Chef Resume: Free Example (2026)

Use this chef resume example as a starting point, then tailor each section to the job posting.
Start with a concise header, a two to three sentence professional summary, followed by experience, skills, education, and certifications.

Keep contact details simple, list city and phone or email, and avoid including a full mailing address.
For the summary, state your role, years of experience, cuisine focus, and one achievement, all in two sentences.

A clear summary helps the hiring manager understand your fit at a glance.
Use two short sentences that combine role, experience level, cuisine or station, and a measurable result when possible.

Example 1: "Line Cook with five years of high-volume bistro experience, skilled in sauté and grill stations, consistently reducing ticket time by improving mise en place.
" Example 2: "Sous Chef with seven years in French and modern American kitchens, led a team of eight and supported a 12 percent increase in repeat catering business.

List jobs in reverse chronological order and focus on achievements rather than duties.
For each role include your job title, restaurant name, location, and dates, followed by three to five bullet points with specific outcomes.

Example bullets for a line cook: "Prepared menu items for 200 covers per night while maintaining a 98 percent plate accuracy rate and reducing food waste by 8 percent through portion control.
" Example bullets for a sous chef: "Trained and scheduled a team of eight cooks, introduced prep checklists that cut station downtime by 15 percent, and managed inventory to reduce cost of goods sold by 4 percent.

Group skills into technical skills and soft skills so they are easy to scan.
Technical skills might include knife skills, garde-manger, butchery, menu costing, temperature control, and inventory software.

Soft skills to highlight include leadership, time management, communication, and food safety mindset.
List certifications like ServSafe or local food handler certificates with issuing organization and year.

Include culinary school, degrees, and relevant short courses in one line with dates.
Add an awards or honors subsection if you have competition placements or media mentions, and include volunteer or catering experience that shows scale or management.

For language skills or special dietary cuisine training, provide brief context such as the level of proficiency and how you applied it in the kitchen.

Use a clean font, consistent spacing, and clear headings to improve readability.
Keep the resume to one page if you have less than 10 years of experience, and up to two pages for executive roles with significant leadership responsibilities.

Use bullet points to make achievements scannable, and keep each bullet to one line when possible.
Choose margins and line spacing that leave a balanced white space so the page does not feel crowded.

Adjust the emphasis based on the role you want, such as line cook, sous chef, pastry chef, or executive chef.
For line cook roles highlight station skills, speed, and reliability, and for sous or executive roles emphasize leadership, costing, and menu development achievements.

Mirror keywords from the job posting, such as "banquet," "expo," or specific cuisine styles, to pass resume screening software and make your fit obvious to the reader.
Provide short examples of how you applied those skills in past roles rather than listing generic terms.

Start bullets with strong action verbs to show ownership and results, and add numbers to quantify impact when possible.
Use verbs such as led, reduced, developed, optimized, trained, and executed, and follow with a measurable outcome like percentage improvements or guest counts.

If exact numbers are sensitive, use ranges or relative terms such as "reduced waste by mid-single digits" while staying honest.
These specifics help hiring managers understand the scale of your work and the results you drove.

Header: Name, City, Phone, Email, LinkedIn.
Summary: "Sous Chef with seven years of experience in fast-casual and fine dining kitchens, skilled in team leadership and menu costing, led a cross-training program that improved station coverage.

" Experience: "Sous Chef, Blue Oak Bistro, City, 2020-2024.
Trained staff of eight, redesigned prep workflow to reduce ticket time by 12 percent, managed vendor relationships and inventory, achieved consistent health inspection scores of 98 percent.

" Skills: "Butchery, saucing, menu costing, ServSafe, inventory management, staff training.
" Education: "Culinary Diploma, City Culinary Institute, 2016.

Proofread for spelling and culinary terminology accuracy and ask a trusted peer to review for clarity.
Convert your resume to PDF to preserve formatting, and name the file with your full name and job title to make it easy for hiring managers.

Remove unrelated personal details and keep focus on measurable kitchen accomplishments that match the role.