Chef résumé example for 2026
Kitchen CVs are read for covers, section and food cost. State the volume you cooked, the brigade you ran and the gross profit you held, because head chefs recruit on whether you can hold a service at their scale.
Opens in the editor as your own document. No account, and it never leaves your browser.
What a chef résumé has to show
- Covers per service and per week
- Brigade size and the sections you have run
- Food cost or gross profit percentage you managed
- Cuisine, venue type and any hygiene rating or audit result
Bullets you can adapt
Every one names a system or a surface, a change, and a number. Take the shape, not the figures — substitute your own and keep them defensible.
- Ran services of 180 to 220 covers a night with a brigade of 9 across 5 sections
- Held food cost at 28.4% against a 31% budget over 14 consecutive months
- Wrote 4 seasonal à la carte menus of 22 dishes each, lifting average spend per head from €41 to €48
- Delivered banqueting for a 400-guest wedding with a plated 3-course service inside 55 minutes
- Cut kitchen waste by 22% in six months by moving to a written prep list and daily yield checks
- Passed 3 consecutive external hygiene audits at 96% or above with full HACCP documentation
- Reduced chef turnover from 7 leavers a year to 2 by fixing the rota to 4 days on, 3 off
And the ones to cut
These are duties and adjectives. They describe a job title, not a person doing it.
- Responsible for preparing and cooking dishes to a high standard
- Passionate about food with a creative flair
- Worked in a fast-paced kitchen environment
Keywords an ATS looks for
Include the ones that are true of you. Our free ATS checker scores your résumé against a specific job posting and shows the full keyword report.
Chef résumé questions
What number matters most on a chef CV?
Covers, then food cost. Covers tell a head chef whether you can hold their service, and gross profit tells an owner whether you can run a section commercially. A CV with menus described but no volume figures reads as home cooking to anyone hiring for a busy site.
Should I list the restaurants and their style?
Yes, with cuisine and venue type, since 200 covers in a gastropub and 60 covers in fine dining demand opposite skills. If a kitchen had an award or a strong reputation, add one clause of context rather than assuming the name travels.
Do hygiene certificates belong on the CV?
Put HACCP and food safety level in a certifications block, because it is a legal and insurance requirement and operators check it before trial shifts. Adding your last external audit score alongside it is a quiet way to prove you run a clean section.