Will AI replace chefs?
Updated
Chefs score 36 of 100 for AI exposure. 50% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 19% today and speed up another 31%.
- 19% AI can do it
- 31% AI helps
- 50% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Lower than 52% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 21 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 7 and leaves 10 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Record production or operational data on specified forms. Logging production numbers into forms is routine data entry. | 80% AI can do it |
| Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients. Recipe costing and scaling are easily computed by software. | 72% AI can do it |
| Analyze recipes to assign prices to menu items, based on food, labor, and overhead costs. Recipe cost analysis and menu pricing are well suited to AI. | 70% AI can do it |
| Order or requisition food or other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation. Reorder systems and forecasts handle most purchasing, with approval. | 62% AI can do it |
| Determine production schedules and staff requirements necessary to ensure timely delivery of services. AI can build schedules and forecasts, but managers must approve. | 55% AI helps |
| Coordinate planning, budgeting, or purchasing for all the food operations within establishments such as clubs, hotels, or restaurant chains. AI drafts budgets and plans; cross-team coordination stays human. | 50% AI helps |
| Collaborate with other personnel to plan and develop recipes or menus, taking into account such factors as seasonal availability of ingredients or the likely number of customers. AI aids ideation; tasting and team consensus remain human. | 50% AI helps |
| Recruit and hire staff, such as cooks and other kitchen workers. AI screens resumes and drafts postings; interviews stay human. | 45% AI helps |
| Arrange for equipment purchases or repairs. AI researches vendors and drafts orders; repairs stay physical. | 42% AI helps |
| Plan, direct, or supervise food preparation or cooking activities of multiple kitchens or restaurants in an establishment such as a restaurant chain, hospital, or hotel. Multi-kitchen oversight is mainly managerial, with AI aiding planning. | 30% AI helps |
Show the other 11 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Meet with customers to discuss menus for special occasions, such as weddings, parties, or banquets. Client meetings are live; AI can draft menu proposals beforehand. | 28% AI helps |
| Supervise or coordinate activities of cooks or workers engaged in food preparation. Live supervision of crews relies on people, not software. | 20% Needs a person |
| Check the quantity and quality of received products. Physical counting and sensory checks dominate; invoice matching helps. | 20% Needs a person |
| Meet with sales representatives to negotiate prices or order supplies. Live price negotiation with reps is interpersonal and relational. | 20% Needs a person |
| Instruct cooks or other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, or presentation of food. Hands-on instruction and demonstration needs a person present. | 18% Needs a person |
| Determine how food should be presented and create decorative food displays. Visual plating and displays are creative and physically made. | 18% Needs a person |
| Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations. Sanitation checks need physical observation on the floor. | 15% Needs a person |
| Inspect supplies, equipment, or work areas to ensure conformance to established standards. Physical inspection of equipment and spaces needs on-site presence. | 15% Needs a person |
| Check the quality of raw or cooked food products to ensure that standards are met. Tasting and visual checks rely on trained senses and presence. | 15% Needs a person |
| Demonstrate new cooking techniques or equipment to staff. Live demonstrations of technique require in-person hands-on teaching. | 12% Needs a person |
| Prepare and cook foods of all types, either on a regular basis or for special guests or functions. Hands on cooking is physical work done by people. | 5% Needs a person |
How chefs compare
All occupations (923)
Food preparation and serving (16)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $62,470 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 200,040 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +6.6% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Verify recipe costs in ChefTec against supplier invoices
- Approve AI-drafted purchase orders before they go out
- Taste and grade food quality on the line
- Teach knife work and plating to cooks in person
- Build menu budgets and forecasts in Microsoft Excel
- Hold the ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about chefs and AI
Will chefs be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly recording production data and estimating food and supply costs. Cooking, tasting, and training cooks stay with people because they need hands, senses, and a person in the kitchen.
Which chef tasks is AI taking over?
Data entry, supply costing, and menu pricing are the first tasks AI takes over. Logging production numbers scores 80 for exposure, and recipe costing and scaling are easily computed by software, which puts supply estimates at 72 and menu pricing at 70.
Which chef tasks stay human?
Preparing and cooking food stays human, with an exposure score of 5, the lowest in the job. Quality checks on raw and cooked food score 15, and instructing cooks scores 18, because tasting, plating, and hands-on teaching need a person present.
How can chefs stay valuable as AI spreads?
Use AI output as a draft and check it against the kitchen. Verify ChefTec and CookenPro recipe costs against real invoices, and approve AI-built purchase orders and schedules before they go out. Spend the hours saved on cooking, tasting, and training cooks on the line.
Related jobs
Next steps for chefs
Check which roles in your team AI can take on
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