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Kitchen chef skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Aaron Guerra,
Stacey Schwartz
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical kitchen chef skills. We ranked the top skills for kitchen chefs based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 16.3% of kitchen chef resumes contained culinary as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a kitchen chef needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 kitchen chef skills for your resume and career

1. Culinary

Here's how kitchen chefs use culinary:
  • Supervised a nightly crew of four to eight culinary professionals by addressing daily- department standards, organizing production and delegating tasks.
  • Trained and managed all culinary personnel, supervised and coordinated all culinary activities, estimated food consumption and managed food cost.

2. Food Handling

Here's how kitchen chefs use food handling:
  • Delegate and assist with prep work, ensuring employees follow proper food handling and safety guidelines.
  • Monitored food prep/production/service/storage/food handling and sanitation.

3. 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 kitchen chefs use quality standards:
  • Selected and developed recipes, standardize production recipes to ensure consistent quality, establish presentation technique and quality standards.
  • Supervised and evaluated high-end restaurant / kitchen operations and activities to ensure that quality standards are consistently being achieved.

4. Kitchen Equipment

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

Here's how kitchen chefs use kitchen equipment:
  • Regulate temperatures on all kitchen equipment.
  • Keep inventory of kitchen equipment and all its supplies.

5. Fine Dining

Here's how kitchen chefs use fine dining:
  • Prepared food for fine dining Restaurant and Hotel, also executed all Banquets and Functions
  • Managed pantry inventory and prepared appetizers and desserts at fine dining restaurant.

6. Food Storage

Here's how kitchen chefs use food storage:
  • Improved overall productivity by organizing and up keeping food storage areas.
  • Restocked food storage areas and refrigerators as assigned.

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7. Recipe Development

Here's how kitchen chefs use recipe development:
  • Directed menu design and recipe development, considering seasonal availability of ingredients and potential customer count.
  • Prepared and executed meals for parties from 10-150ppl-Menu development-Recipe development-Opening and closing supervision

8. Labor Costs

Labor cost is the total of all financial expenses incurred during the production of a product or in the services rendered by a company. This includes wages paid to workers directly, benefits, health care, meals, training, and payroll taxes involved in the process. It also include indirect expenses on labor which is why it's divided into direct and indirect wages.

Here's how kitchen chefs use labor costs:
  • Controlled raw food, supplies, linen, and labor cost.
  • Demonstrated continuous commitment to reducing food and labor costs by controlling inventory and ordering and managing labor by reducing overtime.

9. Food Orders

Here's how kitchen chefs use food orders:
  • Handled all catering for both family and corporate events while also handling menu planning and food orders.
  • Place cost effective food orders weekly.

10. 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 kitchen chefs use food products:
  • Ordered all food products and fabricated all proteins in house.
  • Discard of any expired food products to maintain greatest food quality.

11. Safety Procedures

Safety procedures are a set of standardized procedures, that ensures minimal to no risk to people, resources, and the work environment. A company follows the step-by-step safety procedures as it they not only keep the customers and the employees safe, but also help in avoiding legal claims.

Here's how kitchen chefs use safety procedures:
  • Follow all safety procedures for operating and cleaning all machinery at all times.

12. Quality Food

Here's how kitchen chefs use quality food:
  • Received and prepared food orders for customers and expedited high quality food with efficiency and accuracy.
  • Maintained effective communication and leadership with production and service staff in quality food production environment.

13. Kitchen Operations

Here's how kitchen chefs use kitchen operations:
  • Total kitchen operations responsibility (deli, grill, salad bar, entr e).
  • Oversee the redevelopment of the kitchen operation and food production.

14. Dishwashers

Here's how kitchen chefs use dishwashers:
  • Cash handling/created recipe specials Daily inventory, food rotation dishwasher
  • Returned soiled food preparation equipment to dishwasher area.

15. Food Cost

Food costs are the ratio of ingredients and the revenue they generate when sold. It is often used to determine the price of a meal at a restaurant.

Here's how kitchen chefs use food cost:
  • Reduced food costs by 5-10% percent by using seasonal ingredients, setting standards for portion size and minimizing waste.
  • Controlled and coordinated food cost by switching purveyors that offered better quality products at lower prices.
top-skills

What skills help Kitchen Chefs find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on kitchen chef resumes?

Aaron GuerraAaron Guerra LinkedIn profile

Tenured Professor of Cuisine Management, Department Head, Clark College

ServSafe 5 year certification as a student; basics of any quality student: good attendance, substantial grades, evidence of incorporating and demonstrating hard skills like plating and organization as well as soft skills like the ability to cost recipes correctly, produce accurate production sheet, and execute events; portfolios and management project binder that illustrate previous skills (Our students must provide a portfolio at the end of the program with their 120-hour externship paperwork and develop a small business plan/Restaurant management project that includes menu, full costing including q factor and budgeted yield percentage, profit and loss sheets, equipment depreciation, dining area and kitchen floor plans, business prospectus including demographics, marketing, and specified segmentation.

What kitchen chef skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Stacey SchwartzStacey Schwartz LinkedIn profile

Chef Instructor, Edmonds Community College

If a student needs to take a gap year, a good way to spend it would be immersing themselves in culinary literature and information, familiarizing themselves with the basics, eating diverse foods, and exploring unique ingredients. This would be a wonderful way to start!
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about kitchen chef

List of kitchen chef skills to add to your resume

Kitchen chef skills

The most important skills for a kitchen chef resume and required skills for a kitchen chef to have include:

  • Culinary
  • Food Handling
  • Quality Standards
  • Kitchen Equipment
  • Fine Dining
  • Food Storage
  • Recipe Development
  • Labor Costs
  • Food Orders
  • Food Products
  • Safety Procedures
  • Quality Food
  • Kitchen Operations
  • Dishwashers
  • Food Cost
  • Portion Control
  • Safety Guidelines
  • Cooking Methods
  • Food Preparation
  • Allergies
  • Safety Standards
  • Customer Orders
  • La Carte
  • Slicers
  • Line Cooks
  • HACCP
  • Menu Development
  • Cost Control
  • Event Planning
  • Menu Planning
  • Cooking Equipment
  • Private Parties
  • Roasting
  • Garnishing

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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