Home Sous Chef Resume template
Sous Chef resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what sous chefs actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most sous chefs should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Sous Chef with experience in high-volume commercial kitchens, supporting head chefs in menu execution, team supervision and cost control. Skilled in leading service periods, maintaining HACCP compliance and managing stock and rosters using tools like Deputy and MarketMan. Known for calm leadership under pressure and consistent plate quality.
Key skills
- Food preparation and cooking
- Food safety and hygiene
- Rostering and venue operations
- Inventory management
- Deputy
- MarketMan
- Lightspeed Restaurant
- Microsoft Excel
- People leadership
- Time and deadline management
- Attention to detail
- HACCP compliance
Experience: example bullet points
- Supervised a team of eight cooks and kitchen hands across lunch and dinner service, keeping ticket times under 15 minutes during peak periods.
- Redesigned the prep list and section allocation to reduce food waste and improve handovers between the pass and the line.
- Managed weekly stocktake and ordering for a 120-seat venue, consolidating orders through MarketMan to cut last-minute supply runs.
- Trained three apprentice chefs on food safety, knife skills and plating standards, with all passing internal competency checks.
- Maintained HACCP records and led daily hygiene checks, achieving consistent compliance in local council inspections.
Education
Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery or Diploma of Hospitality Management, plus a current Food Safety Supervisor certificate.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Commercial Cookery
- HACCP
- Food Safety Supervisor
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand
- FSANZ
- Local council health inspection
- Deputy
- MarketMan
- Lightspeed Restaurant
- Microsoft Excel
- Roster management
- Inventory management
- Mise en place
- Section allocation
- Stock rotation
- Australian Culinary Federation
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.