Head Cook Family
Career series with 6 positions across 3 levels
Head Cook groups 6 related titles into a 3-level career ladder.
Entry is typically through Head Cook 3, advancing through the ladder toward Head Cook 1. Pay across the family spans $39,358 to $77,371, around the 14th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 50 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Military and Veterans Affairs.
Specializations
Positions in This Family
- HEAD COOK 3 (44644) $44,750 - $64,522/year
- HEAD COOK 2 (44645) $48,807 - $70,641/year
- HEAD COOK 1 (44646) $53,282 - $77,371/year
- HEAD COOK 2 (44647) $42,866 - $61,705/year
- HEAD COOK 3 - 10 MONTHS (44648) $39,358 - $56,481/year
- HEAD COOK 1 - 10 MONTHS (44654) $46,727 - $67,528/year
What the Head Cook family covers
Head Cook covers 6 title codes arranged into 3 levels of responsibility. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.
Institutional food service keeps the state hospitals, correctional facilities, developmental centers and veterans homes fed, and it runs on a small ladder from worker to cook to supervisor. Nutrition titles sit alongside it but belong to public health: they run the WIC program and dietary planning rather than the kitchen. Because the work follows the institution rather than the office, these titles carry unusual work weeks and shift patterns, and several exist in both twelve-month and ten-month variants.
The ladder, ordered by pay
The Head Cook rungs, listed from the best paid down. Note that the numbers in these titles do not run in pay order. In this family a lower number sits higher on the ladder, which is a New Jersey convention that catches people out when they read a title list top to bottom.
- Head Cook 1 — $53,282 to $77,371 (3 years of experience)
- Head Cook 2 — $48,807 to $70,641 (2 years of experience)
- Head Cook 1 - 10 Months — $46,727 to $67,528 (3 years of experience)
- Head Cook 3 — $44,750 to $64,522 (1 year of experience)
- Head Cook 2 — $42,866 to $61,705 (2 years of experience)
- Head Cook 3 - 10 Months — $39,358 to $56,481 (1 year of experience)
The distance from the bottom of Head Cook 3 - 10 Months to the top of Head Cook 1 is $38,013, an increase of about 97% over the entry minimum.
What each title does
Reading the definitions side by side is the quickest way to see what changes as you move through the family.
- Head Cook 3: Under general supervision of a Food Service Supervisor in a state institution or agency, assumes responsibility for preparation and cooking of food in an institution kitchen…
- Head Cook 2: Under general supervision of a Food Service Supervisor in a state institution or agency, assumes responsibility for preparation and cooking of food in an institution kitchen…
- Head Cook 1: Under the general supervision of a Food Service Supervisor, in a state institution or agency, has the responsibility for the preparation and cooking of food in an institution…
- Head Cook 3 - 10 Months: Under the general supervision of a Food Service Supervisor, in a state institution or agency, assumes the responsibility for the preparation and cooking of food in…
- Head Cook 1 - 10 Months: Under general supervision of a Food Service Supervisor, in a State College in the Department of Higher Education, has the responsibility for the preparation and…
Requirements across the family
None of the specifications in this family names a degree requirement, which places these titles among the New Jersey positions open to applicants without formal higher education. Stated experience runs from 1 year at the lowest rung to 3 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.
On how the jobs are filled: 6 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination.
Who actually employs these titles
State payroll records show 50 people working under 3 of this family's titles, spread across 3 agencies. Military and Veterans Affairs alone accounts for about 38% of them.
- Military and Veterans Affairs — 19 employees
- Health and Senior Services — 17 employees
- Human Services — 14 employees
Median actual pay varies across the family, from $56,609 for Head Cook 3 up to $64,281 for Head Cook 1. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.
State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.
How the pay is set
Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.
Where these jobs exist
These are state titles, hired by New Jersey departments, commissions and boards through the Civil Service Commission's announcement and eligible list process rather than by an ordinary job posting. How state hiring works, and which agencies employ what.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
Other classifications built on the same terms as Head Cook. Worth checking if this family has no current opening.
- Cook (local jurisdiction)
- Cook ($36,169 to $51,722, state jurisdiction)
- Cook ($36,169 to $51,722, state jurisdiction)
- Assistant Cook (local jurisdiction)
- Head Cook, Regional Food Service ($55,691 to $81,008, state jurisdiction)
Common questions about Head Cook jobs
How many Head Cook titles are there in New Jersey civil service?
The Head Cook family holds 6 title codes arranged across 3 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
What does a Head Cook earn in New Jersey?
Published salary data for this family runs from $39,358 at the bottom of Head Cook 3 - 10 Months to $77,371 at the top of Head Cook 1. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Do you need to take an exam to become a Head Cook?
Yes for most of the family. 6 of the 6 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.
What qualifications does a Head Cook need?
No degree requirement is parsed from the specifications in this family, which puts these titles among the New Jersey civil service jobs reachable without formal higher education. Experience of 1 to 3 years is named where a requirement is stated.
Which agencies employ Head Cook staff?
State payroll records show 50 people in this family across 3 agencies, with Military and Veterans Affairs the largest at 19. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.
Is Head Cook 1 higher or lower than Head Cook 3?
In this family the lower number is the more senior title. New Jersey's level numbering does not run in pay order, and reading the titles by number alone will give you the ladder upside down. The list above is sorted by what each title actually pays.