Chef Resume Example
Pursuing a career as a chef provides opportunities for career progression and responsibilities involving ensuring HACCP compliance and preparing diverse menus. For a successful chef application, you'll want to submit a professional resume that showcases your relevant skills. In this article, we'll discuss how to create a chef resume that catches the eye of employers, with tips and examples to help you write your own.
After reading this guide, you'll know what it takes to whip up a resume that really stands out from other chef applicants. You'll learn how to show employers you've got the relevant qualities, skills and experience for the job, all presented in a format that employers prefer to see. The article also includes tips for formatting your resume according to your experience and strengths. Read on to learn how to write a perfect chef resume, from the advice of careers experts at Jobseeker.
Main sections of a chef resume
A successful chef resume will typically include each of the sections listed below, with some optional sections. A resume for candidates with little or no work experience may focus less on the work experience section, and bring sections to the fore that emphasize their unique traits, such as hobbies and interests, volunteer work, education, projects and skills lists.
Your resume layout and structure may differ depending on your experience levels, but make sure your resume includes the following:
Resume Header with Contact Details
In your chef resume header, list your name, email address, phone number and address or location. You can also add your LinkedIn, if you have one, to help employers better understand your work history and skills. While in some countries, you might include additional personal information or a photo, these aren't necessary. Create a clear, well-structured header that acts as the headline of your resume. Use color accents and blocks to help this section stand out and catch the eye of the reader.
Opt for a professional-looking email address based on your name. If your email address could be construed as unprofessional or inappropriate because it contains nicknames or unsuitable language, create a new, more professional email address for your job applications. Always check your contact details to make sure they're up-to-date before you send your resume.
Peter Moore
peter.moore@example.com
(111) 222 33 444 55
1313 Mockingbird Lane, Mockingbird Heights, CA
linkedin․com/in/peter–moore123
Resume Summary
Your resume personal profile is a short, concise paragraph to highlight two or three key skills and achievements in chef roles. You may also see this section named as 'resume summary' or 'resume objective'. Resume summaries tend to focus on your career experience, while resume objectives cover your ambitions and plans for the future. Furthermore, when writing your profile, focus on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for chef roles.
Alternatively, write a paragraph that concentrates on your career objectives and how this role fits with your wider ambitions and progression.
The best resume summaries reflect the job description and focus on qualities that are relevant to working as a chef, while highlighting elements of your personality that make you an ideal candidate. They also quantify the information provided with evidence. Take a look at some strong examples of how to approach a chef resume summary in the graphic below.
Good example:
Dedicated and innovative chef with a Bachelor of Culinary Arts and extensive experience as a Culinary Specialist. Proven expertise in menu development, kitchen management, and food safety protocols. Adept at leading culinary teams to deliver exceptional dining experiences while maintaining high standards of quality and efficiency. Passionate about culinary arts with a strong commitment to continuous learning and professional development
Bad example:
Chef with some experience in cooking and kitchen tasks. Worked on creating food options and managing kitchen activities. Have led teams to make meals while keeping things running smoothly. Interested in cooking and always looking to learn more
Conversely, a bad resume summary might be too generic, lacking focus on the specifics of the job description. It will also fail to provide any useful insights on what makes you a unique candidate. The graphic above shows some of the pitfalls to avoid when creating your resume summary.
Skills
Adding a list of your key skills provides a quick reference for the reader of what you can bring to a chef role. Skills such as knife skills proficiency or attention to detail are particularly useful for chef jobs. Once more, review the job description and pick out any key chef skills listed that match yours. Focus on these skills and any other key transferable skills that make you a strong candidate for the job.
How to include hard skills on your chef resume
Hard skills are the key technical skills required for chef positions. They include specific industry knowledge and abilities that you could learn on the job, or through a specialist qualification. Furthermore, an extensive list of hard skills helps to make a compelling case for your chef job applications, as they show employers your understanding of the chef role. Aim to include four or five key hard skills. If you have space, explain how and where you've used that skill to create successful outcomes in your career. These skills will demonstrate your credentials and show how you meet the job description.
For an effective resume hard skills section, focus on the technical skills that are most essential in the job description, and that match your specific expertise. Some examples of the best hard skills for a chef resume are listed below.
- Knife skills proficiency
- Menu planning expertise
- Food safety certification
Showcasing your best soft skills
In your soft skills list, include any personal characteristics that make you a good fit for a chef job. Soft skills tend to be more universal than hard skills, but they're no less important. In fact, you can develop soft skills throughout your career, and they tend to be suitable for various roles and professions. Think of your best soft skills and add up to five that match the requirements of the job description.
Your soft skills section should make the most of your unique personal qualities and strengths, while also reflecting the requirements laid out in the job description. See below for some examples of useful soft skills for a chef resume.
- Attention to detail
- Time management skills
- Communication and teamwork
Education
Under education, add details of any degrees or professional qualifications relevant to chef roles.
If you're applying for chef positions, you'll typically need to have a degree. A Bachelor of Culinary Arts will usually help your chances of success. You could also list any qualifications that demonstrate your food safety certification or menu planning expertise.
Enter the name and level of the qualification, the institution you studied at, its location and your dates of study or graduation. If you have space, include some bullet points outlining any specialist areas of study, awards or high grades, so the employer can learn more about your unique skill set and knowledge.
Additionally, mentioning any leadership roles or any societies and clubs you participated in while studying shows proactivity and initiative.
Bachelor of Culinary Arts, 2017 - 2020
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Relevant Certifications and Licenses
Your certifications section is the place to mention any relevant professional chef certifications, licenses or qualifications. Add any official certifications or accreditations that increase your level of qualification and suitability for working as a chef. Therefore, make sure you list the dates of your certifications and licenses so employers can see they're up-to-date and valid.
Below you can find several examples of certifications for a chef resume:
- Certified Executive Chef, 2022
- Certified Sous Chef, 2022
- Certified Master Chef, 2022
Work History
Next, list your relevant employment history and any key achievements that show you're suitable for a chef position. Mention only the most appropriate and relevant jobs you've had in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent and working backwards. Add your job title, the name of the employer, the location of the role and your dates of employment.
Also include some bullet points for each job mentioned, showcasing your achievements so the employer can see the impact you made on the company. Pay attention to the job description and make sure each point is relevant to chef roles.
A successful resume work experience section will always showcase skills and experience relevant to the job description, and how you put each to good use in your previous roles. Offering quantifiable evidence in a chef resume proves you're a strong candidate for the job, such as client feedback, project outcomes, KPIs or financial results. See the examples below for some ideas of what a great resume work experience looks like.
Good example:
Culinary Specialist, January 2022 - Present
GourmetAlchemy Inc, Chicago
- Led a team to prepare 500+ high-quality meals daily, achieving a 95% customer satisfaction rate
- Implemented a cost-saving inventory system, reducing food waste by 30% and saving $15,000 annually
- Developed new menu items that increased sales by 20% and attracted a new customer demographic
Bad example:
Culinary Specialist, January 2022 - Present
GourmetAlchemy Inc, Chicago
- Managed kitchen operations to ensure smooth workflow and team collaboration
- Enhanced customer dining experience through innovative culinary techniques
- Contributed to menu planning and kitchen efficiency improvements
In the graphic above you can see a great example of what to avoid when writing your resume work experience section. A bad resume work experience section might fail to address skills and achievements that relate directly to the job description. Falling back on clichés, vague descriptions and basic responsibilities, rather than showing the impact you made, is likely to disengage the reader.
Expert Tip:
Include transferable skills gained from any prior jobs, volunteer work, or personal projects, such as "managed schedules for a team of five" or "handled cash transactions accurately and efficiently." (1) Avoid using overly technical jargon and keep your descriptions straightforward for clarity. (2)
Optional Sections
If you need to provide further evidence of your suitability for the job, optional sections can be useful for a chef resume. Take a look at the sections below and add any that help you show how and why you're right for the job.
Personal Interests
Adding your hobbies and interests is a legitimate way of showing off your skills and personal qualities. They also help to show a different side of your personality, and can help your resume create a more memorable impression on hiring managers. If you're short on real-world work experience, hobbies and interests can be a useful way of providing more information about your qualities. If you're thinking about adding hobbies and interests, just make sure they add something unique to your application, and showcase your personality and interests in unique and interesting ways.
Volunteering
Listing volunteer work is another useful way to prove your relevant experience for chef roles. Add any voluntary roles, including your position, the name of the organization, the dates of your voluntary work and a brief explanation of your responsibilities and achievements.
References
Standard chef resumes don't tend to include references, but you might find them requested occasionally. Check the job advert to see if you'll need to add references to your resume. Add two or three professional references, and be sure to approach each referee before you include them.
References are available upon request.
Best action words for your chef resume
Add strong verbs to your work experience section to show the hiring manager the impact you made in your previous roles. Choose verbs from the suggestions below that highlight your key skills or those mentioned in the job description.
- Created
- Designed
- Prepared
- Executed
- Supervised
- Innovated
- Managed
- Instructed
- Coordinated
- Optimized
Jobseeker's clean, attractive resume formats can help your applications make a strong impression on employers. Check them out for help designing a winning resume, and see our cover letter templates to help win over recruiters and hiring managers.
Example resume for chef applications
Using each of the sections above, we've created this example chef resume, to help guide you when creating your own:
1313 Mockingbird Lane, Mockingbird Heights, CA
•
peter.moore@example.com
•
(111) 222 33 444 55
•
linkedin․com/in/peter–moore123
Experienced chef with a Bachelor of Culinary Arts and a proven track record as a Culinary Arts Specialist. Skilled in diverse cooking techniques, menu development, and kitchen management. Adept at maintaining high standards of food quality, safety, and presentation. Passionate about creating exceptional dining experiences and leading culinary teams to success.
Culinary Arts Specialist
2020
-2022
Epicurean Creations Ltd (Phoenix)
- Developed and implemented a new seasonal menu that increased customer satisfaction ratings by 25%
- Managed kitchen operations for a high-volume restaurant, reducing food waste by 30% through efficient inventory management
- Trained and mentored a team of 15 junior chefs, leading to a 40% improvement in overall kitchen performance
Knife skills proficiency
Menu planning expertise
Food safety certification
Attention to detail
Time management skills
Communication and teamwork
Certified Executive Chef
Certified Sous Chef
English - Fluent
Spanish - B2
Do's and don'ts of a chef resume
Tips to write the best resume
- Use a clear, professional resume format to make your document as accessible as possible, including a readable font and appropriate headings, margins and line spacing. This will make your resume easier for recruiters and hiring managers to read.
- Mention your key educational achievements, such as degrees and professional qualifications, along with grades such as your GPA, if they're high.
- Thoroughly proofread your resume before you send it, to make sure it's free from errors in spelling or grammar.
- Kick off your chef resume with a strong summary or objective statement that highlights your key skills and achievements.
- Quantify the impact you've made in different roles by offering evidence of your key abilities and your contribution.
Keep away from these common resume mistakes
- Don't list work experience that has no relation to the role you're applying for. It wastes space and is unlikely to impress hiring managers.
- Don't use an email address that contains unprofessional content, and if necessary create a new, more professional email address.
- Don't forget to keep your header up-to-date with every application, to make sure you don't include old contact information.
- Don't use passive language because it's less engaging for the reader. Change phrases like 'the target was exceeded' to 'I helped the team exceed the target'.
- Don't lie or exaggerate the details of your chef career or education, as this can backfire later in the recruitment process.
Guide to making your resume ATS-friendly
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) help recruiters and employers to streamline their hiring process. They can store and process data, including applications and applicant data, quickly and efficiently. One of the jobs ATS applications are increasingly responsible for is initial candidate screening. The systems can quickly scan and rank resumes based on how closely they match the job description. There are several things you can do when writing your chef resume, to give yourself the strongest chance of ranking highly in the ATS stage and progressing through the recruitment process.
Create an ATS-optimized resume by following these quick tips:
- Use a traditional resume format, such as reverse-chronological or functional. These will give your resume a structure that's easier for ATS to scan.
- Use of job description keywords throughout your resume will help it rank higher in the ATS scanning stage, as it will more closely match the requirements laid out in the job description.
- Using clear, simple headings makes it easier for an ATS application to scan your resume, as it can easily identify what's in each section of your document.
- Utilize a clean, clear resume design that helps make your content more readable. Use simple fonts and subtle color accents and design elements that don't detract from the written content.
- Use simple, concise language to keep your resume to a maximum of one to two pages in length. This will make it easier for ATS software to read.
For tips and ideas to help you draft a professional resume to get noticed by employers, read our expert career articles and check out our detailed resume examples.
Frequently Asked Questions for a chef resume
After writing your chef resume, you'll want to write an accompanying cover letter that helps your application stand out.
Check the job description to see whether a full, formal cover letter is necessary. In some situations, it might be more suitable to simply send a brief email to introduce yourself and accompany your resume.
For a full, traditional cover letter, follow formal letter-writing conventions with your header, address line and greetings. The main text of the letter tends to be split into three short paragraphs. Firstly, introduce yourself, confirm the role you're applying for and explain why you're applying for the chef role. In the second paragraph, highlight your skills and experience that are most relevant to the job description. The third paragraph gives you the opportunity to express your enthusiasm for the role and your gratitude to the employer, while leaving a call to action which encourages them to make contact with you.
If you want to impress employers with a professional cover letter, use Jobseeker's simple and beautiful cover letter templates.
If you're an experienced chef, your resume should focus on your extensive work experience and the achievements in your career to date. As an experienced candidate, your chef resume might include a work experience section that goes back beyond the standard 10 to 15 years. This will give you the chance to highlight your extensive experience and achievements. Add any optional sections that reinforce your image as a knowledgeable, respected professional in your field. This might include awards and other recognition, successful projects or a dedicated achievements section.
A strong resume headline can give the reader an immediate idea of your suitability for chef jobs. Resume headlines are also a powerful way of increasing your resume's chances of passing the ATS stage. They reference the job title and some of the keywords that match the job description. Write a short, concise resume headline incorporating the job title, one or two key skills that match the job description and a reference to your reputation or track record.
See an example resume headline below:
- Aspiring Culinary Professional Seeking Opportunities
- Culinary Expert with Global Experience
- Culinary Expert and Kitchen Leader
The resume format that gives you the best chances of success depends on your experience levels, as well as the type of job you're applying for and its seniority level. For applicants without much relevant work experience, a functional resume format tends to be best. This places the emphasis on your key skills and relevant qualifications. If, however, you have relevant work experience in the industry, it's typically best to use a reverse chronological resume format. This highlights your achievements in work, which is probably the most important factor for hiring managers to consider.
Key points for your chef resume
The best resumes focus on your skills and the value you've added to previous roles, rather than focusing on your duties and responsibilities. Choose the most suitable resume format for your experience levels, and focus on tailoring your resume based on the requirements listed in the job description.
Use Jobseeker's resume templates, other tools and resources to create an application that impresses employers. Sign up today to access a wealth of valuable resume and cover letter resources. A stylish, professional cover letter can make all the difference to your job prospects. See Jobseeker's cover letter examples, written by careers experts, to help you craft an eye-catching application.
Sources:
(1) Writing a Resume, California Department of Human Resources: https://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/resume-tips.aspx
(2) Resume Tips, Duke University: https://careerhub.students.duke.edu/resources/resume-tips/
