed by the target role follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health skill
  • not needed by the target role handle glassware skill
  • not needed by the target role operate dishwashing machine skill
  • not needed by the target role report on possible equipment hazards skill
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a kitchen porter become a grill cook?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A kitchen porter already covers 36% of what a grill cook is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 7 of which the grill cook role treats as required.

What skills does a kitchen porter need to become a grill cook?

7 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is maintain kitchen equipment at correct temperature.

How hard is the move from kitchen porter to grill cook?

Its learning distance is 64.4 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.