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A head chef reading junior applications asks one question: will this person keep up on a busy service, or slow the kitchen down? If your commis chef CV only says "passionate about food", it gives no answer, and you could miss the trial shift where you would prove yourself. You do not need years of restaurant work to fix that. This guide shows what to put on the page, in what order, with example lines for jobs at home or abroad.
What a head chef looks for in a junior chef CV
A commis chef is the most junior cook on the team. You prepare ingredients, run a simple section under a chef de partie, keep your bench clean and learn fast. So the CV is not judged on fine-dining menus you created. It is judged on signs that you can do the basics without being watched every minute.
Prep and station work
Show the jobs you can already do on your own: peeling, chopping and portioning, making stocks and sauces from a recipe, setting up your mise en place before service, labelling and storing food. Name the section you have worked on, even in training: cold larder, pastry, grill, fry or veg.
Food safety and cleanliness
Kitchens can be inspected, and a careless cook is a risk. Mention any food safety or food hygiene certificate you hold, with the date, and describe habits such as temperature checks, stock rotation and cleaning schedules.
Pace, shifts and reliability
Restaurants run on early starts, late finishes and weekends. Say how many covers your kitchen served, which shifts you worked and that you turned up for every one. A head chef would rather train a reliable beginner than chase a talented one who misses shifts.
Willingness to learn
Every chef started at the bottom. One line about what you want to learn next (a section, a cuisine, a technique) tells the reader you will take feedback well.
The layout of a commis chef CV, section by section
Keep it to one or two pages, in this order:
- Name and contact details: phone with country code, email and the city you live in.
- Short profile: three or four lines naming the job you want, your training and your strongest kitchen skills.
- Kitchen skills: a short, specific list (more on this below).
- Kitchen experience: paid jobs, placements and part-time work, newest first.
- Training and certificates: culinary course, food safety certificate, any first aid, each with a date.
- Other work: jobs outside kitchens that show you can handle pressure and customers, kept short.
- Languages and availability: languages you speak, when you can start and which shifts you can work.
If you want to see how a full chef CV is laid out, the chef CV example follows the same idea for a more experienced cook, and you can keep the parts that fit a first job.
Writing a profile when you have little experience
Your profile is the first thing read, so make it specific. Avoid lines that any applicant could write, such as "hard-working and passionate team player". Instead, say what you trained in, where you have cooked and what you can do on day one.
Example (fictional): Commis chef with a Certificate in Commercial Cookery and a 12-week placement in a 90-cover hotel kitchen. Confident on cold larder and veg prep, with daily mise en place, stock and sauce work and food safety logs. Looking for a full-time commis role in a busy à la carte kitchen, available for early, late and weekend shifts.
That profile is short, uses real numbers the person can back up and tells the head chef which shifts are covered.
Turning training and part-time jobs into kitchen experience
Many first-time cooks think they have nothing to put under experience. In practice you probably have more than you think.
Culinary school placements
List a placement like a job: kitchen name kept general if you prefer ("hotel kitchen, Kandy"), your title, dates and three or four duties. A placement in a real kitchen is exactly the kind of work a commis does.
Kitchen hand and dishwasher jobs
A kitchen hand job counts. You learned how a kitchen runs, how fast service moves and how to keep a clean, safe workspace. If you helped with prep, say so.
Example (fictional): Kitchen hand, family restaurant, 2024 to 2025. Washed and stored equipment for a 60-cover dinner service; peeled and chopped vegetables for the morning prep list; took over salad section on two busy weekends when a cook was away.
Family business, catering and events
Cooking in a family restaurant, a catering company or for large events also counts, as long as you describe it honestly: the number of guests, the dishes you prepared and who you worked under.
Skills that read like a cook, not a food lover
A short, specific skills list does more than a long vague one. Compare these:
| Vague skill | Stronger, specific version |
|---|---|
| Good knife skills | Brunoise, julienne and chiffonade; filleting round fish |
| Cooking | Stocks, mother sauces, braising and grilling to recipe specification |
| Hygiene | Temperature logs, labelling, FIFO stock rotation, cleaning schedules |
| Teamwork | Took orders from the pass and called back during a 120-cover service |
| Equipment | Combi oven, salamander, deep fryer, vacuum sealer |
Only list what you can really do. Many kitchens give a trial shift before an offer, and anything on your CV can be tested at the bench in front of the team. Once you have the list, compare it with the words in each job ad; this guide on how to find the keywords a job ad is looking for walks through it.
Certificates and training: put them where they are seen
For a junior chef, training is often the strongest part of the CV, so do not bury it on page two. Give each item its full name, the place you studied and the date you finished, or "expected June 2027" if you are still studying. A food safety certificate is worth listing even if it seems small, because it answers a question every head chef has. For ideas on layout, see this post on listing licences and certificates so employers see them first.
Applying for a commis chef job abroad
Hotels and restaurants in many countries hire junior cooks from overseas, and the CV then needs a few more facts so the employer can see if an application is practical.
- Work rights or visa status: write it plainly, for example "Requires employer sponsorship" or the visa you already hold. Rules differ by country and change, so check the official immigration website of the country you are applying to rather than guessing.
- English test results: if you have taken a test, add the test, score and date. If you still need one, give yourself enough time to prepare before you book.
- Cuisines you know: if you have cooked South Asian, Middle Eastern or East Asian food, say so. It can be a real strength in an international kitchen.
- Availability: your notice period and the earliest date you could travel.
Employers abroad cannot meet you before a video call, so some candidates add a short self-introduction video. An app such as SelfIntroVideo helps you plan and record one. A matching letter helps too: this post explains what a cover letter for a job abroad must answer.
Building your commis chef CV with Build AI CV
The chef example on Build AI CV shows key skills, sample duties and tips, and "Build this CV" opens the editor with the example's wording while your personal details stay empty. Rewrite every line so it describes your own training and kitchens, then delete anything that is not true for you. In Build AI CV, the Minimal template is calm and spacious, with headings in the margin, and it is suggested for chefs; it is a Pro template, while Classic and ATS Plain are free to build and download. You can compare them on the CV templates page.
When you apply to different kitchens, Tailor to this job in Build AI CV makes a new copy of a saved CV for one job ad, with a suggested profile, skills and duties, for 2 credits, and your original CV is not changed. Check each suggestion and keep only what you can do at the bench. When you are ready, start from the chef example and build your CV free.
Quick checklist before you send it
- A profile that names the job, your training and two real kitchen skills
- Every placement and kitchen hand job listed with dates and duties
- Sections you have worked on and the covers your kitchen served
- A specific skills list you could prove on a trial shift
- Food safety certificate and course with dates, near the top
- Shifts and start date you can offer
- For jobs abroad: work rights, test scores and cuisines you know
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply for a commis chef job with no restaurant experience?
Yes. Many commis chefs start straight from a culinary course or a kitchen hand job. Lead with your training, placement and any prep work you have done, and be honest about what you still need to learn.
How long should a commis chef CV be?
One page is often enough for a first job, and two pages at most. Head chefs read quickly, so keep only what shows you can work in a kitchen.
Should I list jobs outside the kitchen?
Yes, briefly. Retail, delivery or warehouse work shows you can handle long shifts and pressure. Keep each one to a line or two so your kitchen experience stays first.
What is the difference between a commis chef and a kitchen hand?
A kitchen hand mainly cleans, washes up and helps with simple prep, while a commis chef cooks and prepares food on a section under a more senior chef. If you have done both, list both and make clear which tasks were cooking.
