Cook foods.

Cook foods. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 11 occupations and seen in 24 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Prepare foods or beverages. in Handling and Moving Objects .

Detailed work activities are the most granular shared layer in O*NET's work-activity hierarchy (Generalized → Intermediate → Detailed → occupation-specific task). The figures below describe how this activity shows up across the economy and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the work will be automated.

AI exposure

Of the 24 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 0 (0%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

The Anthropic Economic Index observes real AI use on 6 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.010% per task.

Exposure estimates overlap with model capabilities — whether a model could speed the task up — not whether the work will be done by software. Observed AI use is augmentation and assistance today, not jobs replaced.

Member tasks

Occupation-specific tasks O*NET maps to this detailed work activity, most important first.

• Cook the exact number of items ordered by each customer, working on several different orders simultaneously. · Cooks, Fast Food · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Grill and garnish hamburgers or other meats, such as steaks and chops. · Cooks, Short Order · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Operate large-volume cooking equipment, such as grills, deep-fat fryers, or griddles. · Cooks, Fast Food · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Prepare specialty foods, such as pizzas, fish and chips, sandwiches, or tacos, following specific methods that usually require short preparation time. · Cooks, Fast Food · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Cook foodstuffs according to menus, special dietary or nutritional restrictions, or numbers of portions to be served. · Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Season and cook food according to recipes or personal judgment and experience. · Cooks, Restaurant · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Read food order slips or receive verbal instructions as to food required by patron, and prepare and cook food according to instructions. · Cooks, Fast Food · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Serve food or beverages to patrons, and prepare or serve specialty dishes at tables as required. · Waiters and Waitresses · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Grill, cook, and fry foods such as french fries, eggs, and pancakes. · Cooks, Short Order · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods. · Cooks, Restaurant · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Prepare meals in private homes according to employers' recipes or tastes, handling all meals for the family and possibly for other household staff. · Cooks, Private Household · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Cook and package batches of food, such as hamburgers or fried chicken, prepared to order or kept warm until sold. · Cooks, Fast Food · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Pre-cook items, such as bacon, to prepare them for later use. · Cooks, Fast Food · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Turn or stir foods to ensure even cooking. · Cooks, Restaurant · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Prepare a variety of foods, such as meats, vegetables, or desserts, according to customers' orders or supervisors' instructions, following approved procedures. · Food Preparation Workers · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Prepare food items, such as sandwiches, salads, soups, or beverages. · Food Servers, Nonrestaurant · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Take orders from customers and cook foods requiring short preparation times, according to customer requirements. · Cooks, Short Order · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Prepare or serve menu items, such as sandwiches or salads. · Baristas · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Prepare relishes and hors d'oeuvres. · Cooks, Restaurant · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Prepare daily food items, and cook simple foods and beverages, such as sandwiches, salads, soups, pizza, or coffee, using proper safety precautions and sanitary measures. · Fast Food and Counter Workers · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Stir and strain soups and sauces. · Food Preparation Workers · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Make special dressings and sauces as condiments for sandwiches. · Food Preparation Workers · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Prepare and cook foods of all types, either on a regular basis or for special guests or functions. · Chefs and Head Cooks · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Prepare appetizers such as pickles, cheese, and cold meats. · Bartenders · importance 3.1 · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Cooks, Fast Food
• Cooks, Short Order
• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
• Cooks, Restaurant
• Waiters and Waitresses
• Cooks, Private Household
• Food Preparation Workers
• Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
• Baristas
• Chefs and Head Cooks
• Bartenders

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-cook-foods,
  title  = {Cook foods.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/cook-foods}
}