As a line cook, you’re the pro when it comes to food safety, preparation, cleanliness, culinary creativity, and exceptional customer service—but it can be difficult to know what’s important to employers and understand how to write a resume for this rewarding and essential job.
These five line cook resume samples have helped line cooks get jobs at top-notch restaurants, so they’re a great place for you to get started building or updating your current resume.
Why this resume works
- As a line cook, you should discuss the type of restaurants you worked in (including table count), the cuisine cooked, and how many meals you made a day. Employers want to quickly assess your work history to know if you have the experience they need.
- Consider enhancing your resume with a summary statement if you boast 10+ years of experience in the field.
- A worthwhile summary should be a savvy snapshot of your best skills and specializations in two to three concise sentences. Don’t forget to mention the target business by name.
- If the job you’re applying to mentions they want someone with a specific skill set repeatedly, you should include that skillset on your line cook resume.
- Recruiters appreciate seeing how your actions in the kitchen increased customer service, brand loyalty, and revenue. Include your accomplishments in your resume experience.
Why this resume works
- Lead line cooks should showcase their ability to prepare food, work in fast-paced environments, and manage a team. This will grab the attention of hiring managers as they see your ability to collaborate and provide leadership to the kitchen team.
- Be specific when describing the size of the teams you managed. How many people did you oversee, and what were their roles?
- As a lead line cook, list any special skills on your resume related to the role. Mention any support outside of your scope (vendor negotiations, customer interactions, menu creations) that you’d like the employer to notice, especially if the job description prefers candidates with your specific skill set.
- Go the extra mile by tailoring your lead line cook resume for the specific job you want.
- Customization includes listing keywords from the job ad in your work experience bullet points (provided it’s true of you), to get past the ATS filter (Automated Tracking System).
Why this resume works
- When looking for your first line cook role, it’s difficult to know how to show your qualifications via your resume.
- Show your relevant skills in other roles you’ve worked, even if not in the kitchen.
- For example, you need to be organized to be a line cook. Did you use organizational skills in any of your other roles?
- Entry-level candidates often struggle to fill the page of a resume. Combat that issue on your entry-level line cook resume by focusing on any cuisine you have experience with cooking.
- Another way to consume white space is to use a resume objective, but only if you’re willing to customize it to each position for which you apply.
- Lastly, do you have experience making dishes on the restaurant’s menu to which you’re applying? Show off your relevant expertise!
Why this resume works
- As a free line cook, display your ability to handle food safely, work in a fast-paced restaurant, and support the kitchen staff in cleanliness and opening/closing responsibilities.
- Collaboration is important to hiring managers as you’ll be recognized as a team player.
- Discuss your culinary strategies and customer service accomplishments, how you supported company goals, increased revenue, and improved customer satisfaction and retention.
- Bonus: spotlight your preferred cuisine and food service expertise in your free line cook resume experience bullet points to catch the eye of a recruiter, especially if the job ad indicates a preference for your expertise.
Why this resume works
- As a prep cook, indicate foundational skills as a culinary professional and your ability to support line cooks and other kitchen staff to ensure a fully-functioning and successful restaurant.
- Include your accomplishments, specifically how you saved the company money through food preservation and increased customer satisfaction through results-oriented data.
- Hiring managers want to hire prep cooks who have been successful in the past. How can you show that? By quantifying how amazing you were in terms of performance against your goals.
- Do you have any hobbies and interests or relevant training you underwent in your prep cook career? Display cross-functional training on your prep cook resume, showing your passion for food service and dedication to the industry.
