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Resume example

Head chef resume example

A head chef in France runs the kitchen as a small business inside the restaurant. The day starts with deliveries: checking temperatures, weights and best-before dates against the order, then refusing what does not meet the standard.

Before service, you taste the mise en place your chefs de partie have prepared and adjust seasoning. During the rush you call the tickets at the pass, keep the timing between tables and step onto a station when someone falls behind. Outside service, the work is paper and planning: food cost per dish, staff rotas around the split shift, the HACCP file the health inspector will ask to see, the allergen list for every plate. Menus change with the seasons, and in many bistros a daily special (la suggestion du jour) has to be costed and written by mid-morning.

Resume example

[First name Last name]

Head Chef, Seasonal French Bistro Cooking

[City] · [phone] · [email]

Profile

Head chef with [x] years running kitchens of [x] covers per service, from bistro to hotel restaurant. I build seasonal menus around local suppliers, keep food cost on target and train commis who stay. Fully trained in HACCP and allergen compliance.

Experience

Head Chef, [Restaurant name], [City] (traditional restaurant, [x] covers)

[month year] to present

  • Rewrote the menu four times a year around regional producers, with a technical sheet and cost for every dish
  • Brought food cost back within target by reworking portions and using trimmings in staff meals and specials
  • Led a brigade of [x] (sous-chef, chefs de partie, commis, dishwasher) and organised the weekly rota
  • Passed every health inspection during my time in post, with an up-to-date HACCP file and traceability records
  • Trained [x] apprentices preparing the CAP Cuisine, [x] of whom were hired after their contract

Resume headlines

  • Head Chef, Seasonal French Bistro Cooking
  • Chef de Cuisine | Menu Design, Food Cost Control, Brigade Management
  • Head Chef for Hotel Restaurants and Banqueting

Summaries for your profile

Entry level

Sous-chef stepping up to my first head chef role after [x] years in a traditional brigade in [City]. I have run the pass on the chef's days off, written the daily specials and handled supplier orders on my own.

Experienced

Head chef with [x] years running kitchens of [x] covers per service, from bistro to hotel restaurant. I build seasonal menus around local suppliers, keep food cost on target and train commis who stay. Fully trained in HACCP and allergen compliance.

Career change

Trained chef returning to the kitchen after [x] years in catering management. I bring budgeting and supplier negotiation from the contract side, and the cooking foundations of a CAP Cuisine and [x] years on the line.

Tips

  • Name the type of kitchen you ran (bistro, brasserie, gastronomic, hotel, collective catering) and the number of covers, because French recruiters read volume first.
  • Show management with facts: brigade size, rota, apprentices trained, staff turnover.
  • Mention food cost and ordering. Owners hire a head chef to protect the margin as much as to cook.
  • List your hygiene training and how you kept the HACCP file, since the chef answers for it during inspections.
  • Add a link to photos of your plates or your menus if you have them; many owners look.
  • Put your French diplomas or their equivalents (CAP Cuisine, Bac pro, BTS) clearly, with the year.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Listing every station you ever worked without saying what you were responsible for.
  • Writing 'passionate about gastronomy' instead of describing your cooking.
  • Leaving out the size of the kitchen and the number of covers.
  • Forgetting the business side: costing, ordering, margins.

Working as a head chef in France

Search for chef de cuisine, chef cuisinier or, in large hotels, directeur de cuisine. The job is not regulated and no diploma is legally required, but the usual French paths are the CAP Cuisine, the Bac pro Cuisine and the BTS Management en hôtellerie-restauration (option B, culinary production). Every commercial restaurant must have at least one person trained in food hygiene, and the head chef is usually that person. Allergen information is mandatory for every dish. Most kitchens apply the hotel and restaurant collective agreement (convention HCR), with split shifts and weekend work; in hotel groups the head chef is usually on executive (cadre) status. Candidates from outside the EU must hold a residence permit that authorises work.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need a French diploma to be a head chef in France?

No law requires one. Owners mostly judge your experience and a trial service. A CAP Cuisine, a Bac pro Cuisine or a BTS in hotel and restaurant management helps, especially with hotel groups and contract caterers that check qualifications. Foreign culinary diplomas are accepted if you can show the level of the kitchens you worked in.

Should I mention my cooking style on the resume?

Yes, in one line near the top: classic French, bistronomy, Mediterranean, plant-based, Asian fusion. It helps the owner see if you fit the concept. Back it up with the restaurants you worked in rather than adjectives.

Will I be asked to cook as part of the hiring process?

Very often. For a head chef role, expect a tasting (essai) where you cook two or three dishes, sometimes from a basket of products chosen by the owner. Prepare a short menu you master and cost it in advance; owners like to see you think about margin.

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