Chef skills

Essential skills

• Food preparation and cooking — Employers assess your experience, practical cooking test and ability to follow recipes.
• Food safety and hygiene — Employers ask about safe food handling and may observe your hygiene practices during a trial.
• Kitchen organisation — Employers look at how you prepare ingredients, manage your station and keep work areas clean.
• Time management — Employers assess whether you can prepare dishes and manage tasks during busy service.
• Consistency and attention to detail — Employers may ask you to prepare a dish and check its presentation, portioning and quality.
• Teamwork — Employers ask for examples of working with kitchen colleagues and observe how you communicate during service.

Technical and specialised skills

• Knife skills — Employers may watch you handle and care for knives during a practical assessment.
• Cooking methods and equipment — Employers ask which techniques and kitchen equipment you can use confidently.
• Menu and recipe knowledge — Employers may ask you to explain how you prepare particular dishes or follow a recipe.
• Stock and ingredient management — Employers ask how you store ingredients, monitor supplies and reduce waste.
• Dietary and allergen awareness — Employers may ask how you prevent cross-contamination and handle dietary requirements.
• Specialised cuisine or baking — Employers review relevant experience and may ask you to prepare a dish in that area.

Soft skills

• Communication — Employers assess how clearly you respond to questions and share information with the kitchen team.
• Staying calm under pressure — Employers ask how you handle a busy service or may observe you in a trial shift.
• Adaptability — Employers ask how you respond to changes in orders, menus or kitchen priorities.
• Reliability — Employers may ask about your availability, punctuality and work history.
• Problem-solving — Employers ask how you have handled a kitchen issue, such as a missing ingredient or equipment problem.
• Willingness to learn — Employers look for examples of taking feedback and developing your skills.

How to show these skills on your resume

• Prepared menu items to recipe and food safety standards while keeping quality and presentation consistent.
• Organised ingredients and maintained a clean workstation to support efficient kitchen service.
• Worked with kitchen colleagues to manage orders, meet service times and accommodate dietary requirements.

How to build them

• Practise core cooking methods, knife skills and recipes regularly.
• Learn and follow food safety, hygiene and allergen procedures.
• Build experience through kitchen work, placements or supervised practice.
• Ask experienced chefs for feedback and use it to improve your technique.
• Practise organising prep tasks and communicating clearly during busy periods.
• Keep a record of dishes, techniques and responsibilities you can confidently discuss in interviews.