Chef CV Examples
Updated 8 July 2026
A strong chef CV proves you can handle the pace, the brigade and the pass. Whether you're a Commis Chef with six months of trial shifts or a Head Chef running a 250-cover kitchen, your CV must show covers per service, food-safety credentials, brigade progression and the cuisines or sections you own. This guide walks you through the format, the metrics and the proof UK head chefs and hiring managers actually read.
Chef CV examples
Commis Chef
entryLeads with NVQ training and food-safety credentials, then uses stage and trial-shift experience to prove real kitchen readiness.
Chef de Partie
midShows clear brigade progression (Commis to CDP), names sections and cuisines, and quantifies covers and consistency metrics that prove section ownership.
Head Chef
seniorDemonstrates full kitchen ownership with P&L impact, brigade management, menu development and compliance leadership across high-volume and rosette-level operations.
How to write a chef CV
Format and length
One to two pages, reverse-chronological. State your brigade rank (Commis Chef, Chef de Partie, Sous Chef, Head Chef, Executive Chef) directly under your name so the level reads instantly. Contact details at the top, personal statement next, then experience, skills, education and certifications.
Personal statement
Two to three sentences: your current rank, years of experience, the calibre of kitchens you've worked in (covers, rosettes, stars), your strongest sections or cuisines, and one standout credential or achievement. Replace passion statements with proof.
Experience
List roles in reverse order. For each, include the establishment name, your title, location, dates, and 3–4 achievement bullets. Quantify with covers per service, GP margin held or improved, food waste reduced, dishes designed, junior chefs trained, and any compliance or quality scores. Name your sections (larder, pastry, sauce, grill, fish) and cuisines (modern British, French, Italian, Pan-Asian). Senior roles must show kitchen-management impact: brigade size, rota ownership, P&L contribution, supplier negotiation.
Skills
List 8–12 role-relevant skills: food-safety credentials (Level 2/3, HACCP, allergen awareness), cuisines, sections, technical skills (butchery, fish prep, pastry), and leadership or menu-development experience for senior roles.
Education and certifications
Reverse-chronological. Include NVQ Level 2/3 Professional Cookery, City & Guilds diplomas, and any apprenticeships. Food-safety certifications go in a separate Achievements or Certifications section. Hands-on kitchen experience usually outweighs degrees, so foreground any real kitchen time however brief.
Additional sections
Include languages if relevant (especially French for classical kitchens), and interests only if they're food-related (foraging, charcuterie, baking). Volunteering and publications are optional unless they demonstrate teaching or thought leadership.
Personal statement examples
Head Chef with nine years of brigade progression from Commis to Head Chef across modern British and European kitchens. Currently leading a team of 8 through 250-cover services in a 3 AA Rosette restaurant. Proven track record in menu development, GP margin improvement (holding 68% across 18 months), HACCP compliance and training junior chefs to CDP level.
Passionate and hard-working chef looking for a new opportunity to use my skills and grow in a busy kitchen. A team player who works well under pressure and is committed to delivering high-quality food.
Writing your experience
The result-plus-metric pattern
Every bullet should show what you did, the scale or context, and the result. Covers per service, GP margin, food waste, dishes designed, junior chefs trained, compliance scores and guest satisfaction are the metrics that matter.
| Weak (duty-focused) | Strong (result-focused) |
|---|---|
| Responsible for running the grill section | Ran grill section solo through 180-cover Saturday services, maintaining 98% plate consistency during head-chef spot checks |
| Helped with menu development | Designed and launched 3 seasonal menus per year featuring 18 dishes each, lifting average spend per cover by 15% and generating £48,000 additional revenue |
| Trained junior chefs | Trained and developed 5 Commis Chefs to Chef de Partie level, reducing agency-staff reliance by 40% and improving section consistency scores by 25% |
Action verbs for chefs
Use verbs that reflect kitchen reality: ran, managed, designed, launched, trained, mentored, maintained, reduced, improved, held, implemented, covered, contributed, achieved, led. For senior roles, add negotiated, re-tendered, costed, scheduled.
Before and after examples
Before: Worked on the sauce section and helped with prep.
After: Ran sauce section through 120-cover services, completing daily mise en place for 10 menu items and reducing senior-chef prep time by 20%.
Before: Responsible for food safety and allergen compliance.
After: Implemented HACCP controls and maintained allergen matrices across all menus, achieving zero non-conformances during 4 environmental health inspections and retaining 3 AA Rosettes.
Before: Managed the kitchen team and developed new dishes.
After: Led a brigade of 8 chefs through 250-cover weekend services, designing 3 seasonal menus per year and lifting average spend per cover by 15%, generating £48,000 additional annual revenue.
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
Education
List NVQ Level 2 and Level 3 Professional Cookery qualifications, City & Guilds diplomas, and any apprenticeships in reverse-chronological order. Include the institution name, qualification title, field of study, and dates. Add brief notes for distinctions, specialist modules (butchery, pastry, classical French techniques) or significant practical hours.
Hands-on kitchen experience usually outweighs academic degrees for chef roles, so if you have limited experience, foreground any college-based or apprenticeship kitchen hours and trial placements.
Food-safety certifications
List these in a separate Achievements or Certifications section, not under Education. Include:
- Level 2 Food Safety in Catering (baseline for all chefs)
- Level 3 Supervising Food Safety (required for senior/section-lead roles)
- Allergen Awareness for Catering (essential for compliance)
State the awarding body (usually Chartered Institute of Environmental Health or your college). Renewal dates matter for some employers, so if your certificate is current, note the year.
When certifications matter most
For Commis Chef and career-changer CVs, food-safety credentials can outweigh limited experience, they prove you understand the baseline. For Head Chef and Sous Chef roles, Level 3 Supervising Food Safety plus HACCP and allergen-management experience (stated in your experience bullets) proves you can own compliance, not just follow it.
Common mistakes to avoid
Writing 'passionate about food' or 'works well under pressure' instead of showing proof
Replace generic passion statements with concrete kitchen proof: 'ran the pass solo on a 200-cover service', 'covered Head Chef on days off', or 'designed a seasonal dish that became the second-highest-selling main'.
Listing duties instead of impact ('responsible for running the grill section')
Show outcomes with covers and metrics: 'ran grill section solo through 180-cover Saturday services, maintaining 98% plate consistency during head-chef spot checks'.
Failing to state brigade rank or covers per service
Put your brigade rank (Commis, CDP, Sous, Head) directly under your name, and quantify every role with covers per service, e.g. 'managed up to 250 covers per night' or 'ran a section through 180-cover Saturday services'.
Omitting food-safety credentials or burying them in a generic skills list
List Level 2/3 Food Safety, HACCP and allergen awareness explicitly in a Certifications section, and reference HACCP and allergen management in your experience bullets for senior roles.
Not naming cuisines or sections, leaving the CV too generic
State your cuisines (modern British, French, Italian, Pan-Asian) and sections (sauce, grill, larder, pastry) in your personal statement and experience bullets. A chef who states 'Chef de Partie on the sauce and grill sections, French and modern British' is far more searchable.
For Head Chef roles, failing to show P&L impact or kitchen-management metrics
Include GP margin held or improved, supplier/food-cost savings (e.g. '£2K/month saved by re-tendering suppliers'), food waste reduced (10–15%), brigade size managed, and menu changes that lifted revenue or covers.
Junior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Personal statement | Leads with NVQ training, food-safety credentials and any trial-shift or stage experience. Emphasises eagerness to learn and develop through the brigade. | Leads with years of brigade progression, current rank (Sous or Head Chef), covers per service, rosettes/stars, and one standout P&L or kitchen-management achievement (GP margin, team size, menu impact). |
| Experience bullets | Focus on section-support tasks, mise en place completed, and compliance maintained. Metrics are smaller: '120-cover services', 'reduced prep time by 25%', '100% food-safety compliance'. | Focus on kitchen ownership: brigade size managed, covers per service (200+), GP margin held or improved, menu development impact, junior chefs trained to CDP level, and HACCP/allergen compliance leadership. |
| Covers and scale | Typically 60–120 covers per service, supporting sections under supervision. Progression to independent section running is a key milestone. | Typically 180–250+ covers per service, running the pass, managing the brigade, and covering Head Chef on days off. Scale and consistency are the proof points. |
| Food-safety credentials | Level 2 Food Safety in Catering and allergen awareness are baseline. HACCP principles understood but not yet owned. | Level 3 Supervising Food Safety plus demonstrated HACCP and allergen-management ownership across all menus. Zero non-conformances during inspections is the standard. |
| Menu development | May contribute ideas or trial dishes under supervision. Any dish added to the menu or specials board is a strong achievement. | Designs and launches full seasonal menus (3+ per year), costs dishes, manages specials boards, and quantifies revenue or satisfaction impact (e.g. '£48K additional annual revenue', '15% lift in spend per cover'). |
| Brigade and leadership | No direct reports. May assist with training other Commis Chefs or support section handovers. | Manages a brigade of 6–10+ chefs, trains Commis to CDP level, owns rotas and scheduling, and reduces agency-staff reliance. Leadership is as important as plating. |