How to Create a Kitchen Manager Resume (Skills, Examples)

How to Create a Kitchen Manager Resume (Skills, Examples)

The kitchen manager is in charge of the kitchen’s daily and nightly operations – maintaining the kitchen’s cleanliness, managing food inventory, and staying on top of general food prep and quality. With over 150,000 active kitchen manager job openings in the United States and a projected growth of 11% over the next 10 years, the need for great kitchen managers is only growing.

To land your next kitchen manager position, you need a kitchen manager resume that stands out. Learn how to make a kitchen manager resume that will get you the job (and other tips for improving your chances of being hired.)

Professional Experience

When you apply for the kitchen manager position, it’s important to write a strong resume that indicates your experience and knowledge of the kitchen manager position. Remember that your resume serves as an introduction to the hiring manager, so it’s important to start with a good first impression, and an easy-to-read resume is key to doing so.

Before you start, take a moment to consider your most recent professional work experience. It’s best to keep your resume to one page, which means you may only need to list anywhere from 1 to 4 jobs – depending on how many jobs you have previously held. And, always put the most recent work experience at the top of the resume.

A hiring manager is looking for a long-term employee, so it’s important to indicate the date range of your time working somewhere, especially if you have held a position for longer than a year. Seeing this on a resume indicates to a hiring manager how long you generally stay in a role – and it’s a good sign that you can stay and grow in a position. 

To format your resume in an easy-to-read way, use bullet points to explain your responsibilities, any major milestones or accomplishments, and any specific data points for each job. The bullet points should be no longer than one or two sentences long and should include keywords that a hiring manager wants to see. You will find the right keywords to use in the job description for the kitchen manager position you are applying to – use those same words that are used to describe the position to make your resume stand out.

Personal Information

If you do not have much kitchen manager experience but still want to apply for the position, consider including personal experiences that will further showcase your qualifications. Sometimes, personal experience that is not necessarily related to being a kitchen manager can also serve as relevant experience if it uses similar skill sets. For example, babysitting, managing a sporting team, tutoring students, or organizing an extracurricular group or event all use similar management skills despite not being kitchen or food-related work. These all showcase leadership, teamwork, and management skills, so they could be considered relevant for the position of a kitchen manager. 

Skills

Some skills a kitchen manager candidate should consider including on their resume are:

• Leadership and management

• Inventory management and storage

• Supervising teams and managing schedules

• Verbal communication and team building

• Knowledge of food and health safety procedures

• Ability to give and receive constructive feedback

• Ability to train and onboard new employees 

A kitchen manager is an employee management position, which often requires you to manage many different types of people. This means having good communication and leadership skills will increase your chances of getting hired. Moreover, if you speak multiple languages, be sure to note this on your resume – it’s often useful to know how to communicate in multiple languages in a restaurant.

It’s also very important that a kitchen manager understands food safety protocols for proper food storage and handling, so indicating these skills and knowledge on your resume will help make it stand out.

Here's an example of a kitchen manager resume to help you get started:

KITCHEN MANAGER RESUME SAMPLE:

LEAH PONTILLO

505-661-8792 | leahpontillo@yahoo.com

901 OLD LAS VEGAS HWY, SANTA FE, NM 87505

SUMMARY: I am a reliable manager with a positive attitude with over 5+ years of kitchen and management experience. I am seeking a new position in a large restaurant to utilize my skills.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Kitchen Manager

El Dorado Café

January 2020  – Present

• Followed all COVID-10 protocols to keep the restaurant open and adapted the kitchen shifts and procedures to manage the increase in online ordering and take-out orders.

• Improved training and onboarding procedures leading to an increase in employee productivity and streamlined employee learning process.

• Supervised food safety procedures and cleaned kitchen equipment and workstations.

• Set up the new Point of Sale system to better manage online orders and fulfillment.

• Conducted employee performance reviews and gave constructive feedback.

• Promoted a team member to the assistant kitchen manager position.

Assistant Kitchen Manager

Santa Fe Kitchen

June 2018 – January 2020

• Managed employee schedules, coordinated shift changes and time-off requests.

• Worked with the kitchen manager to improve the hiring and onboarding process with a new cross-training program.

• Assigned employees daily tasks and supervised their work.

• Supervised food orders, conducted quality checks before being brought to customer tables, and worked with line cooks to decrease orders being sent back to the kitchen.

• Worked with front-of-house manager to meet customer requests or dietary and allergen restrictions to ensure a safe and quality dining experience.

Next Steps

A resume that clearly communicates your qualifications, interest, and knowledge about the industry is the most important part of your kitchen manager application. But, to further increase your chance of becoming a kitchen manager, there are a few other ways you can stand out amongst the competition.

Apply in person and ask to speak with the kitchen manager. Since the job you are applying to is to be the kitchen manager, be confident and turn your resume in in person. You want to be the kitchen manager, so ask to speak with the current manager to learn more about the role and express your readiness to take on the position.

Network with kitchen managers. Don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues to introduce you to their kitchen manager if you want to work for them, or simply learn more about what it takes to be a good kitchen manager. You can simply send an e-mail, text, or make a phone call to someone you’ve worked with before to ask if they know anyone who works at the restaurant you are applying to. Networking with any kitchen managers you know or can get connected to will only help increase your chances of getting hired as a kitchen manager.

Write a custom cover letter addressed to the hiring manager. An easy way to stand out in the application process is to write a cover letter that is customized to the restaurant you are applying to. Be sure to address it to the current restaurant manager or call the restaurant to confirm the name of the person hiring the kitchen manager. This may sound like a simple thing, but doing it shows that you took an extra step and want the job. 

If you want to be a kitchen manager and have the right qualifications, you will be able to land a job with a resume that communicates that you are the right candidate for the restaurant.

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