Preparing a Chef CV - With Chef CV Skills List


CV's are also called a variety of things including curriculum vitae and resume. The most important attribute of a successful CV is that it clearly explains to the reader what it is that you can do for them.

The purpose of your Chef CV is not to get you the job - it's purpose is to get you an interview, and after your meeting to remind the person you met with about you.

Chef CV Tips

Remember you are not writing a CV for yourself, you are writing it for the employer / recruiter. So put yourself in the shoes of the reader when you prepare your Chef's CV.

When you submit a printed CV to a potential employer, it is likely to be the first thing they get to see or read of yours. Therefore, you need to present your CV well and make it user friendly.

 

Chef CV objectives
Chef CV formatting tips
Chef CV guidelines
Chef CV content
Chef CV do's & don'ts
Chef CV tips
Chef CV template
Chef skills list
Chef business skills list
Positive action verbs related to Chef roles

 

Your Chef CV should be:

  • A well-presented, selling CV
  • A source of relevant & desirable skills and experience
  • A script for talking about your experience as a chef and yourself

 

General CV formatting tips:

  • In most cases, be conservative and print your CV in black ink on white paper.
  • Lay your CV out neatly.
  • Don't make the margins too deep or too narrow.
  • Resist writing lengthy paragraphs - be concise.
  • Careful use of bold type can be effective.
  • Typefaces such as Times New Roman or Arial are fairly standard.
  • Do not use a type size less than 11pt.
  • Check for spelling or typographical errors - don't rely on a spell checker. If you're not sure about a word, resort to a dictionary. Sloppiness and lack of care could be heavily penalised.
  • Covering letters should use identical stationery as the CV.

 

Key Chef CV guidelines:

  • Generally, the CV should consist of no more than 2 pages.
  • Your CV should be honest and factual.
  • The first page should contain enough personal details for a recruitment consultant or potential employer to contact you easily.
  • Choose a presentation format that allows you to headline key skills, key achievements or key attributes.
  • Your employment history should commence with your current or most recent job and work backwards.
  • Achievements should be short, bullet-pointed statements and include your role, the action you took and a comment on the result of your action.
  • Where information clearly demonstrates your suitability for the vacancy you're applying for, and enhances your chances of being short-listed, include this information near the beginning of the CV.
  • Leave out information that is irrelevant or negative.
  • Include details of recent training or skills development events you have attended which could be relevant.
  • List all your professional memberships and relevant qualifications.

 

The most common contents of a Chef CV includes:

  • Personal Details
  • Chef Skills and Career Summary
  • Key Achievements
  • Key Chef Skills
  • Chef Qualifications / Certifications
  • Career History
  • Professional Memberships

 

Chef CV Do's:

  • Meet the needs of the target organisation where possible. This means a single generalist CV is unlikely to be sufficient.
  • Must highlight your achievements and how they relate to the job you are applying for. It must give the reader a clear indication of why you should be considered for this Chef's role.

 

Chef CV Dont's:

  • CV length - should not be too short or too long!
  • Spelling and grammar mistakes - eliminate via spell check
  • Plagiarised - don't copy from the web
  • Inaccurate - little white lies can tip you in to the boiling pot!
  • Contact detail mistakes - eliminate
  • Reference details mistakes - eliminate

 

Chef CV Tips:

    • Key skills:
      • Chef skills - include skills which match the specific job spec e.g. butchery skills for a smokehouse chef role
      • Leadership - demonstrate your leadership experience
      • Organisation / Business Acumen - demonstrate your organisational skills

 

    • Professional Chef experience:
      • List experience in bullet format
      • Give specific examples of restaurants, Hotel kitchens... worked in
      • Utitlise poistive Action Verbs e.g. Manage daily kitchen operations and create standards that exceed safety and health regulations
      • Where possible, provide numerical values describing your work experience e.g. Re-developed the menu which increased sales revenue by [NUMBER]%

 

  • Professional Chef qualifications/ certifications:
    • include all and highlight those most suited to the specific job spec

 

Chef CV Template:
For additional help with your Chef CV, download our Chef CV Template.

West One’s Blog

West One is a boutique Catering and Hospitality recruiter offering permanent and temporary recruitment solutions to establishments across London and the South East England.




Call Us Now!

PERMS 020 3196 2100
TEMPS 020 3196 2104

Call Us Now!


PERMS 020 3196 2100

TEMPS 020 3196 2104
Hospitality & Catering recruitment

Westone – Logo

West One Hospitality & Catering Consultancy
Examples of Chef Skills:
Culinary Expertise
Baking
Baking Techniques
Banqueting
Butchery
Catering
Cleanliness
Commitment to Quality
Consistency
Cooking
Cooking Methods / Techniques
Creativity
Culinary Expertise
Customer Service
Fast-Paced Decision Making
Filleting
Food Preparation
Food Pricing
Food Presentation
Food Regulations
Food Safety
Food Science
Food Service Management
Grilling
Handle Pressure
Heat Control
Health and Safety
Hotel Kitchen
Hygiene
Ingredient Selection
Kitchen Management
Kitchen Safety
Kitchen Tools
Knife Control
Knife Cuts
Knife Skills
Leadership
Local Foods
Management
Measurements
Menus
Menu Planning
Motivational
Multitasking
Nutrition
Ordering
Operations
Organising
Passion
Pastry
Planning
Portion Control
Preparing Various Cuisines
Precision
Product Selection
Problem Solving
Recipes
Restaurant
Safe Food Handling
Safety
Sanitary Practices
Sanitation
Seasoning
Service
Source Ingredients
Supervision
Team Building
Team Player
Teamwork
Temperature Control
Time Efficient
Training
Well-Tuned Palate
Examples Chef Business skills:
Business Acumen
Administrative Tasks
Attention to Detail
Budgeting
Communication
Control Labor Costs
Cost Control
Cost Reduction
Hiring
Initiative
Interpersonal
Inventory Management
Inventory Rotation
Recruitement
Examples of positive action verbs related to Chef roles:
Accomplish
Allocate
Anticipate
Assist
Clean
Cook
Control
Create
Delegate
Deliver
Designate
Design
Determine
Develop
Devise
Ensure
Fine-tune
Improve
Increase
Initate
Liaise
Perform
Provide
Prepare
Organise
Order
Manage
Monitor
Record
Save
Schedule
Serve
Supervise
Train
Verify