CV for chefs, kitchen assistants and kitchen staff: write it so recruiters call you
Keep it to 1–2 pages: one line with the kitchen type and your strongest dish group, the dishes you can cook and the kitchen you have worked in, 3–5 things you can do written as concrete action verbs, past workplaces with the shifts you held, and your available hours plus start date. Skip vague lines like “good cook, quick, hardworking” with no dish names, kitchen names or shifts attached.
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Unlike office CVs, a kitchen CV is read closely in exactly two places: the dishes you can cook and the shifts you can cover. Recruiters look for four answers: can you cook the venue's dish groups, which kitchen and equipment have you used, can you keep peak-hour speed and the venue's rotating shifts, and when can you start. Missing any one of the four usually puts the CV behind others, even if you cook well. So put the dishes and kitchen right after the role line, then the things you can do, then past workplaces, with shifts and food hygiene at the end of the main part.
One role line: kitchen type + strongest dish group + work mode
Open the CV with exactly one line: the kitchen type, your strongest dish group, and the work mode. Examples: “Vietnamese chef, strong on rice dishes and stir-fries, rotating morning and evening shifts.” For a bakery worker: “Bakery staff, strong on bread and basic cakes, early morning shifts.” For a kitchen assistant: “Kitchen assistant, prep and plating, lunch and dinner peak hours.” One such line tells the recruiter at once whether you fit the kitchen needed. The most common mistake is writing it too generally (“applying for kitchen work”) or naming the kitchen without the dish group and shifts — both force the recruiter to ask, and when hiring urgently, people who need asking are usually skipped first.
Dishes you can cook and kitchens you have worked in: be specific
This section is mandatory for kitchen CVs. List each dish group on its own line with 2–3 dishes you have really cooked (rice dishes, stir-fries, grilled dishes, hotpots, European, Asian, bakery, fast food), the kitchen and equipment you have used (industrial gas stove, electric stove, oven, fryer, professional knives and boards — name the actual equipment, not just “kitchen equipment”), and ingredients and quantities (prep to the venue's portions, storage, checking ingredients before a shift). If you worked through an agency or a franchise chain, name it and the dish group you cooked for it. Recruiters check dishes before assigning a station; claiming a dish you cannot cook gets you rejected at the skills trial or on the first day.
List what you can do, one task per line
The most important part is the list of things you can do, one line each, written with concrete action verbs. For chefs: cook stir-fries to the venue's taste and portions within the set time; check ingredients and expiry before a shift and report to the manager when stock runs low; keep plating speed at peak hours without mixing up table order. For kitchen assistants: prep vegetables, meat and seafood to the head chef's standard; prepare ingredients before peak hours so the main kitchen never waits; clean the kitchen and wash tools right after each wave of guests. For bakery staff: bake to the venue's recipe and temperature and check items before they go to the counter; store dough and ingredients at the right temperature with expiry dates marked; clean the oven and baking area at the end of each shift. Claiming a dish you never cooked to “make the CV look good” shows up at the skills trial or on the first day.
Past workplaces: venue + dates + main task, no long descriptions
For each place you worked, three facts are enough: the restaurant or chain name (no detailed address), the dates (month/year from–to), and one or two main tasks there. No long description of the venue, no list of every small dish. Recruiters care whether you really cooked that dish — one line stating the main task answers that. If you worked many short stints, do not hide them: list them all, one main task per place. Short stints are not automatically a weakness when the dishes and tasks are clear; hiding them and being found out is.
Shifts, hygiene and numbers: only real, verifiable figures
Shifts set this CV apart — state the shifts you can work (early morning, lunch, evening, rotating, weekends, holidays) and the ones you cannot, so recruiters do not have to ask and only then learn the rota does not fit. For food hygiene, state what you did: hand washing and kitchen cleaning by process, ingredient storage at the right temperature, expiry checks before a shift. If you hold a certificate or health check the venue requires, name it with its validity; if not, say so — never write it as if you have it. Only give numbers that are real and verifiable: covers served in one peak shift, average plating time at peak, or the dish return rate in a month (if the venue recorded it). Never invent figures or claim the whole kitchen's numbers as your own. If you have no figures because you are new or the venue kept none, write the work instead: “cooked to the venue's recipe and table order, cleaned the kitchen at the end of each shift by process” — honesty beats impressive but unverifiable numbers.
Contact details and next step
At the end, only three things are needed: full name, phone number, and the area you live in. No detailed home address, no hobbies, no elaborate portrait photo. Recruiters in this group mostly call or message — the phone number must be one you actually use and answer during office hours. Next, create an account and upload your CV so recruiters can find it: register as a candidate on timviecde.vn (/register). Note: with an unverified email you cannot upload a CV or receive selection emails — verify your email right after registering, before uploading.
Do this next
- One role line: the kitchen type you want + your strongest dish group + work mode.
- Dishes you can cook and kitchens you have worked in, stated clearly; 3–5 things you can do, written as concrete action verbs.
- Shifts you can work and your start date stated; a phone number you actually use and answer.
Common questions
- Never worked in a restaurant kitchen, only cooked at home — how do I write the CV?
- List the dishes you can really cook, the equipment you used at home, and the shifts you can work. Do not claim restaurant experience you do not have — apply for a kitchen assistant role and state clearly that you are ready for a skills trial.
- How many dishes should I list in a kitchen CV?
- One line per dish group, with 2–3 representative dishes you have really cooked. Listing many dishes you never cooked only makes the skills trial expose it faster.
- Worked at many restaurants for short periods — should I list them all?
- Yes — list them all, one main task per place. Hiding them and being found out on verification is the real weakness.
- No covers-per-shift figures — is the CV weak?
- No, if the things you can do are written clearly with concrete verbs and shifts plus hygiene are fully stated. Invented figures are what weaken a CV when checked.
- After registering an account, what do I do before uploading my CV?
- Verify your email right after registering — with an unverified email you cannot upload a CV or receive selection emails (verified in experiment 22/10-C).
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