Hospitality
Kitchen assistant CV: example and template
This example is for kitchen assistants in restaurants, canteens, hospitals, schools, hotels and catering companies, and for people looking for their first job in hospitality.
The head chef is looking for someone who prepares ingredients carefully, keeps things clean and does not let the team down at peak times. We show you how to say this on your CV.
How to write a kitchen assistant CV
Professional summary
Say where you have worked: a restaurant, a canteen, a catering company, and how many meals the kitchen makes. Add what you do best, such as preparing vegetables or semi-finished products, and that you know HACCP.
Kitchen assistant with a year of experience at a catering company. I prepare ingredients, pack meals and keep everything clean in line with HACCP. I have a food handling health certificate and can work shifts.
Experience: duties and achievements
Instead of a general "helping in the kitchen", describe specific tasks and scale: how many meals, what products, what equipment. Add duties related to hygiene, because every kitchen is inspected by the health authorities.
Weaker: Helping in the kitchen.
Better: Preparing vegetables, meat and semi-finished products to the head chef's recipes.
Weaker: Washing up.
Better: Running the commercial dishwasher and tidying the back of house for 300 meals a day.
Weaker: Keeping things clean.
Better: Keeping everything clean in line with HACCP and recording cold room temperatures.
Skills worth listing
In the kitchen, accuracy, pace and hygiene matter. List the tasks you do on your own and the qualities that help you work in a kitchen team.
Professional skills
- Preparing raw ingredients
- Cutting and portioning
- HACCP and hygiene rules
- Using kitchen equipment
- Receiving deliveries
- Washing up and keeping the back of house tidy
Personal skills
- Pace and stamina
- Accuracy
- Following the head chef's instructions
- Teamwork
- Coping with working in the heat
Certificates and training
To work with food, employers require a food handling health certificate. If you have one, put it on your CV. Add HACCP training and cookery courses too, if you have completed them.
Kitchen assistant CV with no experience
This is a common first job in hospitality. Describe school placements, seasonal work, cooking for large groups or helping at events.
Say that you learn quickly, can work shifts and want to grow in the kitchen. Many people start as kitchen assistants and become cooks.
Tailoring your CV to the job offer
A restaurant looks for speed at peak times and preparing semi-finished products, a canteen for working with a large number of meals, and a catering company for packing and accuracy. Move what the employer needs to the top.
Questions and answers
What should a kitchen assistant put on a CV?
Workplaces and the size of the kitchen, the tasks you do, HACCP knowledge, equipment you use, the food handling health certificate and availability.
Does a kitchen assistant need a food handling health certificate?
Yes, employers require it for work with food. Say on your CV that you have it, or ask about it when you are hired.
Can you become a kitchen assistant with no experience?
Yes. On your CV, describe school placements, seasonal work and your availability. It is a good first job in hospitality.