Commis Chef CV Example for 2026

Use a clean, reverse-chronological format, beginning with your most recent relevant position and working backwards. A one-page CV often gives a new entrant enough room; two pages can work when you have several relevant roles or substantial training. Use plain headings, readable type, consistent spacing and short paragraphs. Leave out your photo and date of birth.

Build a clear opening

Write the personal statement after drafting the rest of your commis chef CV. In two or three sentences, identify your level, the kitchens or food-service settings you know and the contribution you can make. Replace phrases such as "hardworking food lover" with evidence about preparation, cooking, station support or service.

Give experience the most room

Hands-on experience deserves a central place. For each relevant role, briefly identify the type of operation so the reader understands the setting. Then use concise bullets for your strongest responsibilities and results. Useful evidence may cover assisting senior chefs with preparation, cooking or serving; plating simple dishes; keeping a section clean; checking deliveries; or rotating stock. State only what you personally did.

If you are new to professional kitchens, draw on supervised placements, apprenticeship learning, events or relevant food-service work. Transferable evidence still needs context: explain the task, workload and result instead of calling yourself experienced without proof. Applicants moving into a commis chef role from support work can use a kitchen assistant CV example to frame relevant experience.

Keep the skills section selective. Match its language to the advertisement, then support those terms in your employment or training entries. Basic cooking, knife skills, safe food handling, teamwork, organisation and careful instruction-following carry more weight when the CV shows where you used them.

List education and training with the newest entry first. Record exact titles, providers, dates and whether each programme is completed or in progress. Keep additional details brief and relevant.

A strong experience bullet tells the reader what you did, the scale or setting and the result. Start with a direct verb, add enough kitchen context to make the task clear, then finish with a number or outcome you can defend. Useful measures include covers served, preparation volume, delivery discrepancies, checks completed or time saved. Never invent a figure simply because a measured bullet sounds stronger.

The revised versions explain both the task and its setting. They also keep ownership honest. If you worked under a chef de partie, "supported" or "assisted" may be more accurate than a leadership verb. Prepared, portioned, plated, checked, stored, rotated, labelled, recorded, cleaned, organised and reported all suit practical kitchen evidence.

Choose three to six bullets for each relevant job. Put the evidence that best matches the vacancy first instead of recording every routine duty. A commis chef may assist senior chefs with preparation, cooking and serving at kitchen stations, rotate through sections, prepare or finish food items, plate simple dishes and keep the kitchen area clean. Stock work can cover receiving and storing deliveries, checking levels, rotating supplies and reporting expired items. Where the workplace calls for it, a bullet can also identify the food-safety documentation or hygiene records you completed.

Context matters. Describe the operation in simple terms, such as a hotel kitchen, catering unit or neighbourhood restaurant. Add service volumes you know and the stations where you worked. Name the ingredients, food items or dish elements you personally prepared, cooked or finished when that detail strengthens the application.

Adjust the order for each vacancy. If the advertisement concentrates on preparation, lead with your best preparation result. If station support is prominent, show that you followed instructions, organised your workload and remained calm during a busy service. Do not claim a brigade-wide outcome when your contribution covered one station. Likewise, avoid presenting supervised work as if you planned the menu or led the section.

Numbers need context. "Prepared 60 portions" is more useful when the reader also knows whether this was for breakfast service, banqueting or a restaurant sitting. If no sensible figure exists, use a precise outcome instead: completed the section's preparation list before briefing, identified damaged goods during a delivery check, or left the station ready for handover. Accuracy beats forced measurement.

Make education and training easy to verify. Give the exact programme title, provider, location, dates and status. One or two notes can explain relevant practical learning, but include only content you genuinely completed. Put the newest entry first. If you already have substantial kitchen experience, shorten older general education so recent, practical evidence retains more space.

The Commis chef (level 2) apprenticeship is a route through which apprenticeship learners can gain hands-on culinary experience and an industry-recognised qualification. Training for these learners covers food preparation, basic cooking techniques, knife skills, food safety, nutrition and kitchen operations. It also covers food hygiene, allergen awareness, COSHH and HACCP. People who complete the course earn a Level 2 qualification and are prepared for roles including commis chef.

Present this route only when it reflects your own training. Copy the programme name exactly from your documents. If you are still studying, state "in progress" and give an expected completion date when you know it. Until the course is complete, describe the practical learning you have undertaken rather than presenting the final qualification as completed.

For learners following the Commis Chef Apprenticeship end-point assessment route, Level 1 English and maths are an assessment condition when they have not already been passed. Keep that detail attached to the specific route and record your own status accurately, without turning it into general advice for every commis chef application.

Avoid vague entries such as "chef course" or "food certificate", which do not tell the reader what you studied. Copy names from your records and name an issuer only when the document identifies one. Do not turn workplace induction, informal learning or a short internal session into a named credential.

If you have no role-specific qualification, keep the section factual and concise. Give more room to supervised kitchen work, placements and relevant food-service experience. You can describe practical learning by setting and date without inventing a course title. A short note might identify preparation work, basic cooking, knife practice or kitchen operations, provided those were genuinely covered. Education can support the application, but it should not crowd out clearer evidence of what you have done in a working kitchen.