Cook Resume Example

Kitchen hiring moves fast, so a cook resume needs to answer three questions immediately: what stations you can run, what volume you've handled, and whether your food-safety certification is current.

Example experience section

Line Cook — Full-Service Restaurant (2022–Present)

• Ran the grill and sauté stations during dinner service for a 120-seat restaurant
• Maintained consistent plate times under 12 minutes during peak service for 80+ covers nightly
• Trained 2 new line cooks on prep standards and station setup

Skills recruiters check for

Food handler / ServSafe certification, station experience (grill, sauté, prep, pastry), volume and cover counts handled, and knife skills or specific cuisine specialization.

Common mistakes on a cook resume

Writing "passionate about food" without naming a station, cuisine, or volume you've actually run — kitchen managers hire for capacity under pressure, not enthusiasm alone. Omitting your food-safety certification, which is often a hard requirement before a trial shift is even offered. Leaving out cover counts or service style (fine dining vs. high-volume casual), which signals whether your pace matches the kitchen.

Build yours

Adapt the outline above with your own stations and service volume, then see a filled-in CV example for layout.

Build your cook resume now