Chef and cook CV example: station, food safety and service volume
A chef CV names your station and level in the kitchen first, then the volume you cook for, such as covers per service, then food safety training and qualifications, then the cuisines and menus you have produced.1
Written 13 October 2026. CitedCV. How we write our guides
Name your station and level before anything else
A head chef reading applications is filling a gap on a line: someone for the grill, the larder, pastry or the pass. Your job title alone rarely says which. Write the level and the section together, such as “Chef de partie, grill section”, and give the kind of kitchen, because a 40-seat bistro and a hotel banqueting kitchen ask for different things.
The National Careers Service describes the usual ladder: you can start as a kitchen assistant or trainee commis chef, progress from commis chef to sous chef, and as a head chef move toward restaurant or hospitality management. Its apprenticeship names follow the same steps: production or commis chef at level 2, chef de partie at level 3, senior culinary chef at level 4.
What each level must show on the CV
| Level | What the reader checks | Line that answers it |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen assistant or trainee commis | Reliability and basic prep | Prep for a 60-cover lunch, five shifts a week, no missed shifts in a season |
| Commis chef | Which sections you have rotated through | Rotated through larder, veg and pastry over 14 months |
| Chef de partie | Running one section alone at full service | Ran the grill section for 180 covers on Friday and Saturday nights |
| Sous chef | Running the pass, rotas, ordering | Ran the pass four nights a week; wrote the rota for 9 cooks; ordered for a £6,000 weekly food spend |
| Head chef | Menus, cost, team, inspections | Wrote seasonal menus; brought food cost from 34% to 30% of sales; team of 14 |
| Production chef (contract catering) | Volume, recipes to spec, allergens | Cooked 650 meals a day to standard recipes with allergen records |
Food safety: what the law asks and what employers ask
The rules differ more than most applicants expect, and so does what employers want on paper. Write the course you took, who ran it and the year, then let the reader map it to their own rules.
| Country | What the official source says | What to write |
|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | GOV.UK (Food Standards Agency): food handlers do not have to hold a food hygiene certificate, but the business must show staff have the right skills and up-to-date training. The National Careers Service chef profile still says you will need a food safety certificate, a course of 1 to 2 days. | Course name, provider, year; allergen training if you have it |
| United States | BLS: some states and localities require a food handler’s certification; other certifications are not required but may help advancement. | State or county card and its expiry date, if your area issues one |
| Türkiye | Hijyen Eğitimi Yönetmeliği: no one may work in food production or retail workplaces, which it defines to include restaurants and catering, without the hygiene course certificate. | Hijyen eğitimi kurs bitirme belgesi, institution, year |
HACCP for sous chefs and head chefs
Turkey’s Food Hygiene Regulation (article 21) makes the food business operator ensure that staff are supervised, instructed or trained in food hygiene to suit their work, and that whoever develops and maintains the HACCP-based procedure has adequate HACCP training. If you wrote or ran a kitchen’s HACCP plan, say so and name the training.
Qualifications: the MYK cook certificate and others
In Türkiye the national vocational qualification for cooks is Aşçı (Seviye 4), code 13UY0182-4, issued by certification bodies that MYK authorises after theory and practical exams. MYK’s own certificate supplement gives the English title “Cook VQA Vocational Qualification Certificate (Level 4)” and notes the translation has no legal status. On 13 October 2026 the cook qualification was not in the MYK portal’s list of qualifications with a mandatory certificate, so it is an advantage rather than a legal condition.
The ten units a holder has passed
- A1 and A2: health and safety, environment, work organisation, stock, standard menus and recipe costing.
- A3 and A4: hygiene, food safety and quality; basic ingredients and their preparation.
- A5 and A6: soups; hot and cold sauces, meze, salads and egg cookery.
- A7 and A8: meat and seafood dishes; vegetables, pulses, dolma and sarma, garnishes.
- A9 and A10: pastry dishes, rice and pasta; basic desserts, fruit desserts and compotes.
In the US, the BLS says chefs and head cooks typically need a high school diploma plus experience; some attend a culinary programme, and most learn through work. In England, the apprenticeship levels above are the recognised route alongside college courses.
Sample CV section: chef de partie moving to a hotel kitchen (example)
Example only. The person, kitchens and figures are invented to show the form; write your own facts.
- Murat Aksoy, Chef de partie (hot section). Antalya. Email, phone.
- Qualifications: MYK Cook (Level 4), 13UY0182-4, 2024; hygiene training certificate, 2019; HACCP awareness course, 2023.
- Chef de partie, hot section, a 120-seat seafood restaurant, 2022 to present: run the hot section alone for up to 210 covers on summer nights; train two commis chefs each season; cut fish waste from 12% to 7% by changing portioning.
- Commis chef, a 300-room resort hotel, 2019 to 2022: rotated through cold kitchen, banqueting and the à la carte line; prepared mezze for buffets of 600 guests.
- Cuisines: Turkish and Aegean, seafood, mezze; basic pastry.
- Languages: Turkish (native), English (B1), Russian (A2).
Numbers a head chef believes
Covers per service, the number of cooks you trained and a waste or cost change are figures a head chef can check with one phone call to your last kitchen. Stars, awards and “worked with famous chefs” lines carry weight only with a name the reader can verify.
Skills table for cooks and chefs
| Skill named by an official profile | Source | Evidence on the CV |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge of food production methods | National Careers Service | Sections run, cuisines, techniques |
| Leadership | National Careers Service, BLS | Cooks trained or supervised, rota written |
| Working well under pressure | National Careers Service | Covers per service at peak |
| Business skills and time management | BLS | Food cost, ordering, prep schedules |
| Creativity and a sense of taste and smell | BLS | Menus or dishes you created |
| Physical stamina and dexterity | BLS | Shift pattern held, knife work, volume |
Proof: sources read on 13 October 2026
The BLS counts about 220,300 chef and head cook jobs in 2025, with a median annual wage of $62,470 in May 2025. The National Careers Service gives chefs a range of about £22,000 to £40,000 and 40 to 45 hours a week, often evenings, weekends and bank holidays. MYK’s page on mandatory certificates counts 204 occupations covered by seven communiqués from 2015 to 2021, and its portal search for mandatory qualifications did not include the cook.
Certificate rules change. Check the MYK, Food Standards Agency or local health department page before you apply.
When to change the layout
- Pastry chefs and bakers: lead with pastry sections, products and volumes; the hot-kitchen numbers matter less.
- Food production and quality roles in factories: the food engineer guide fits better.
- Private and yacht chefs: lead with the households or vessels, dietary requirements handled and the budget you managed.
- Kitchen porters starting out: a one-page CV with availability and reliability lines, close to the waiter and barista guide.
Kitchens abroad
There is no country guide for chefs on this site yet. The CV for jobs abroad checklist covers photos and personal details, and the guide to overseas job scams covers offers that ask for fees up front, which is common in seasonal kitchen recruitment. Put the MYK certificate in its official English form and the Turkish name in brackets.
Writing it with CitedCV
CitedCV can write the CV in English, Turkish or German from the facts you enter, such as your sections, covers and certificates; it does not check certificates, so list only what you hold.
Questions people ask
What should a chef put on a CV?
Your level and section, the kitchens you worked in and their size, covers per service, food safety training, qualifications, cuisines and languages.
Do you need a food hygiene certificate to be a chef?
It depends on the country: in the UK the law does not require one for food handlers, while Türkiye requires the hygiene course certificate and some US areas require a card.
How do I write a commis chef CV with no experience?
Lead with your culinary course or apprenticeship, placements, the sections you practised, your hygiene training and the shifts you can work.
What is the difference between a chef CV and a cook CV?
A cook CV centres on sections and volume; a chef CV adds leading people, menus, ordering and food cost.
How many covers should I put on my resume?
Give the covers you personally cooked for at a typical peak service, and say whether that was your section or the whole kitchen.
Which skills does a chef need on a resume?
The ones official profiles name, such as leadership, working under pressure, time management and creativity, each shown with a number.
Is a culinary degree needed to become a chef?
No; the BLS says most chefs learn through work experience, though culinary programmes and apprenticeships are common routes.
Sources
- National Careers Service: Chefnationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/chef
- GOV.UK (Food Standards Agency): Staff training, illness and hygienewww.gov.uk/running-food-business/staff-training-illness-hygiene
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Chefs and Head Cookswww.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/chefs-and-head-cooks.htm
- MYK certificate supplement: Aşçı (Seviye 4)www.myk.gov.tr/images/articles/MYK_sertifika_ekleri/turizm_konaklama_yiyecek_icecek_hizmetleri/asci_seviye_4/rev01/asci_rev01.pdf
- MYK: Mesleki Yeterlilik Belgesi Zorunluluğuwww.myk.gov.tr/tr/page/54
- Hijyen Eğitimi Yönetmeliği (mevzuat.gov.tr)www.mevzuat.gov.tr/anasayfa/MevzuatFihristDetayIframe?MevzuatTur=7&MevzuatNo=18552&MevzuatTertip=5
- Gıda Hijyeni Yönetmeliği (mevzuat.gov.tr)www.mevzuat.gov.tr/anasayfa/MevzuatFihristDetayIframe?MevzuatTur=7&MevzuatNo=15592&MevzuatTertip=5