Top Culinary sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers & results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
A Culinary resume experience section to be proud of
Writing a Strong Experience Section for Your Culinary Resume:
- List your previous jobs in chronological or reverse-chronological format;
- Use no more than 4-6 bullets per position;
- Mention only relevant work experience;
- Describe the tasks you were responsible for and how you managed to exceed expectations;
- Show you’re able to take charge by choosing action verbs over buzzwords.
To illustrate it more clearly, we’ve collected some of the best experience section examples from real Culinary resumes. Check them out below!
- Created innovative and seasonal menu items, resulting in a 30% increase in sales revenue over 1 year.
- Implemented food cost control procedures and reduced food waste by 25%, resulting in a savings of over $20,000 annually.
- Trained and mentored kitchen staff in proper food handling, safety, and sanitation, resulting in zero health department violations.
- Collaborated with the restaurant's marketing team to create promotional events that increased customer traffic by 15% during slow periods.
- Managed inventory and purchasing of all kitchen supplies, including food, equipment, and smallwares, while maintaining budgetary goals.
- Received 4-star rating from The Columbus Dispatch restaurant critic for culinary excellence and exceptional service.
- Implemented a new employee training program, reducing staff turnover by 20%.
- Managed a team of 10 kitchen staff members and ensured that food was prepared and served in a timely and efficient manner.
- Developed and executed new menu items, including daily specials, which resulted in a 20% increase in sales revenue over 6 months.
- Managed inventory and ordering of all kitchen supplies, resulting in a 10% reduction in food cost and an annual savings of $15,000.
- Ensured compliance with health department regulations and food safety guidelines, resulting in zero health department violations.
- Created a new employee training program and trained kitchen staff on proper food handling and safety procedures.
- Received multiple awards and accolades from local food critics and publications for culinary excellence and exceptional service.
- Increased kitchen efficiency by 25% by streamlining prep and cooking processes.
- Implemented a new ordering system which reduced waste and saved $10,000 annually.
- Ensured quality control by conducting daily inspections of food and kitchen equipment.
- Developed a training program for new hires that reduced onboarding time by 50%.
- Consistently maintained a high standard of food quality, resulting in a 90% customer satisfaction rate.
- Collaborated with the pastry chef to develop new dessert offerings, resulting in a 20% increase in dessert sales.
- Demonstrated excellent knife skills, which led to being selected to assist with banquet events for up to 500 guests.
- Trained new line cooks on menu items and kitchen procedures, resulting in reduced errors and increased efficiency.
- Managed the buffet line, ensuring that all items were stocked and presented attractively.
- Collaborated with the chef to create custom menus for clients, resulting in repeat business and positive reviews.
- Maintained a clean and organized work environment, which was praised by clients and supervisors alike.
- Assisted with the setup and breakdown of events, which improved efficiency and reduced labor costs.
- Conducted daily quality control checks on ingredients and finished products, ensuring compliance with company and legal standards.
- Collaborated with culinary and production teams to identify and address quality control issues, resulting in a 30% improvement in overall product quality.
- Developed and implemented new quality control procedures and protocols, reducing production errors by 20%.
- Trained new culinary and production team members on quality control procedures and best practices, ensuring consistent product quality across all teams.
- Assisted executive chef in managing kitchen operations, including inventory management, menu planning, and quality control.
- Developed and implemented new menu items, resulting in a 25% increase in restaurant revenue.
- Managed team of culinary professionals, providing training and mentorship to ensure consistent food quality and excellent customer service.
- Maintained a clean and organized kitchen environment, ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations.
- Prepared high-quality, contemporary American cuisine according to restaurant recipes and standards.
- Worked collaboratively with kitchen staff to ensure timely delivery of food items to customers, resulting in a 15% increase in customer satisfaction.
- Maintained a clean and organized work area, ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations.
- Participated in menu planning and recipe development, providing feedback and suggestions to improve menu offerings.
PRO TIP
In writing your Culinary resume, you will no doubt want to list your previous duties - as you should. But steer clear of just listing your duties, instead of your achievements. Make your resume stand out by communicating what you have done, and not merely what the job needed you to do.
Action Verbs for your Culinary Resume
Recommended reads:
Culinary Resume: Crafting a Strong Skills Section
How to write a strong Culinary resume skills section?
- Make sure to include all types of skills - soft, hard, technical;
- Focus on skills that show your expertise in the field;
- Check the job description for keywords and make sure to add them to your resume – this will help you pass ATS;
- Leave room for discussion – elaborate on some of your strongest skills in other sections of your resume
Top skills for your culinary resume
Knife skills
Food safety and sanitation
Measuring and weighing ingredients
Cooking techniques (grilling, roasting, sautéing, etc.)
Baking and pastry
Menu planning and recipe development
Plating and presentation
Inventory management
Kitchen equipment operation and maintenance
Understanding of different cuisines and ingredients
Time management
Attention to detail
Teamwork and collaboration
Communication skills
Adaptability and flexibility
Creativity and innovation
Leadership and management
Stress management
Customer service
Passion for cooking and food
PRO TIP
When picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
Culinary resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist: the perfect Culinary resume summary section
- Add a couple of keywords from the job description;
- Mention some of your most valuable skills and characteristics;
- Highlight your top achievements (and add numbers!);
- Use no more than 3-5 sentences to guarantee readability and keep - the hiring manager interested.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Your summary should act as an elevator speech, briefly promoting how you will benefit the employer if hired. Pitch your strengths in the summary and expand on them in your Culinary experience section. Give examples like how your work benefited each employer.
Recommended reads:
Culinary Resume Format 101
If a couple of years ago Culinary resumes could be text files with no graphic elements, today’s recruiters need a bit more to remember you.
And yet, you can still choose between three basic resume formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
But when it comes to choosing the right format for your Culinary resume, there are two factors to keep in mind: your experience and whether you’re looking for an industry change.
The reverse-chronological format is the most common one. That being said, it gives recruiters exactly what they’re used to in terms of order and information. However, it’s not suitable for applicants with employment gaps or not enough experience.
We at Enhancv suggest the functional skills-based resume format for people with limited work experience who find reverse-chronological resumes irrelevant. This format showcases the applicant’s most significant accomplishments, skills, and strengths.
Here are some more things worth remembering when it comes to formatting your Culinary resume:
- Choose standard 1-inch resume margins;
- Go for traditional resume fonts sized 10-12p;
- Match the length of your Culinary resume with your experience – choose a one-page template if you have less than 10 years of experience, and be careful with two-page templates – use them only when applying for executive positions;
- Save your resume in PDF to avoid formatting issues and potential unauthorized editing.
Tired of getting rejected? Check out this article on how to craft a resume that stands out!
