Best Cook Resume Examples & Templates
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Cooks are responsible for preparing meals for people in a variety of settings. They may work in restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals, hotels, or any other food service establishment. Cooks must be knowledgeable in a variety of cooking methods and ingredients, as well as food safety and sanitation. They must also be able to work in a fast-paced environment and be able to think on their feet.
A great job as a cook demands a perfect cook resume. Not sure what that looks like? Don’t worry! We’re here to helpyou learn how to write a great resume. Our guide to crafting a perfect resume for a cook job will help you make the most of your ladership and interpersonal skills to write the best cook resume.
Start by editing this cook resume sample, or explore our library of customizable resume templates to find the perfect resume template for your cook resume.
Sample resume for a cook (text version)
Elijah West
San Antonio, TX 78213
(555) 555-5555
example@example.com
Professional Summary
Versatile and seasoned cook with 10 years of hands-on experience preparing and presenting exceptional culinary creations. Adept at managing various stations, from grilling to sautéing, bringing a deep understanding of flavor profiles, ingredient pairings and innovative cooking techniques. Skilled in menu development, cost control and maintaining a clean and organized kitchen.
Work History
November 2020 – Current
Hyatt Regency – San Antonio, TX
Head Cook
- Oversee day-to-day kitchen operations of a team of 15 kitchen staff, ensuring efficiency, organization and adherence to established procedures.
- Introduce three new dishes every season, increasing customer satisfaction by 25%.
- Implement and monitor food safety protocols, maintaining high standards of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in the kitchen.
September 2016 – October 2020
Hard Rock Cafe – San Antonio, TX
Cook
- Consistently prepared a high volume of dishes daily, maintaining a 98% accuracy rate in adhering to recipes and presentation standards.
- Reduced ingredient waste by 25% and prevented stockouts of essential items.
- Implemented time-efficient cooking techniques, resulting in a 20% reduction in average ticket preparation times.
June 2013 – August 2016
Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen – San Antonio, TX
Cook Assistant
- Assisted in the preparation of an average of 150 dishes daily, maintaining a 95% accuracy rate in following recipes and presentation standards.
- Improved efficiency by 20% in ingredient preparation, contributing to a smoother kitchen workflow during peak hours.
- Kept kitchen clean and organized by performing daily maintenance tasks.
Skills
- Menu planning
- Food safety and sanitation
- Precision and attention to detail
- Culinary techniques Adaptability
- Team leadership
- Time management
- Organization and collaboration
Education
Culinary Institute of America San Antonio, TX
Bachelor of Arts Culinary Arts
Certifications
ServSafe Food Handler Certification – (Updated 2023)
5 essentials of a top resume for a cook
Contact details
Add your contact information to the top of your resume so hiring managers can contact you. As our cook 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.
Professional summary
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 cook resume must include job-relevant skills and one or two notable accomplishments, and 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 cook resume objective instead.
Here’s a good example of a professional summary for a cook resume:
“Dedicated and highly skilled cook with 10+ years of experience in a fast-paced restaurant kitchen. Proficient in creating delicious, high-quality dishes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Possess excellent time management, organization and multitasking abilities. Committed to consistently delivering top-notch customer service and ensuring high levels of satisfaction. Possess a valid food safety certification.”
Skills
Create a skills section on your resume so hiring managers can see if your skill set matches their needs. A cook resume will have a separate section for your job-relevant skills in a bulleted list. As our sample cook resume shows, cook skills for a resume include: hard skills like menu planning; soft skills such as creativity.
Work history
Whether this is your first job or you’ve been at it for decades, your cook 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.
Here are some examples of achievements for a cook resume:
- Consistently prepared meals within a 20-minute timeframe to meet customer demands.
- Developed a training program for new cooks that reduced onboarding time by 30%.
- Trained over 20 new cooks in the past three years resulting in an average of 5-star reviews.
Education
A resume for a cook 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 standout cook resume
Use action words and numbers to make your descriptions compelling.
Here’s a short list of perfect action words for a cook resume:
- Serve
- Assist
- Provide
- Create
- Sell
- Engage
- Organize
- Collaborate
- Help
- Present
Need the perfect cook resume 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 cook resume
Review the job description closely and match the required skills to yours.
Some cook resume skills you can include are:
- Organization
- Planning
- Interpersonal skills
- Teamwork
- Collaboration
- Verbal communication
- Flexibility
- Persuasion
- Sales
- Multitasking
- Customer service
- Patience
- Mental agility
- Physical agility
- Friendliness
Certifications for a cook resume
A certification is not required to work as a cook, but having at least one certificate 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 cooks include:
- CompTIA Server Plus
- Certified Cook
- ServSafe Food Handler
- ServSafe Manager
Pair your resume with a matching cover letter
Cook resume FAQ
What does a cook resume look like?
There is no standard resume template for a cook resume; you can use any of our templates and customize them for your desired job. A good resume for a cook will look like the cook resume examples 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 cook resume might also contain sections for awards and honors if the job candidate has them to display.
What are some tips for creating an excellent resume for a cook job?
A cook resume will vary from person to person, but you should pay attention to these resume writing basics:
- Include technical skills like kitchen equipment operation; and computer skills like knowledge of recipe management software.
- 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 a decade 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.
What is the best resume format for a cook?
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.
What if I have no previous professional experience?
On your cook 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 serve food to the less fortunate in a community. 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 and execute a project or a strong work ethic.
Do’s and don’ts for building a cook resume
- Use measurable achievements to describe your cooking skills and experience. For example, “Cut kitchen labor costs by 15% by streamlining processes.”
- Use action words such as bake, steam, and boil to make an impact on your cook resume.
- Tailor your resume to your target cook job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your cook resume.
- Format your cook resume so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your cooking experience and skills.
- Boast that you’re the “best cook ever.” Instead, emphasize jb-relevant accomplishments like “Prepared and served over 2000 meals in a single shift.”
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience that are about something other than restaurant service.
- Forget to proofread. A cook resume with errors is unprofessional.
Top 4 tips for acing a cook interview
Research first.
It’s vital to take the time to learn about the restaurant 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.
Some things to consider:
- Look for a restaurant that has a good reputation and positive reviews from customers.
- Research the restaurant’s menu and cooking techniques to ensure they match your cooking style.
- Find out what type of kitchen equipment the restaurant uses and if it is up to date.
- Research the restaurant’s health and safety standards to make sure they are up to code.
- Find out the restaurant’s schedule and hours of operation.
- Look into the restaurant’s training and development opportunities.
- Find out what type of staff benefits and incentives the restaurant offers.
- Research the restaurant’s wages and salary structure.
- Ask about the restaurant’s employee turnover rate.
- Find out if the restaurant provides any employee discounts.
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?
And some possible behavioral questions such as:
- Tell me About a Time You Created a Goal and Achieved it.
- Describe a Time When You Put Your Needs Aside to Help a Coworker.
- Describe a Time When You Had to Cope With a Stressful Scenario.
Also be preared to answer cook-specific job interview qustions such as:
- How have you handled customer complaints in the past?
- What have been your biggest successes in the kitchen?
- Describe your experience with recipe creation and menu planning.
- How do you handle a busy kitchen and staff?
- What methods do you use to ensure food safety and quality?
- How do you ensure proper food storage and rotation?
- How do you stay up to date on culinary trends?
- How do you handle difficult customers?
- Describe your experience with ordering and inventory management.
- What strategies do you use to motivate staff?
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 cook job are:
- What is a typical day like in the restaurant?
- What kind of kitchen environment do you have?
- How much autonomy do you give your cooks in terms of creativity and menu development?
- What is the expected level of productivity for a cook in this role?
- What safety procedures are in place in the kitchen?
- What is your policy regarding food waste and sustainability?
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 cook job.
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Sources
- American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute
- Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Cooks
- CompTIA
- ServSafe
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Cook Resume Example
Kellie is a Certified Professional Resume Writer with extensive experience in digital media. She is passionate about helping job seekers navigate their careers. She earned a B.A. in English and writing from Temple University.
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