Hospitality / Kitchen

Cook CV example (UK)

A UK cook CV for schools, care homes, pubs and workplace kitchens: batch cooking, set menus, special diets, allergen control and food safety records.

Example CV profile

Organised cook with [five] years' experience producing [120] fresh meals a day in a [care home] kitchen. Plans and cooks to a four-week menu, prepares modified-texture and special diets accurately, and keeps food safety and allergen records up to date. Holds [Level 3 Food Safety in Catering] and works well with care and front-of-house teams.

Key skills to include (if true for you)

• Batch cooking to set menus and portion control
• Menu planning, costing and seasonal changes
• Special diets: allergies, diabetic, vegetarian, cultural and religious diets
• Modified-texture meals (if you work in care settings)
• Allergen control and accurate allergen information
• Food safety management and HACCP-based records
• Ordering, stock control and stock rotation (FIFO)
• Supervising kitchen assistants and porters
• Cleaning schedules and safe use of kitchen equipment

Example experience bullet points

• Cooked [120] fresh meals a day across breakfast, lunch and tea for residents in a [60-bed] care home, to a four-week menu.
• Prepared modified-texture and special-diet meals from each resident's dietary information, checking every plate against the list.
• Kept temperature, cleaning and allergen records up to date for the kitchen's food safety management system.
• Ordered stock from [three] suppliers within a weekly budget of £[amount], rotating stock and keeping waste low.
• Updated the allergen matrix whenever a recipe or supplier changed, and briefed the team before service.
• Supervised [two] kitchen assistants, planning their tasks and training them on hygiene and allergen procedures.
• Prepared the kitchen and its records for the last local authority food hygiene inspection.

Illustrative only. Replace with your own real roles, dates and results — never copy experience you don't have.

Education & training

• Level 2 or 3 Food Safety (or Food Hygiene) in Catering – [provider], [year] (if held)
• Allergen awareness training – [provider or Food Standards Agency online course], [year]
• NVQ / Diploma in Professional Cookery – [Level], [provider], [year] (if held)
• Any special-diet or dysphagia training, e.g. IDDSI texture levels – [year] (if relevant)

Keywords UK recruiters screen for

cook · batch cooking · menu planning · special diets · allergen control · food safety · HACCP · Level 3 food hygiene · stock control · kitchen supervision

Tips for a cook CV

• Say where you cook and how many meals: a school, care home, pub or staff restaurant, and the volume per day or service.
• Show you're safe with allergens and special diets. In schools and care homes this matters as much as the cooking.
• Mention your food safety records: temperature checks, cleaning schedules and how you contributed to inspections.
• Include menu planning, ordering and budgets if you do them. They show you can run a kitchen, not just cook in it.
• If you mention an inspection result, describe it accurately and as the kitchen's result, not yours alone. Scotland uses a different scheme from the rest of the UK, so use its wording.
• If you're moving from restaurant work, the Chef CV example may be a closer fit for brigade and section roles.

Cook pay is usually hourly or a set salary, and depends on the setting and how many meals you produce. School and term-time roles may be paid pro rata. Check the advert. Salary checker (ONS data).

Official sources and further reading

• GOV.UK: Running a food business – staff training, illness and hygiene
• Food Standards Agency: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)
• Food Standards Agency: Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS food (Natasha's Law)

What kitchen managers look for in a cook

Cook adverts usually ask for evidence of:

• Volume and consistency. How many meals you produce, and that every plate meets the menu and portion size.
• Special diets. Allergies, medical and cultural diets and, in care settings, modified textures.
• Food safety. Temperature checks, cleaning schedules, labelling and the records an inspector would check.
• Running the kitchen. Menu planning, ordering, stock control, budgets and supervising assistants.
• Teamwork. Working with care staff, teachers or front-of-house so the right food reaches the right person.

Paste the advert into the free job ad keyword extractor to see which of these that kitchen cares about most.

Cook, chef or kitchen assistant?

Food safety and allergens on your CV

The Food Standards Agency says your food safety management system must meet the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. The FSA's guidance covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland; in Scotland, Food Standards Scotland sets the guidance. Cooks often keep the day-to-day records, so show it with lines like:

• "Recorded fridge, freezer, cooking and hot-holding temperatures every shift."
• "Kept the allergen matrix up to date when recipes or suppliers changed."
• "Prepared the kitchen and records for the local authority food hygiene inspection."

GOV.UK says food handlers do not have to hold a food hygiene certificate, but staff must be trained to manage allergies. Many adverts still ask for a Level 2 or Level 3 certificate, so list yours with the year.

Schools and care homes

These settings add checks and dietary detail. For care homes, mention texture-modified diets, fortified meals and working from residents' dietary information. For schools, mention age groups, allergies and producing meals to a fixed service time. Some roles need a criminal record check: DBS in England and Wales, PVG in Scotland and AccessNI in Northern Ireland. The advert will say which.

Check it before you send it

Run your CV through the free CV checker for a suggested fix on each issue, or start with the free CV builder. For the cover letter, the chef cover letter example is the closest model.

FAQs

Related examples

• Chef CV example
• Kitchen Assistant CV example
• Kitchen Porter CV example
• Care Assistant CV example
• Waiter / Waitress CV example

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