Culinary Resume Examples & Writing Guides

Functional Resume

For this job, use a functional resume format  that highlights your skill sets, such as, “knife-handling skills,” “kitchen maintenance” or “familiarity with industrial standards” as well as any training or qualifications you have in the culinary field (e.g., Certified Kitchen Cook).

 In a few sentences, recap your top skills and career highlights thus far, making sure you address important abilities that are mentioned in the job description. For example, if the job calls for managing inventory and good communication, you could write: “Hard-working cook with experience collaborating with 10-person kitchen team and managing stock replenishment for 100-person restaurant.”

Highlight your proficiency in technical areas, such as “menu planning” and “complying with nutrition standards,” as well as intangible skills like “ability to excel in fast-paced environment,” “adaptable” or “excellent communication skills.”

Continue to develop your cooking skills, as well as gain experience coordinating with cooks, chefs and sous chefs. Also look to add the following activities:

• Greater collaboration with restaurant management, such as the head chef
• Taking the initiative to further showcase your cooking and staff supervision skills
• Look into opportunities to create new dishes and meals
• Complete a professional specialization course, such as in pastries or confessionaries.

Combination Resume

If you have a few years of cooking experience, go for the combination resume format, which offers up a balance of your skills and work history. Determine your most relevant skills for the position, such as “fine-dining expertise,” “signature dish creation” and “operations management” and combine them with relevant work accomplishments (e.g., gaining recognition for specific cuisines).

Blend intangible skills like “management capabilities,” “an eye for detail” and “organization and leadership skills” with your achievements in a few to-the-point sentences. For example: “Experienced cook with an eye for detail, and proven organization and leadership skills.” Introduce both technical and soft skills in the summary to show you’re a good fit as a candidate.

Choose a handful of skills that match the job description of the position you’re applying for. Include both technical and soft skills in equal proportion, such as “knowledge of ServSafe standards,” “inventory management” and “expertise in customer interactions.” Mention your field of cuisine specialization, such as Italian, Japanese or desserts.

In addition to taking advanced courses in culinary sciences and related fields, focus on the following activities to further improve your profile:

• Emphasize contributions and roles that present you as a reliable leader
• Develop your specialties in the form of signature dishes
• Get more involved with customer service and feedback processes, using customer interactions to improve dishes
• Improve kitchen management and processes (e.g., coming up with a new stocking system, or better organizing kitchen areas for line cooks)

Chronological Resume

For this senior-level position, use the chronological resume format, which concentrates on career achievements, and your extensive experience. Highlight your most relevant skills (e.g., such as up-to-date knowledge of food industry and trends), while keeping the focus on your best accomplishments managing cooking teams and recognitions you’ve earned from critics and the public.

Present your top experiences, including your ability to take on more responsibilities. Blend in some soft and technical skills that emphasize your managerial and leadership qualities, along with your ability to create palette-pleasing dishes. For example: “Dedicated head chef experienced with Pan-Asian cuisine and managing 20+ member kitchen teams.”

As executive chefs are required to have impeccable cooking abilities as well as leadership qualities, focus on skills and keywords that represent your skills as an expert manager and communicator, as well your creativity with particular culinary specialties.

Continue taking on more responsibilities and managerial duties to advance further in your career, focusing on the following:

• Handling the kitchen staff with expertise
• Training new cooks and chefs to become successful, productive members of the kitchen team, handling tasks and instructions efficiently
• Using your leadership abilities and communication strategies to increase customer satisfaction (include stats to show the impact of your efforts, e.g. “handled kitchen staff and customer interactions, resulting in 20% increase in restaurant monthly business”)
• Using customer feedback on the service and menu to improve on both elements