One specific resume challenge you might face in the culinary industry is effectively showcasing the breadth of your skills and unique culinary creations to potential employers. Our guide provides targeted advice on how to articulate your culinary accomplishments and tailor your resume to stand out in a competitive market.
- Get inspired from our culinary resume samples with industry-leading skills, certifications, and more.
- Show how you can impact the organization with your resume summary and experience.
- Introducing your unique culinary expertise with a focus on tangible results and achievements.
If the culinary resume isn't the right one for you, take a look at other related guides we have:
- Hotel Bartender Resume Example
- Catering Resume Example
- Cook Resume Example
- Reservations Manager Resume Example
- Fine Dining Resume Example
- Restaurant Operations Manager Resume Example
- Barback Resume Example
- Kitchen Manager Resume Example
- Front of House Manager Resume Example
- Cocktail Bartender Resume Example
Optimize your culinary resume format to pass the recruiters' assessment
You may be wondering just how much time you need to spend on designing your culinary resume.
What recruiters are looking for is systematised content that is clear and coherent. Thus, your culinary resume needs to answer requirements and why you're the best candidate for the role from the get-go.
Often, a clear layout consists of:
- Sorting your experience in the reverse chronological order - starting with your most recent and relevant roles. This is an excellent choice for more experienced professionals;
- Writing your contact information (e.g. personal phone number and email address) and your portfolio or LinkedIn link in your culinary resume header. If you're wondering to include a photo or not, always make sure that it's appropriate for the country you're applying in;
- Use the basic, most important culinary resume sections - your experience, education, summary, etc. Use your resume's real estate wisely to tell a compelling, professional story and match job description's keywords;
- Don't go overboard with the length of your resume. One page is absolutely fine if you happen to have under a decade of relevant experience.
Are you still wondering if you should submit your culinary resume in PDF or Word format ? The PDF has a few more advantages, as it doesn't change the format and the text can't be altered upon application.
Format matters most when your culinary resume is assessed by the Applicant Tracker System (or the ATS).
The ATS parses resumes, looking for specific keywords, skills or experience that match the job description.
P.S. We recently did a study on how the ATS works and were able to demystify three of the biggest misconceptions about how it assesses candidate resumes.
To pass the ATS evaluation, select any of the serif or sans-serif fonts. Popular choices that would help your culinary resume stand out include Raleway, Exo 2, Montserrat, etc.
Most traditionalists go for Arial or Times New Roman, but it's often the case that many candidates choose these fonts, and you'd thus lose points on the uniqueness front.
Customize your resume for the market – a Canadian format, for example, might vary in structure.
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PRO TIP
The more time and effort you've put into obtaining the relevant certificate, the closer to the top it should be listed. This is especially important for more senior roles and if the company you're applying for is more forward-facing.
The six in-demand sections for your culinary resume:
- Top one-third should be filled with a header, listing your contact details, and with a summary or objective, briefly highlighting your professional accolades
- Experience section, detailing how particular jobs have helped your professional growth
- Notable achievements that tie in your hard or soft skills with tangible outcomes
- Popular industry certificates to further highlight your technical knowledge or people capabilities
- Education to showcase your academic background in the field
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- Diverse culinary Skill Set - Mastery of various cooking techniques and cuisines.
- Professional Experience - Past roles in reputable restaurants or food service establishments.
- Creativity and Menu Development - Proven ability to create innovative and appealing menus.
- Food Safety and Sanitation - Knowledge and certifications in proper food handling and safety protocols.
- Leadership and Team Management - Experience in supervising kitchen staff and coordinating kitchen operations.
The culinary resume experience section: a roadmap to your expertise
The resume experience section provides you with an opportunity to tell your professional narrative.
Recruiters, reading between the lines of your resume, use the experience section to better understand your unique skill set, accomplishments, and what unique value you bring about.
Discover five quick steps on how to write your experience section:
- Curate only relevant experience items to the role and include the company, description, and dates; all followed by up to six bullets per experience item;
- Each experience item should feature tangible results of your actions - if you can include a number or percent, this will further highlight your aptitude;
- If you've received any managerial or customer feedback, use short excerpts of it as further social proof of your technical or people skills;
- Make sure you're using the appropriate verb tense when listing your responsibilities;
- Within the description for each role, you could summarize your most noteworthy and relevant achievements.
Now, take note of how a real-world culinary professional received opportunities at industry leaders with these resume experience sections:
- Efficiently managed a team of 15 kitchen staff at a high-volume, fine dining establishment, consistently hitting operational efficiency goals by 20%.
- Developed a seasonal menu featuring locally sourced ingredients, leading to a 25% increase in customer satisfaction and a 30% boost in repeat business.
- Spearheaded a waste-reduction initiative that cut food costs by 18%, while maintaining quality standards and diner satisfaction.
- Oversaw daily culinary operations in a fast-paced hotel restaurant, serving over 500 guests daily with a team of 20 cooks and assistants.
- Implemented a training program that improved kitchen staff skills, reducing cooking errors by 40% and increasing kitchen throughput.
- Collaborated with the front-of-house management to redesign the dinner service flow, reducing wait times by 25% during peak hours.
- Oversee the food preparation process for a modern fusion restaurant, incorporating innovative cooking techniques such as sous-vide and molecular gastronomy.
- Launched a signature dish that became a social media sensation, drawing in an average of 100 additional patrons per week.
- Partnered with local farms to ensure the use of fresh, sustainable ingredients, resulting in enhanced flavor profiles and a 15% increase in menu prices supported by clientele.
- Created a revamped dessert menu for an upscale patisserie, which led to a 50% increase in dessert sales and notable mention in 'Foodie Magazine'.
- Trained a team of 10 pastry interns in advanced baking techniques, ensuring high quality and consistency in production.
- Organized and executed catering events for up to 300 guests, customizing dessert options to fit client needs while staying under budget by 10%.
- Led a kitchen brigade in a busy seafood restaurant, handling over 1000 covers per week and maintaining a 5-star hygiene rating throughout tenure.
- Reduced ingredient costs by sourcing directly from local fishermen, improving margins by 22% without sacrificing quality.
- Curated multiple cooking workshops that enhanced the brand's community presence and attracted a wider customer base.
- Managed food inventory and procurement for a trendy vegan eatery, reducing food spoilage rates by 35% through better supplier negotiations and stock management.
- Conducted monthly cooking classes that increased patron engagement and boosted weekday sales by 20%.
- Pioneered a plant-based menu that catered to diverse dietary restrictions, making the restaurant a popular choice among health-conscious diners.
- Optimized kitchen workflows in a busy city café, which increased service speed by 30% and significantly improved customer reviews on Yelp and TripAdvisor.
- Initiated a sourcing partnership with local organic coffee farms, elevating the café's reputation for freshness and supporting the local economy.
- Launched a successful breakfast burrito line that became the café’s best-selling item, contributing to a 40% increase in morning sales.
- Direct the culinary program at a boutique winery, pairing complex dishes with exclusive wine selections to enhance the tasting experience for guests.
- Achieved a 95% satisfaction rate on guest feedback forms through meticulous attention to detail and a personalized approach to menu creation.
- Initiated a farm-to-table event series that attracted food critics and increased banquet bookings by 30% year-over-year.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- Include the number of menu items developed to showcase creativity and contribution to culinary diversity.
- List the percentage increase in customer satisfaction from menu enhancements to demonstrate customer-focused improvements.
- Mention the decrease in food waste through improved management to highlight cost-saving and sustainability efforts.
- Quantify the size of teams managed or trained to establish leadership and team development skills.
- State the number of food safety certifications obtained to emphasize commitment to standards and ongoing education.
- Detail the revenue growth achieved from special promotions or events to reflect direct impact on business profitability.
- Record the volume of meals prepared during peak service times to exhibit efficiency and high-volume production capability.
- Specify the reduction in order fulfillment times post-process optimization to show operational improvement.
Action verbs for your culinary resume
Culinary resume without experience: a walk-through guide
If you don't happen to have any relevant experience yet, you can substitute this with:
- Short-term gigs and stunts - like month-long internships, that you have done during your university days
- Contract work - be specific about the relevance and outcomes of each role you include
- Resume format that prioritizes your skills - the functional-skill-based format or hybrid format could work
- Research roles - feature those especially prominently if you've participated in a noteworthy project or your role was of utmost importance to the project's success.
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PRO TIP
If you happen to have some basic certificates, don't invest too much of your culinary resume real estate in them. Instead, list them within the skills section or as part of your relevant experience. This way you'd ensure you meet all job requirements while dedicating your certificates to only the most in-demand certification across the industry.
Creating your culinary resume skills section: balancing hard skills and soft skills
Recruiters hiring for culinary roles are always keen on hiring candidates with relevant technical and people talents. Hard skills or technical ones are quite beneficial for the industry - as they refer to your competency with particular software and technologies. Meanwhile, your soft (or people) skills are quite crucial to yours and the company's professional growth as they detail how you'd cooperate and interact in your potential environment. Here's how to describe your hard and soft skill set in your culinary resume:
- Consider what the key job requirements are and list those towards the top of your skills section.
- Think of individual, specific skills that help you stand out amongst competitors, and detail how they've helped you succeed in the past.
- Look to the future of the industry and list all software/technologies which are forward-facing.
- Create a separate, technical skills section to supplement your experience and further align with the culinary job advert. Find the perfect balance between your resume hard and soft skills with our two lists.
Top skills for your culinary resume:
Knife Skills
Food Safety and Sanitation
Cooking Techniques
Menu Planning
Baking and Pastry Skills
Grilling and Barbecuing
Food Presentation
Recipe Development
Inventory Management
Culinary Software (e.g., ChefTec)
Creativity
Time Management
Teamwork
Communication
Adaptability
Attention to Detail
Problem-Solving
Stress Management
Customer Service
Work Ethic
PRO TIP
If you failed to obtain one of the certificates, as listed in the requirements, but decide to include it on your resume, make sure to include a note somewhere that you have the "relevant training, but are planning to re-take the exams". Support this statement with the actual date you're planning to be re-examined. Always be honest on your resume.
Qualifying your relevant certifications and education on your culinary resume
In recent times, employers have started to favor more and more candidates who have the "right" skill alignment, instead of the "right" education.
But this doesn't mean that recruiters don't care about your certifications .
Dedicate some space on your resume to list degrees and certificates by:
- Including start and end dates to show your time dedication to the industry
- Adding credibility with the institutions' names
- Prioritizing your latest certificates towards the top, hinting at the fact that you're always staying on top of innovations
- If you decide on providing further information, focus on the actual outcomes of your education: the skills you've obtained
If you happen to have a degree or certificate that is irrelevant to the job, you may leave it out.
Some of the most popular certificates for your resume include:
The top 5 certifications for your culinary resume:
- Certified Executive Chef (CEC) - American culinary Federation
- ProChef Certification (ProChef) - The culinary Institute of America
- Certified culinary Educator (CCE) - American culinary Federation
- Certified Sous Chef (CSC) - American culinary Federation
- Certified Master Pastry Chef (CMPC) - American culinary Federation
PRO TIP
The more trusted the organization you've attained your certificate (or degree) from, the more credible your skill set would be.
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Choosing between a culinary resume summary or objective
Many may argue that, in recent times, the culinary resume summary or objective has become completely obsolete.
But the reality is different as both of these resume sections provide you with an opportunity to :
- integrate culinary-vital keywords
- showcase your accomplishments
- answer why you're applying for this particular role.
The difference (between the summary and the objective) is that the:
- Resume objective puts your career goals in a more prominent position.
- Resume summary focuses more on career milestones.
We recommend you select the summary if you happen to have plenty of experience you'd like to spotlight from the very start of your culinary resume.
Meanwhile, the objective is ideal for those candidates who'd like to further prove their suitability for the role with their goals and soft skills.
We've featured some industry professional culinary resume samples to the best resume summary and objective structures:
Resume summaries for a culinary job
- With a decade of experience as an Executive Chef in a Michelin-starred establishment, I possess a comprehensive understanding of high-end cuisine production and management. My technical expertise encompasses molecular gastronomy and sustainable sourcing, leading to the significant achievement of a 30% increase in diner satisfaction scores.
- Having honed my skills for over 15 years as a Pastry Chef, I've mastered the art of crafting exquisite desserts, specialty bread, and innovative confections. Awarded 'Best Dessert Menu' by the National Restaurant Association, my background includes spearheading a bakery section in a top NYC restaurant, yielding a 20% yearly growth in sales.
- Transitioning from a successful career in software development, my analytical skills and 10-year experience in project management are ready to be channeled into culinary arts. I'm eagerly aiming to apply my systematic approach and relentless creativity to achieve culinary expertise and contribute to a kitchen's success.
- After thriving in corporate event planning for 8 years, my extensive experience in client service, operational logistics, and passion for food has driven me to pursue a dynamic career in the culinary industry. I am committed to leveraging my event coordination prowess to enrich customer dining experiences and streamline kitchen operations.
- As an enthusiastic individual with a strong passion for flavors and an eagerness to learn, my objective is to immerse myself in professional culinary arts. My goal is to cultivate my skills, bring fresh ideas, and contribute to a dynamic kitchen team, despite having no prior professional culinary experience.
- With no professional kitchen experience but an unwavering passion for gastronomy and a commitment to learning, I seek to develop my culinary skills. Ambitious to understand diverse cooking techniques and food cultures, I aim to contribute creatively to the culinary team as I embark on this new professional journey.
Other culinary resume sections to support your expertise and skills
Recruiters are always on the lookout for that culinary candidate who brings about even more value to the role.
This can be either via their personality or additional accreditations they have across the industry.
Add to your resume any of the four sections that fit your profile:
- Projects for your most impressive, cutting-edge work;
- Awards or recognitions that matter the most;
- Publications further building up your professional portfolio and accreditations;
- Hobbies and interests to feature the literature you read, how you spend your time outside of work, and other personality traits you deem may help you stand out .
Key takeaways
- Ensure your culinary resume uses a simple, easy-to-read format that reflects upon your experience and aligns with the role;
- Be specific within the top one-third of your resume (header and summary or objective) to pinpoint what makes you the ideal candidate for the culinary role;
- Curate information that is tailored to the job by detailing skills, achievements, and actual outcomes of your efforts;
- List your certifications and technical capabilities to demonstrate your aptitude with specific software and technologies;
- The sections you decide on including on your culinary should pinpoint your professional expertise and personality.
