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Food prep skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Food prep example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical food prep skills. We ranked the top skills for food preps based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 17.4% of food prep resumes contained food service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a food prep needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 food prep skills for your resume and career

1. Food Service

The food service industry is a vast industry comprising of restaurants, caterers, cafeterias operating in institutions and any other business offering a meal not prepared at home. Foodservice operators require necessary utensils for preparing food for the consumers, foodservice distributors are the people who take care of this need for them.

Here's how food preps use food service:
  • Instructed food service personnel on hazard analysis and proper cookery enhancing awareness and improving food preparation that eliminated food borne illnesses.
  • Shadowed Registered Dietitian in Food Service Management, and worked with technology in nutrient/data analysis and spreadsheets.

2. Food Handling

Here's how food preps use food handling:
  • Sound ability to understand basic sanitation requirements related to personal hygiene, food handling, and equipment safety and sanitation.
  • Maintained a sanitary kitchen environment and followed all food handling procedures.

3. Taking Care

Here's how food preps use taking care:
  • Minimized waste by taking care when moving orders to and from vehicle.
  • Dish Room: Washing Dishes Scraping food off dishes, drying dishes, taking care of dishes.

4. Cleanliness

Here's how food preps use cleanliness:
  • Provided quality customer service while providing assistance in food preparation and maintaining store cleanliness.
  • Provided fast and accurate customer service-Maintained the cleanliness of the store-Provided satisfactory to customers

5. Good Communication

Here's how food preps use good communication:
  • Prepare food in a timely and creative fashion Teamwork Time Management Stocking Taking Inventory Use of good communication skills
  • Prepared food for customers and developed good communication skills and courteous customer approach.

6. Math

Here's how food preps use math:
  • Learned how to deal with customers face to face, how to deal with fast math involving money .
  • Stock merchandise, cashier Skills Used Math skills, social skills,

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7. Cash Handling

Here's how food preps use cash handling:
  • Job Description: Maintain customer relations, keeping my work place clean and organized, food preparation, and cash handling.
  • Cashier, food prep, server, cleaning, closing, lobby cleaning and maintaining, cash handling, drawer closeouts

8. Kitchen Equipment

Kitchen Equipment refers to all those essential items which are crucial for the task of cooking.

Here's how food preps use kitchen equipment:
  • Handle kitchen equipment while following food safety and sanitation procedures.
  • Trained co-workers in efficient operation and maintenance of kitchen equipment.

9. Safety Standards

Here's how food preps use safety standards:
  • Maintained safety standards, kept up to date on all safety training/requirements and reported potential hazards to management immediately.
  • Maintained preparation areas, kitchen utensils and equipment in accordance to sanitary and safety standards.

10. Clean Kitchen

Clean Kitchen refers to maintaining a sanitary commercial kitchen. There are four main steps for a clean kitchen. These steps include Clean - keep yourself and work areas clean. Separate - keep raw material and other raw animal products away from other foods. Cook - always properly cook and prepare foods. Chill - store foods properly both before and after cooking.

Here's how food preps use clean kitchen:
  • Greet customers with a friendly and welcoming attitude*Manage cash register*Closing responsibilities including closing cash register*Make and serve smoothies*Clean kitchen area*Answer telephone
  • Greet customers with a friendly and welcoming attitude*Serve ice cream*Manage cash register*Closing responsibilities including closing cash register*Clean kitchen area

11. Food Products

Food products are the types of various food items that are created and processed to be sold as a product. These products are consumed by humans for nourishment and are mostly processed and created in a huge factory. Tinned goods, milk, meat, etc are the most common food products, and they are not limited to any specific kind except tobacco, beers, and alcohol as they are not considered food products.

Here's how food preps use food products:
  • Prepped, cooked, and delivered various food products in a timely and efficient manner to customers' place of residence.
  • Prepare food for football games, take temperature of hot and cold food products, cut and dice, build sandwiches

12. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how food preps use customer service:
  • Completed food preparation for timely customer service, handled cash maintaining cash drawer's accuracy, provided excellent customer service
  • Demonstrated superior customer service while contributing my excellent work ethic to all operations of the restaurant

13. Kitchen Utensils

Kitchen utensils are small helpful tools for cooking and kitchen use. Any task can simply not be performed if correct kitchen utensils are not being used. Kitchen utensils can be used while cooking something, holding food, and any other kitchen related task that comes to one's mind.

Here's how food preps use kitchen utensils:
  • Cleaned, sanitized, and organized dishes, kitchen utensils, service, and kitchen areas.
  • Inspect kitchen and dining areas and kitchen utensils and equipment to ensure sanitary standards are met.

14. Dishwashers

Here's how food preps use dishwashers:
  • Cook, dishwasher, waiter, delivery driver, supervisor, answered phones, opening and closing, housekeeping, etc.
  • Handled food prep after receiving orders from customer service, operated grill, food handler and was a dishwasher.

15. Food Orders

Here's how food preps use food orders:
  • Delivered food orders to residential or commercial establishments.
  • Prepared main components of food orders, received food orders, cooked on grill on fryer, and assembled orders.
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List of food prep skills to add to your resume

Food prep skills

The most important skills for a food prep resume and required skills for a food prep to have include:

  • Food Service
  • Food Handling
  • Taking Care
  • Cleanliness
  • Good Communication
  • Math
  • Cash Handling
  • Kitchen Equipment
  • Safety Standards
  • Clean Kitchen
  • Food Products
  • Customer Service
  • Kitchen Utensils
  • Dishwashers
  • Food Orders
  • Sanitation Standards
  • Customer Complaints
  • Tray Line
  • POS
  • Cold Food
  • Customer Orders
  • Slicers
  • Cash Control
  • Fruit Salads
  • Food Quality
  • Fryers
  • Food Storage
  • Allergies
  • Food Warmers
  • Measure Ingredients
  • Hot Food
  • Display Cases
  • Sanitation Guidelines
  • Exceptional Guest
  • Storage Cabinets
  • Prep Food
  • Smoothies
  • Spoons
  • Cooking Food
  • Quality Customer Service
  • Inventory Control
  • Expediter
  • Making Sandwiches
  • Garnishing
  • Food Line
  • Ice Cream
  • Cafeterias
  • Cooking Surfaces

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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