As a kitchen manager, articulating your extensive experience in food preparation and staff supervision in a concise manner can be a daunting resume challenge. Our guide can assist by providing targeted strategies to streamline your information, ensuring your resume is as impactful and digestible as the dishes you create.
- Sample industry-leading examples to learn how to write your best resume yet.
- Improve the experience, education, and achievements section of your resume with insights from resume-writing professionals.
- Curate your technical expertise and personality to stand out amongst the pool of candidates.
- Succinctly focus on your unique skill set all through your kitchen manager resume.
If the kitchen manager resume isn't the right one for you, take a look at other related guides we have:
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- Assistant Restaurant Manager Resume Example
- Catering Resume Example
- Server Bartender Resume Example
- McDonalds Resume Example
- Fast Food Resume Example
- Guest Relations Manager Resume Example
- Front of House Manager Resume Example
- Bar Manager Resume Example
How to style your kitchen manager resume: layout and format
When creating your kitchen manager resume, have you ever wondered how long it should be? Experts point out that it should be between one and two pages. Choose the longer format, if you happen to have over a decade of relevant experience. What is more, resume formats play a crucial role in presenting your experience. Use the:- Reverse-chronological resume format to highlight your experience;
- Functional skill-based resume format if you have less experience and want to focus on skills;
- Hybrid resume format to guide recruiters through both your experience and skills.
- Make sure your headline is simple and includes the job you're applying for or your current role, an abbreviation of a certificate you have, or even your professional area of interest;
- Always tailor your kitchen manager resume to the role you're applying for by matching job requirements to your experience via different resume sections;
- Once you've created your resume, download it in PDF (unless otherwise specified). This is to ensure readability and that the layout remains fixed.
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Listing your relevant degrees or certificates on your kitchen manager resume is a win-win situation. Not only does it hint at your technical capabilities in the industry, but an array of soft skills, like perseverance, adaptability, and motivation.
The five (plus) definite sections your resume for a kitchen manager job should include are:
- Header with your headline, contact details, and/or a preview of your work
- Summary (or objective) to pinpoint how your success aligns with the role
- Experience with bullets of your most relevant achievements in the field
- Skills to integrate vital job requirements (both technical and personal)
- Your further dedication to the field, showcased via relevant higher education and/or certifications
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- Proven experience with inventory management and cost control measures.
- Demonstrated ability to maintain high standards of food safety and a clean work environment.
- Experience with menu planning, recipe development, and ensuring consistent food quality.
- Strong leadership skills with a track record of effectively managing and training kitchen staff.
- Expertise in kitchen operations, including scheduling, budgeting, and workflow optimization.
The kitchen manager 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 kitchen manager professional received opportunities at industry leaders with these resume experience sections:
- Spearheaded a kitchen efficiency overhaul at Applebee's which cut food waste by 25% through the implementation of an inventory management system.
- Developed and executed a staff training program focused on improving cooking techniques and food safety practices, elevating the restaurant's health inspection score by 15 points.
- Crafted seasonal menus incorporating local ingredients, boosting customer satisfaction by 30% and resulting in a 20% increase in repeat business.
- Managed a team of 20 kitchen staff at Olive Garden, increasing overall productivity by streamlining the delegation of tasks based on individual strengths.
- Introduced a farm-to-table concept that elevated the restaurant's profile in the community, leading to a feature in a regional food magazine.
- Oversaw a major kitchen renovation project, coordinating with contractors and vendors to minimize downtime and resume full operations within a scheduled four-week period.
- Revitalized the menu at Buffalo Wild Wings, incorporating innovative wing flavors that enhanced sales by 35% within the first year.
- Implemented a cross-training initiative that resulted in a more versatile kitchen staff capable of handling a 50% surge in customer volume during peak sports events.
- Negotiated with suppliers to secure bulk purchase discounts, reducing ingredient costs by 12% without sacrificing quality.
- Led a team of 15 chefs at Cheesecake Factory, consistently maintaining high-quality standards while serving up to 400 customers daily.
- Effectively managed food inventory with a precision tracking system that significantly minimized overstock and spoilage.
- Introduced a 'Chef's Special' feature which became a highly profitable menu section, attributing to 25% of monthly sales.
- Collaborated with nutritionists at Whole Foods Market to create a line of health-conscious ready-to-eat meals, resulting in a 40% increase in that category's revenue.
- Sourced high-quality organic ingredients from within a 50-mile radius, supporting local farmers and reducing carbon footprint.
- Launched a zero-waste initiative that successfully diverted 70% of previously discarded food to compost and charity donations.
- Directed a dynamic team at Chipotle, establishing a 'speed-scratch' cooking approach that minimized customer wait times while preserving food quality.
- Pioneered a sous vide cooking method for proteins that enhanced taste and tenderness, subsequently increasing meat dish sales by 22%.
- Championed a diversity and inclusion program within the kitchen staff, fostering a positive culture and reducing staff turnover by 30%.
- Orchestrated the culinary team at Red Lobster, infusing the menu with sustainable seafood options that contributed to a 15% increase in customer loyalty.
- Optimized kitchen workflow by introducing advanced cooking appliances that cut meal preparation time by 20%, allowing for a smoother rush hour service.
- Implemented a sophisticated food allergy awareness protocol, drastically reducing the instances of cross-contamination incidents.
- Conceptualized and launched a 'global street food' festival at TGI Fridays, driving a 45% revenue increase over the event month.
- Led a kitchen digitization effort incorporating a real-time order management system, achieving a 30% reduction in ticket times.
- Cultivated partnerships with local craft breweries, incorporating their products into new recipes and pairing suggestions, which enhanced beverage sales by 18%.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- List the percentage by which you reduced waste or improved inventory management through your initiatives.
- Specify the number of kitchen staff you have managed, trained, or supervised at one time.
- Include the dollar amount of budget you've been responsible for in terms of purchasing and cost control.
- Mention the number of menu items you have successfully developed or implemented.
- State the percentage increase in customer satisfaction or restaurant ratings attributable to your management.
- Indicate the size of the establishment you managed, in terms of seating capacity or square footage.
- Report the number of health and safety inspections passed or scores achieved under your leadership.
- Quantify the improvement in order turnaround time or kitchen efficiency metrics you accomplished.
Action verbs for your kitchen manager resume
How to shift the focus from your kitchen manager resume experience section to your professional profile
If you're at the start of your career journey or transitioning industries, you might be concerned about the lack of professional experience while crafting your kitchen manager resume.
How can you effectively present your kitchen manager resume experience section under these circumstances?
Rather than a traditional, extensive experience section, demonstrate your expertise through:
- Emphasizing your education. Your academic background might impress recruiters, especially if it includes recent, industry-relevant knowledge;
- Creating a compelling objective statement. The first few sentences of your resume should map out your motivations and career aspirations, offering insight into your goals;
- Highlighting your transferable skills. For example, if you've honed communication skills through volunteering, illustrate on your kitchen manager resume how these can benefit a potential employer;
- Detailing your technical background in certifications and skills sections. As a recent graduate, your technological foundations might be particularly attractive to employers looking to develop these skills further.
It's important to remember that employers sometimes prefer candidates with less experience but who are a better cultural fit for their organization.
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PRO TIP
List your educational qualifications and certifications in reverse chronological order.
Kitchen Manager skills and achievements section: must-have hard and soft skills
A key principle for your Kitchen Manager resume is to prominently feature your hard skills, or the technologies you excel in, within the skills section. Aim to list several hard skills that are in line with the job's requirements.
When it comes to soft skills, like interpersonal communication abilities and talents, they're trickier to quantify.
Claiming to be a good communicator is one thing, but how can you substantiate this claim?
Consider creating a dedicated "Strengths" or "Achievements" section. Here, you can describe how specific soft skills (such as leadership, negotiation, problem-solving) have led to concrete achievements.
Your Kitchen Manager resume should reflect a balanced combination of both hard and soft skills, just as job requirements often do.
Top skills for your kitchen manager resume:
Food Safety Knowledge
Inventory Management
Menu Planning
Kitchen Equipment Operation
Cooking and Baking Techniques
Food Cost Management
Sanitation and Cleaning Protocols
Vendor Relationship Management
Food Preparation Skills
Knowledge of Health Codes
Leadership
Communication
Time Management
Problem Solving
Teamwork
Attention to Detail
Stress Management
Adaptability
Conflict Resolution
Decision Making
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If you happen to have plenty of certificates, select the ones that are most applicable and sought-after across the industry. Organize them by relevance to the role you're applying for.
Showcase academic background with education and certifications' sections
Listing your education and certifications should be a rudimentary part of your resume writing.
Including your relevant academic background - in the form of your higher education degree and niche-specific certificates - will prove knowledge of the industry.
For your education section:
- Start by including your degree, followed by start and graduation dates, as well as the institution;
- You could include relevant coursework, major/minor , or GPA, only if your've just graduated from college or if this information would further support your application;
- If you have an "ongoing" degree, you can still list it in case you think your diploma can impress recruiters or it's required;
Follow a similar logic for your certifications section by listing the institution, alongside dates you've obtained the certificate. For some of the most recent and relevant industry certificates , check out the next part of our guide:
The top 5 certifications for your kitchen manager resume:
- ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification (ServSafe Manager) – National Restaurant Association
- Certified Professional - Food Safety (CP-FS) – National Environmental Health Association
- Certified Food and Beverage Executive (CFBE) – American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute
- Food Safety Manager Certification (FSMC) – State-specific health departments or ANSI-accredited programs
- Certified Kitchen Manager (CKM) – American Culinary Federation
PRO TIP
If the certificate you've obtained is especially vital for the industry or company, include it as part of your name within the resume headline.
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The summary or objective: focusing on the top one-third of your resume
It's a well-known fact that the top one-third of your kitchen manager resume is the make-it-or-break-it moment of your application. The resume summary and objective could help you further build up your professional profile.
- If you have plenty of career highlights behind your back, use the resume summary . The kitchen manager summary immediately focuses recruiters' attention on what matters most within your experience.
- The resume objective is the perfect choice for balancing your career achievements with your vision. Use it to state precisely how you see yourself in a couple of years' time - as part of the company you're applying for.
Both the resume summary and resume objective can be your value pitch to potential employers: answering what makes your application unique and the top choice for the kitchen manager role. They both have to be specific and tailored - as there's no one-size-fits-all approach to writing your kitchen manager summary or objective. Use the kitchen manager examples below as a starting point:
Resume summaries for a kitchen manager job
- With 10+ years at the helm of bustling New York steakhouses, I am a seasoned kitchen manager boasting a track record of reducing food costs by 20%, increasing kitchen efficiency, and leading a team of 30 chefs to win the Diners’ Choice Award. My proficiencies include inventory management, meticulous health and safety practices, and crafting memorable dining experiences.
- As a former sous chef with 8 years of experience transitioning to kitchen management, my culinary expertise, adeptness at staff training, and cost management skills have been the cornerstone of my journey. Spearheaded a farm-to-table initiative at a renowned Californian bistro, elevating customer satisfaction and boosting revenue by 15%.
- Adept in managing high-volume, fast-paced retail operations, I am pivoting into kitchen management, bringing forth robust organizational and staff coordination skills. With a strong understanding of operational efficiency and customer satisfaction from a tenure at a leading department store, I am eager to leverage my 5 years of managerial experience in the culinary world.
- Ambitious and eco-conscious, with a 3-year tenure as an environmental consultant, I am seeking to channel my passion for sustainability into kitchen management. I am ready to apply my project management experience, along with my proficiency in team leadership, to foster a greener, waste-reducing kitchen culture that aligns with modern dining values.
- Eager to embark on a culinary career, my objective is to utilize my bachelor's degree in hospitality management and my dedication to service excellence. I am committed to mastering kitchen operations, leading with integrity, and contributing significantly to a high-standard food establishment while learning from esteemed industry professionals.
- As an aspiring kitchen manager with no direct experience but vast customer service expertise, my goal is to bring my talent for people management, a knack for quick learning, and a relentless work ethic to ensure the smooth operation of kitchen activities. I aim to cultivate excellent team environments and strive for culinary excellence under guidance and mentorship.
Beyond your kitchen manager resume basics - extra sections
Ensure your kitchen manager resume stands out from the crowd by spicing it up with a couple of supplementary sections that showcase your:
- Prizes - as a special nod to what matters most in the field;
- Projects - ones that would really further support your application;
- Hobbies - include only if you think they'd further your chances at landing the role with personality
- Community impact - to hint at the causes you care about.
Key takeaways
- Invest in a concise kitchen manager professional presentation with key resume sections (e.g. header, experience, summary) and a simple layout;
- Ensure that the details you decide to include in your resume are always relevant to the job, as you have limited space;
- Back up your achievements with the hard and soft skills they've helped you build;
- Your experience could help you either pinpoint your professional growth or focus on your niche expertise in the industry;
- Curate the most sought-after certifications across the industry for credibility and to prove your involvement in the field.
