Chef resume keywords
Most chef applications are screened by software before a person reads them: the ATS ranks resumes by how many of the posting's words they contain. The lists below are the terms that show up most in chef job ads. Use the ones that are true for you, with the same spelling the ad uses.
Hard skills and ATS keywords
- Menu development
- Food cost control
- Kitchen management
- HACCP
- Inventory & ordering
- Staff training
- Seasonal cooking
- Supplier relations
- Menu development
- Food costing
- Kitchen management
- Food safety (ServSafe)
- Inventory control
- Staff training
- Plating
- Vendor relations
- HACCP
- Line supervision
Soft skills recruiters look for
- Leadership
- Creativity
- Composure
- Consistency
- Time management
Soft skills only count when a bullet proves them. "Team player" is ignored; "Run a 14-person kitchen serving up to 350 covers a night." shows it.
Action verbs to start your bullets
- Created
- Reduced
- Led
- Trained
- Launched
- Managed
- Cut
- Designed
How to use these keywords
- Mirror the job ad: if it says "Menu development", do not write a synonym.
- Put the top 6–8 in a skills section and repeat the key ones inside experience bullets with a number.
- Never list a skill you cannot talk about in an interview.
- Keep the file text-based (no skills inside images or tables), or the ATS cannot read it.
Which ones is your resume missing?
Every posting is different. Paste your resume and the job ad — free ATS Match Score Score your resume free (0-100)
No signup. It lists the keywords from the ad that your resume does not contain.
Need the resume itself? See the chef resume example and generate one free from rough notes.