Somewhat Resilient
Last Update: 8/30/2026
AI Resilience Score for Food Preparation Workers:
49.3%
Median Score
Meaningful human contribution
Measures the parts of the occupation that still require a human touch. This score averages data from up to four AI exposure datasets, focusing on the role’s resilience against automation.
Med
Long-term employer demand
Predicts the health of the job market for this role through 2034. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it balances projected annual job openings (60%) with overall employment growth (40%).
Med
Sustained economic opportunity
Measures future earning potential and career flexibility. This score is a blend of total projected labor income (67%) and the role’s inherent ability to adapt to economic and technological shifts (33%).
Low
This reflects the reliability of your score based on the number of data sources available for this career and how closely those sources agree on the outlook. A higher confidence means more consistent evidence from labor experts and AI models.
There are a reasonable number of sources for this result, but there is some disagreement between them.
Contributing sources
AI Resilience Report forFood Preparation Workers
$35,320 median salary•135,700 annual openings•SOC Code: 35-2021.00
Food Preparation Workers are somewhat less resilient to AI impacts than most occupations, according to our analysis of 7 sources.
Food preparation work is labeled "Somewhat Resilient" because AI is already changing real workflows in kitchens, even if robots aren't fully taking over yet. Software tools for scheduling, ordering, and recipe development are spreading fast, and systems like Sweetgreen's "Infinite Kitchen" are proving that automation can handle some prep tasks at scale.
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Food preparation work is labeled "Somewhat Resilient" because AI is already changing real workflows in kitchens, even if robots aren't fully taking over yet. Software tools for scheduling, ordering, and recipe development are spreading fast, and systems like Sweetgreen's "Infinite Kitchen" are proving that automation can handle some prep tasks at scale.
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Food Preparation Workers
Updated Quarterly
How is AI changing Food Preparation Workers jobs?
Right now, AI in kitchens is mostly acting as a helper, not a replacement. Big foodservice companies are using generative AI to speed up behind-the-scenes work: at Sodexo, which runs 27,000 locations worldwide, chefs use AI "almost like a sous chef" to swap ingredients, cut food waste across trial recipes, and condense recipe development timelines by 50% to 60% [1]. A National Restaurant Association panel of tech leaders from Aramark, Five Guys, and Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands highlighted optimizing food prep and reducing waste in the back of the house [2] as one of AI's biggest wins.
Industry experts also predict AI-driven kitchen managers that prioritize orders [3] based on complexity so everything finishes at once. Physical robots that actually chop, portion, or plate food are still rare. Sweetgreen's "Infinite Kitchen" conveyor system is a bright spot — it's now in 12 locations and has lowered labor and food costs while boosting sales [4] — but experiments like Kernel have failed, showing that cooking is "wickedly complicated" compared to factory work.
Tasks like measuring ingredients, stocking salad bars, and carrying supplies still rely on human hands.
Sources
How fast is AI adoption growing for Food Preparation Workers?
Adoption is speeding up mostly because of a labor crunch: 67% of U.S. operators rank rising labor costs and staffing shortages as their number-one pressure [5], according to the National Restaurant Association's 2026 report. Software AI (scheduling, ordering, recipe tools) is cheap and easy to plug in, so it's spreading fast. Kitchen robots are slower to catch on because they're expensive, unreliable with delicate food, and customers are wary — only 30% of adults said they'd like food prepared by a robot [4].
The good news for young workers: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 148,000 openings each year [6] for food preparation workers through 2034, even with a small 3% decline in total jobs. Human skills — tasting, judging freshness, teamwork, and adapting on the fly — remain hard to automate, and industry voices keep repeating that AI is not replacing humans; it is augmenting them [7]. If you're entering this field, learning to work alongside smart tools will make you more valuable, not less.
Sources
Will AI replace Food Preparation Workers?
Not entirely. We think AI will take over some tasks, but not the whole job.
Our 49.3% AI Resilience Score reflects a real tension in this field. AI is already reshaping food prep in meaningful ways: large operators are using it to cut food waste, swap ingredients faster, and compress recipe development timelines by 50% to 60% [1]. Automated systems like Sweetgreen's conveyor kitchen have lowered labor costs and boosted sales at its locations [4]. These shifts are real and they are accelerating, partly because 67% of U.S. operators cite rising labor costs as their top pressure [5].
But cooking is genuinely complicated in ways that trip up machines. Tasting, judging freshness, adapting mid-service, and working as a team are still human strengths. Only 30% of adults said they would want food prepared by a robot [4], and failed experiments like Kernel show that kitchen automation is much harder than it looks in a factory setting.
The economic picture is the weakest part of this story. Wages and career flexibility in food prep are limited, so even if your job survives AI, growing your earning power will take deliberate effort. The practical move: learn the scheduling, ordering, and recipe tools coming into kitchens now. Workers who understand those systems will be harder to replace.
Sources
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Latest AI news for Food Preparation Workers
These articles highlight the resilience of food preparation careers in the face of AI advancements. For instance, the CBS News article notes that culinary jobs are among the most "AI-resistant," offering hope for job security. The Deloitte report reveals how AI can enhance customer experiences and streamline operations in restaurants, suggesting that food preparation workers can benefit from these innovations rather than be replaced. As AI transforms the food industry, workers can embrace new technologies to improve efficiency while focusing on creativity and personal interaction in their roles.
Economic Strategy Review calls for Singapore to ensure AI technology supports workers instead of replacing them
theindependent.sg • 5/15/2026
New proposals aim to help workers move into safer, better-paying roles as AI reshapes industries and career paths across Singapore.
Aspiring Atlanta chefs find hope as culinary jobs rank among the most "AI-resistant"
www.cbsnews.com • 12/4/2025
At a time when workers across industries are wondering whether artificial intelligence could take their jobs, new data shows that some...
AI in the Kitchen
cacm.acm.org • 10/7/2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) isn't just disrupting how we work. It's also going to revolutionize how we eat.
How AI is revolutionizing restaurants
www.deloitte.com • 6/24/2025
Deloitte's State of AI in Restaurants Survey finds AI use cases in customer experience and inventory management are already generating...
The Latest AI Trends Transforming The Food Industry
www.forbes.com • 3/18/2025
AI is transforming the food industry, optimizing production, safety, nutrition, & supply chains. With rising investment, AI trends in food...
More Career Info
Career: Food Preparation Workers
They help prepare ingredients by chopping vegetables, measuring ingredients, and following recipes to ensure meals are ready for cooking in restaurants or cafeterias.
Parent Careers
Employment & Wage Data
Median Wage
$35,320
Jobs (2025)
908,500
Growth (2025-35)
-3.0%
Annual Openings
135,700
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
None
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025-2035
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items.
2
Carry food supplies, equipment, and utensils to and from storage and work areas.
3
Butcher and clean fowl, fish, poultry, and shellfish to prepare for cooking or serving.
4
Stock cupboards and refrigerators, and tend salad bars and buffet meals.
5
Distribute menus to hospital patients, collect diet sheets, and deliver food trays and snacks to nursing units or directly to patients.
6
Receive and store food supplies, equipment, and utensils in refrigerators, cupboards, and other storage areas.
7
Prepare a variety of foods, such as meats, vegetables, or desserts, according to customers' orders or supervisors' instructions, following approved procedures.
Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.
