Culinary Chef Resume Guide + Tips + Example
A great job as a culinary chef demands a compelling culinary chef resume. Not sure what that looks like? Don’t worry! We’re here to help you create one. Our guide to crafting an impressive resume for a culinary chef job will help you showcase your team leadership and operations management skills so you can get the job you want.
Start by editing this culinary chef resume sample, or explore our library of customizable resume templates to find the perfect resume template for a culinary chef job.
Sample resume for a culinary chef (text version)
Angelica Brannen
Atlantic City, NJ 08404
(555) 555-5555
example@example.com
Professional Summary
Accomplished chef with over 15 years of comprehensive experience working in the food service industry. Adept at strictly monitoring kitchen activities and meeting health code standards. Specialties in Italian and American cuisine. Strong organizational, leadership and management skills. Ready for new challenges creating tasty meals for successful establishments.
Work History
July 2014 – Current
Carmine’s Italian Restaurant
Lead Chef
- Develop and cook exciting, memorable dishes that brought new customers into the establishment and bolstered restaurant revenues to $3.5 million per year.
- Mentor and lead more than 10 kitchen staff at all levels to prepare each for demanding roles.
- Spearhead menu planning, recipe development and day-to-day management for two locations, as well as catering operations.
January 2011 – June 2014
Cafe 2825
Chef
- Hired, trained and managed all kitchen staff, including employee development, issuing disciplinary action and conducting performance reviews.
- Planned promotional menu additions based on seasonal pricing and product availability.
- Introduced new market items and spearheaded the production of the highly popular Sunday brunch, generating an increase of 15% in monthly revenue.
July 2006 – December 2010
Capriccio – Philadelphia, PA
Sous Chef
- Assisted with the development of full, tasting and special events menus for 300 guests to meet all establishment needs and maintain strong customer levels.
- Plated every dish with attractive flair to meet strict restaurant standards and maintain a stellar business reputation.
- Acted as head chef when required to maintain continuity of service and quality.
Skills
- Recipes and menu planning
- Signature dish creation
- Fine-dining expertise
- Specialty in Italian food
- Team leadership
- Operations management
- Effective communications
- Quality standards
Education
Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
Bachelor of Science Culinary Arts & Sciences
Certifications
Food Handler’s certification – (Updated 2022)
5 essentials of a top resume for a culinary chef
Contact details
Add your contact information to the top of your resume so hiring managers can contact you. As our culinary chef resume sample shows, your contact information must include your full name, city, state, ZIP code, phone number and professional email address. If you have a LinkedIn profile and a professional website, add them last.
Personal statement
A professional summary, also known as a personal statement, is a concise, three-to-five-sentence statement that tells the hiring manager who you are and what you offer. A resume summary for a culinary chef must include job-relevant skills and one or two notable accomplishments. It should touch on how long you’ve been in the industry. If you are just starting out in your career, it’s better to write a resume objective for a culinary chef instead.
Skills
Create a skills section on your resume so hiring managers can see if your skill set matches their needs. A resume template for a culinary chef resume will have a separate section for your job-relevant skills in a bulleted list. As our culinary chef resume sample shows, it’s best to include both hard and soft skills, such as your technical expertise, project oversight and organizational skills.
Work history
Whether this is your first job or you’ve been at it for decades, your culinary chef resume must include a section to display your job history. In reverse-chronological order, display your current and previous employers and provide company names, locations and the dates you worked for them. Include three bullet points of measurable achievements for every job you list.
Education
A resume for a culinary chef job must include an education section. In reverse-chronological order, show the name of the schools and the years that you graduated using bullet points. If you did not attend college, then list your high school information and the classes or training you’ve taken since graduating. If you come from an apprenticeship, then list it here.
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Action words for a stand-out culinary chef resume
Use action words and numbers to make your descriptions compelling.
Here’s a short list of perfect action words for a culinary chef resume:
- Direct
- Create
- Organize
- Plan
- Introduce
- Expedite
- Ensure
- Develop
- Mentor
- Spearhead
- Maintain
- Produce
- Execute
- Cook
- Collaborate
- Develop
Need the perfect resume for a culinary chef job now? Our Resume Builder has all the tools you need to create a professional resume in minutes! We’ll help you fill in your template. Then you can make edits on the fly, download your finished resume, save it in multiple file formats and send it to your target employer. It’s that easy!
Top skills for a culinary chef resume
Review the job description closely and match the required skills to the skills and traits that fit you.
As a culinary chef, your skills might include:
- Organization
- Planning
- Interpersonal skills
- Teamwork
- Collaboration
- Verbal communication
- Flexibility
- Multitasking
- Patience
- Mental agility
- Physical agility
- Creativity
- Leadership
- Patience
Certifications for a culinary chef resume
A certification is not required to work as a culinary chef, but having at least one can put you ahead of the pack. Hiring managers will be impressed with your industry, in-depth knowledge and passion for your profession.
Certification options for culinary chefs include:
Pair your resume with a matching cover letter
Culinary chef resume FAQ
1. How should you tailor a resume for a chef role?
In addition to using the culinary chef resume sample on this page as a guide, look for chef job descriptions and take note of specific skills and qualifications employers usually require — cleaning and sanitizing food preparation areas, being flexible in shifting working conditions, or assisting other chefs in placing of meat, fish and produce orders, for instance. Then match these requirements with your own skills and work history where you can, using the major components of your resume — summary, skills and work history sections — to tell the story of your career, showing you have both the experience and aptitude to fulfill the job requirements. As mentioned above, you should create different versions of your resume to target different jobs.
2. What does a culinary chef resume look like?
There is no standard resume template for a culinary chef resume; you can use any of our templates and customize them for your desired job. A good resume for a culinary chef will look like the culinary chef resume sample on this page. It must display the job seeker’s contact information, various hard and soft skills, job history, education and certifications, if applicable. A culinary chef resume might also contain sections for awards and honors if the job candidate has them to display.
3. What are some tips for creating an excellent resume for a culinary chef job?
A culinary chef resume will vary from person to person, but you should pay attention to these resume writing basics:
- Keep your resume short and to the point. If you have less than 10 years of experience, then it should be one page long; if you have more than 10 years of experience, then it’s acceptable to have no more than two pages.
- Ensure your resume is formatted correctly, meaning margins should be one inch on all sides and line space should be single or 1.5 inches.
- Only use appropriate fonts, like Times New Roman, Arial, or Helvetica, in 11-12 points on the body and 14-16 points on headers.
- Proofread your resume more than once before sending it to potential employers.
4. What is the best resume format for a culinary chef?
The format you choose will depend on your experience and career goals. If you have some experience, try a chronological resume, focusing on your work history and accomplishments. If you have a few years of experience and want to stress your full array of skills, a combination resume format could work well, and if you’re new to the field, then a functional resume is your best bet.
5. What if I have no previous professional experience?
On your culinary chef resume, highlight any past academic or extracurricular activities, skills and experience that show that you can be a good fit for the job, such as volunteering to help an organization create meals for seniors. These activities should depict your ability to produce work professionally and efficiently. In your summary, emphasize important intangible skills that also apply to the job, such as the ability to strategically plan a menu or manage kitchen inventory.
Do’s and don’ts for building a culinary chef resume
- Use measurable achievements to describe your culinary chef skills and experience.
- Use action words to make an impact on your culinary chef resume.
- Tailor your resume to your target culinary chef job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your culinary chef resume.
- Format your culinary chef resume so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your culinary chef experience and skills.
- Boast that you’re the “best culinary chef ever.”
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience that are about something other than being a chef.
- Forget to proofread. A culinary chef resume with errors is unprofessional.
Top 4 tips for acing a culinary chef interview
Research first.
It’s vital to take the time to learn about the institution or company’s history, goals, values and people before the interview. Doing so conveys interest, passion and commitment — traits that can set you above the competition.
Practice your answers.
Practice is really important. Be sure to practice for your interview by reviewing the most common interview questions, such as:
- What Have You Accomplished That Shows Your Willingness to Work?
- What Goals Have You Established for Yourself?
- How Would Your Coworkers Describe You?
And some possible behavioral questions such as:
- Tell me About a Time You Created a Goal and Achieved it.
- Describe a Time When You Had to Cope With a Stressful Scenario.
- Tell me About a Time You Were Able to Diffuse an Angry Coworker.
Write down two or three possible answers for each question, then practice answering them with a friend.
Prepare questions to ask during the interview.
After the hiring manager and potential colleagues question you, they will likely offer for you to ask them some questions. Always have at least three for each person you speak with; doing so shows that you’re interested and have been paying close attention.
Some questions you might ask for a culinary chef job are:
- What is a typical day like on the job?
- Can you tell me about the challenges the last person in this role had to overcome?
- What is the work culture like?
Gather references
Have professional references ready during your interview. It comes in handy, especially if the hiring manager offers you the job on the spot. Make a list of two former colleagues and a former manager willing to speak highly about your abilities to perform the culinary chef job.
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CV examples for the next step in your culinary career
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Chef Resume Example
Kellie is the content strategist for My Perfect Resume. She has more than 20 years of experience in digital media and is passionate about helping job seekers navigate their careers. She has a B.A. in English and writing from Temple University.
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