In this guide
Role-specific resume and interview guides
Chef resume: kitchen type, covers and food safety
How chefs can describe kitchen type and covers, sections run, food safety and allergen control, cost management and menus on a resume that wins a trial shift.
Describe the kitchen as well as your job
A chef de partie in a 40-cover fine-dining restaurant and one in a 400-cover hotel banqueting kitchen have different skills. Give each role a one-line description of the kitchen: style, typical covers per service, brigade size and service type.
Illustrative example
Kitchen description line
- Chef de partie (sauce section), modern European restaurant, up to 120 covers a night, brigade of nine.
Sections, menus and volume
Illustrative example
Chef de partie
Before
Worked on the sauce section.
After
Ran the sauce and meat section on services of up to 120 covers, preparing mise en place for both and training the commis chef on butchery basics.
Illustrative example
Sous chef
Before
Helped the head chef with menus.
After
Developed four seasonal specials a month with the head chef, costed each dish, and ran the kitchen on the head chef's days off including ordering and rota changes.
Illustrative example
Cook in a care or school setting
Before
Cooked meals for residents.
After
Prepared three meals a day for 45 residents, including textured-modified and diabetic diets, following individual dietary plans agreed with the care team.
Food safety and allergens
Owners and head chefs need to trust you with food safety. List your food hygiene or safety certificate and level, allergen training, and any responsibility for temperature records, cleaning schedules or allergen matrices. If your kitchen improved its inspection result while you were responsible for these systems, say so.
Cost, stock and people for senior chefs
| Area | Example evidence |
|---|---|
| Gross profit | Held the food margin target while changing suppliers |
| Stock and waste | Introduced weekly stock takes and reduced waste on prepared vegetables |
| Menu development | Wrote and costed seasonal menus |
| Team | Recruited and trained the brigade; rota planning |
| Compliance | Ran food safety records and allergen information for front of house |
Preparing for the trial shift
Before a kitchen trial
- Read the current menu and know which section you are likely to work.
- Bring your knives, whites or the clothing the kitchen asks for.
- Ask how the trial is paid or arranged before agreeing to it.
- Arrive early, follow the kitchen's systems and keep your section clean.
- Ask questions about prep lists and service rather than improvising.
Common questions
Should I include photographs of my dishes?
Keep the resume text-based and link to a small set of photographs on a portfolio page or social profile, with notes on which dishes you created and which you executed.
How do I show cooking experience from a non-restaurant setting?
Describe the volume, dietary requirements and systems you worked with. Care homes, schools and contract catering build planning, consistency and allergen discipline that restaurants value.
Put it into practice
See how Luceria helps with thisDrafted with AI assistance and checked against Luceria’s editorial standards. Examples are illustrative, not real people’s results. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.