We personalize your experience.
We use cookies in our website to ensure we give you the best experience, get to know our users and deliver better marketing. For this purpose, we may share the information collected with third parties. By clicking “Allow cookies” you give us your consent to use all cookies. If you prefer to manage your cookies click on the “Manage cookies” link below.
The culinary industry is fast-paced, competitive, and rewarding. If you want to land your ideal job in this industry you will need the perfect resume. Here’s how to write one.
Our customers have been hired by*:*Foot Note
If you want a job in a culinary role, you will need a resume that shows you are the kind of person who exhibits knowledge of food and restaurant operations, copes with stress, handles a fast-paced work environment, and thinks on your feet. Whether you want an entry-level job or a senior position, it all starts with the right resume. Here’s what you need to know about writing a great culinary resume.
Build my resumeThe culinary industry is one of the biggest industries in the world. There are literally hundreds of jobs you can hold in the culinary field, but some of the most common are:
If you want to catch a hiring manager’s eye and land a new job, you will need a great resume. Any resume should include these basic sections:
A resume header is placed at the very top of the resume and should contain your full name and contact information. For example, you should include your phone number, email address, and professional social media links, such as your LinkedIn profile.
Under the header, you should include either a resume objective or a resume summary statement. Which one you choose should depend on your experience level. For example, a head chef resume will have a resume summary because this kind of role requires years of experience. A resume summary should include your most relevant achievements and skills. A resume objective statement is more likely to be included on an entry-level resume. This should be a statement of career goals and intentions.
Your resume skills should include 8 to 12 bullet points detailing your most relevant technical skills, hard skills, and soft skills. Soft skills like communication and conflict resolution can be important for a culinary professional, as you need to have great people skills to work with others and ensure customer satisfaction. Here are some skills that are often listed on food production resumes:
You should list up to the last 10 years of culinary experience on your resume to get the best results, but if you don’t have food service work experience you should include whatever work experience you do have. List your job title, employment dates, and key achievements in each role, focus on responsibilities and accomplishments and address the needs of the job description. For example, listing a customer service job in which you multitasked can show you can keep up in a kitchen environment.
List your highest education credentials, such as any training you’ve had in culinary school, as well as any related qualifications.
Whether you were top of your class in culinary school or you have earned recognition or an award for fine dining food production, you should list achievements like this on your resume. This will help you stand out from the crowd of job seekers.
If you have certifications from culinary institutes or other professional bodies you should include them on your resume.
Build my resumeIf you are writing your culinary resume for the first time, reviewing appropriate culinary resume templates or examples can help you to get an idea of what may be expected from you. These are just four of the resume examples available at ResumeHelp:
When writing your resume, you should also consider using the ResumeHelp resume builder to ensure that your resume is well-formatted. This free online tool helps with small details like spacing and font size, as well as key elements such as job-specific suggestions to fill out each section.
Consider these additional tips for polishing your resume content:
Active language such as “Created” or “Developed” is a far better way to take ownership of your skills and experience than passive statements like “Was responsible for.”
If you’ve created a menu based on specific dishes and cuisines, spell it out, rather than being vague and stating that you created a menu. Try to use numbers, like percentages, to discuss how you’ve made an impact on sales and productivity, which is more likely to impress hiring managers.
If you have undertaken unpaid work such as charity work, volunteer work, or an internship you should include this information on your resume as long as it exhibits skills and abilities that are useful for culinary work.
Online resume builders offer templates with attractive design elements that can help your job application stand out.
Have questions? We’re here to help.
Yes, you need a cover letter to complement any resume and job application. This is an important document that offers job seekers the unique opportunity to converse directly with the hiring manager while providing additional context and information. If you want to ensure that your cover letter is properly formatted and functional, the ResumeHelp cover letter builder can be incredibly helpful.
It is possible to get a job in the culinary industry with absolutely no experience or education in the field. It all depends on what job title you want to hold. For example, you can get a regular kitchen staff role fairly easily straight out of high school, but if you want to be a sous chef or a head chef you will need some industry experience and learning. The key is to ensure that your resume shows top skills that also match the needs of the job description.
Tailoring your resume to suit the needs of each new job application is the best way to land a job interview. You can do this by thoroughly reading the job description and highlighting the skills and qualifications listed as necessary. Address these requirements when writing your resume so that your application ranks well in applicant tracking systems (ATS) and makes it to the recruiter’s desk.
Couldn't find the answer you're looking for?
