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Head cook skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Head cook example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical head cook skills. We ranked the top skills for head cooks based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 41.2% of head cook resumes contained kitchen equipment as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a head cook needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 head cook skills for your resume and career

1. Kitchen Equipment

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

Here's how head cooks use kitchen equipment:
  • Utilized computer software specific to nutrition analysis, menu planning, scheduled maintenance and repairs for kitchen equipment.
  • Demonstrated proficiency in knife techniques and ability to safely use kitchen equipment maintaining proper sanitation standards.

2. Meal Preparation

Here's how head cooks use meal preparation:
  • Manage cooks for the operation on a 365 Yearly basis and use of donations and purchased food for meal Preparation.
  • Job description - Prepared food for over 100 residents, dietary aide, inventory, and meal preparation

3. 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 head cooks use food service:
  • Lead and oversaw food service workers and advised management on productivity.
  • Followed food service requirements according to policies and procedures.

4. Food Preparation

Here's how head cooks use food preparation:
  • Emphasized maintaining food preparation and serving area in a condition that exceeded compliance standards for sanitation.
  • Supervised routine food preparation operation and prepare all food to meet quantity and service schedule requirements.

5. Quality Standards

Quality standards are a specific level of standards of products that are set by the companies for the customers that have to be met and maintained throughout the process until the time of delivery. Quality standards are information that includes the customer's requirements, guidelines, and characteristics for the needed final product or service.

Here's how head cooks use quality standards:
  • Followed recipes and maintained quality standards according to corporate guidelines.
  • Follow production sheets and recipes to insure food are prepared in accordance with desires, quantity and quality standards.

6. Safety Standards

Here's how head cooks use safety standards:
  • Monitored sanitation practices and followed kitchen safety standards in all work areas.
  • Insured that sanitation; housekeeping and safety standards met the requirement of applicable federal, state and local rules and regulations.

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7. Quality Food

Here's how head cooks use quality food:
  • Provide quality food, customer service* Ordering* Cleaning
  • Prepared quality food for great customer satisfaction.

8. 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 head cooks use food products:
  • Stocked incoming food products and recorded inventory
  • Checked the quality of raw meat and cooked food products to ensure that standards were met, while demonstrated cooking techniques.

9. ServSafe

Here's how head cooks use servsafe:
  • Make sure all staff is maintaining a clean, safe, and sanitized kitchen per ServSafe specification.
  • Conducted food safety training to employees; obtained a ServSafe Certificate.

10. Allergies

Here's how head cooks use allergies:
  • Prepared residents meals according to specific dietary standards, allergies and other special needs.
  • Worked on preparing special meals for gluten free and many allergies of the campers.

11. Food Storage

Here's how head cooks use food storage:
  • Prepped meals and menus for the weekly meal plan handled all sanitation and cleanliness of kitchen and food storage areas.
  • Managed an organized and clean kitchen, dining room food storage areas, supervised a multiple personality work environment.

12. Sanitation Practices

Here's how head cooks use sanitation practices:
  • Monitor for proper sanitation practices.
  • Monitored all aspect of the kitchen including health and fire regulations, including sanitation practices and recorded as needed.

13. Kitchen Operations

Here's how head cooks use kitchen operations:
  • Managed all kitchen operations and ensured consistent and timely service to restaurant patrons.
  • Directed and performed overall kitchen operations and kitchen staff activities.

14. Broilers

Here's how head cooks use broilers:
  • Operate and maintain large volume cooking equipment such as a grill, char broiler and deep fryer.
  • Use equipment such as cutlery, ovens, pans, broilers and grills to cook meals.

15. Fryers

Here's how head cooks use fryers:
  • Changed fryers on a daily basis to ensure proper temperature and taste was maintained throughout the work day.
  • Cook food from menu, prep food for next shift and hard cleaned grills fryers and refrigeration units
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List of head cook skills to add to your resume

Head cook skills

The most important skills for a head cook resume and required skills for a head cook to have include:

  • Kitchen Equipment
  • Meal Preparation
  • Food Service
  • Food Preparation
  • Quality Standards
  • Safety Standards
  • Quality Food
  • Food Products
  • ServSafe
  • Allergies
  • Food Storage
  • Sanitation Practices
  • Kitchen Operations
  • Broilers
  • Fryers
  • Plan Menus
  • Garnishing
  • Inventory Control
  • Sanitation Standards
  • Stoves
  • Steamers
  • Clean Kitchen
  • Slicers
  • Spoons
  • Production Schedules
  • USDA
  • Kitchen Appliances
  • Food Inventory
  • Requisition Food
  • Kitchen Sanitation
  • Customer Orders
  • Leadership
  • Cooking Food
  • Portion Control
  • Groceries
  • Display Cases
  • Food Cost
  • Large-Volume Cooking Equipment
  • Deep Fat Fryers
  • Cooking Surfaces
  • La Carte
  • Food Order Slips
  • Seasonal Availability
  • Cooking Techniques

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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