Head Chef Resume Example
Owners hiring a head chef weigh covers, food cost, labor and a team that stays. Each of those carries a number here, and the earlier jobs trace the route from line cook to sous chef to head chef.
Senior · Last reviewed 4 November 2026 · 2 min read · How we write these
Slate puts the dates in a timeline beside each role.
Why this example works
- 70 seats, a team of 11 and about 150 covers on a busy night describe the kitchen at a glance.
- Food cost near 30% and waste cut by 20% show control of margins.
- Four years of clean health inspections, backed by a cleaning and temperature log, give an owner confidence.
- Two cooks promoted to sous chef, and 7 of 11 staying two years or more, show the writer builds people as well as menus.
How to write your own head chef resume
- Open with seats, team size and your busiest covers, so an owner sees the scale of the kitchen.
- Give your kitchen's food cost percentage and how you keep it steady, for example weekly ordering and portion checks.
- Show how often the menu changes and how you cost each dish before it goes on.
- Say how many years your kitchen has passed health inspections cleanly, and what log supports it.
- Describe cooks you trained or promoted, with the numbers.
- Show your path from line cook to head chef, with the covers you ran and one thing you were trusted with at each step.
Skills worth including
Kitchen
Menu development, Costing, Ordering, Team training, Scheduling
Standards
Food safety, Waste reduction, Station organization, Quality
Only list what is true for you. A skill you cannot talk about in an interview does not help.
Common questions
What goes at the top of a head chef's resume before any press or awards?
Seats, covers and food cost. Awards and press come later, because they describe recognition while the first three describe the kitchen you run.
Do I list every dish I have made?
No. List the style of kitchen and show results, such as food cost and the cooks you promoted, rather than dishes.
How do I show leadership in a kitchen?
Count people trained and promoted, and show turnover if it improved. Two cooks promoted to sous chef is a stronger statement than the word leader.
Should I mention long hours?
State your shift pattern in a line if the advert asks, and leave the rest. The hours matter at the interview, not as a boast on the page.
Read next
- Turning your duties into bullet points that show resultsRead the guide
- How to write the summary at the top of your resumeRead the guide
- Several roles at one company: how to show promotions without repeating yourselfRead the guide
- A long career on one resume: what to keep, what to cut and how to show growthRead the guide