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Kitchen Cook skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Kitchen Cook Example Skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical kitchen cook skills. We ranked the top skills for kitchen cooks based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.8% of kitchen cook resumes contained dishes as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a kitchen cook needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 kitchen cook skills for your resume and career

1. Dishes

Dishes refers to the act of cleaning dishes and utensils used in a restaurant. Collecting dirty dishes is often the job of a busser, who clears a table of any dishes once customers have paid and left the restaurant. Dishes are often cleaned by industrial dishwashers, which use high water temperatures and tougher cleaning solutions to clean dishes more quickly.

Here's how kitchen cooks use dishes:
  • Cook; set up work stations, cleaned food prep area, prepared ingredients, cooked food, and garnished dishes.
  • Maintained OSHA standards for cleanliness of all kitchen areas to include dishes, floors, stainless steel counter tops and appliances.

2. Food Handling

Here's how kitchen cooks use food handling:
  • Maintained a clean and safe environment inside of the kitchen by following restaurant safety protocols and food handling procedures.
  • Inspected and cleaned food prep areas, equipment and work surfaces to ensure safe and sanitary food handling practices.

3. Cleanliness

Here's how kitchen cooks use cleanliness:
  • Prepare food and maintain high standards of cleanliness and efficiency throughout the work place.
  • Maintain cleanliness of kitchen environment and prep food for customers on menu.

4. Math

Here's how kitchen cooks use math:
  • Possess basic math skill and working knowledge of cooking measurements.
  • Clean driving record, good sense of direction, clean-cut dress, along with basic mental math skills.

5. Basic Math

Here's how kitchen cooks use basic math:
  • Performed basic mathematical computations to multiply ingredients in the preparation of a meal.
  • Perform basic mathematical computations to multiply ingredients in a recipe or to determine how many servings a container will hold.

6. Culinary

Here's how kitchen cooks use culinary:
  • Experience in high-pressure culinary environments and skilled in preparing large volumes of food quickly and efficiently.
  • Lead culinary classes for clients, and helped mentor clients through one-on-one teaching.

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7. Kitchen Equipment

Kitchen Equipment refers to all those essential items which are crucial for the task of cooking.

Here's how kitchen cooks use kitchen equipment:
  • Handle ingredients, operate ovens and other kitchen equipment, prepare meals for customers, and deliver orders to tables.
  • Help with the daily cleaning and sanitizing of kitchen equipment which results in a clean and safe work environment.
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8. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how kitchen cooks use customer service:
  • Offered genuine customer service while maintaining a positive attitude and efficiency in a high paced environment.
  • Cross-trained and provided back-up for other customer service restaurant representatives when needed.

9. Food Products

Food products are the types of various food items that are created and processed to be sold as a product. These products are consumed by humans for nourishment and are mostly processed and created in a huge factory. Tinned goods, milk, meat, etc are the most common food products, and they are not limited to any specific kind except tobacco, beers, and alcohol as they are not considered food products.

Here's how kitchen cooks use food products:
  • Prepare all food products, inventory, rotate stock, do all cleaning duties as expected for cook.
  • Stock and maintain sufficient levels of food products at workstations and display cases to assure a smooth service.

10. Safety Standards

Here's how kitchen cooks use safety standards:
  • Scheduled activities to help maintain sanitation, health, and safety standards in work areas.
  • Job duties include constant adherence to kitchen and food preparation safety standards.

11. Quality Standards

Quality standards are a specific level of standards of products that are set by the companies for the customers that have to be met and maintained throughout the process until the time of delivery. Quality standards are information that includes the customer's requirements, guidelines, and characteristics for the needed final product or service.

Here's how kitchen cooks use quality standards:
  • Maintained quality standards within the kitchen, and effectively delivered food to customers in a timely manner.
  • Served food and beverages efficiently and accurately* Prepared side dishes to quality standards* Ensured kitchen area was cleaned above minimum FDA regulations

12. Roasting

Here's how kitchen cooks use roasting:
  • Job Duties: preparing vegetables and meats, portioning produce, making salsa in-house, cooking bean dishes and roasting various produce
  • Cooked foods by baking, roasting, frying, sauteing and grilling.

13. Kitchen Prep

Here's how kitchen cooks use kitchen prep:
  • Worked back-of-house which included operating as a grill cook as well as kitchen preparation specialist.
  • Worked main kitchen prepare foods for parties, buffet, specialevents that were booked box suites, rock and soul museum.

14. Exceptional Guest

Here's how kitchen cooks use exceptional guest:
  • Provide exceptional guest service while serving NYS certified safe food to college attendees as well as staff.
  • Provided exceptional guest service, ensuring our members have an extraordinary health and fitness experience.

15. Fine Dining

Here's how kitchen cooks use fine dining:
  • Prepared food for a casual fine dining restaurant specializing in contemporary American cuisine.
  • Cook and final plating/presentation for Fine Dining catering and professional events.
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List of kitchen cook skills to add to your resume

Kitchen Cook Skills

The most important skills for a kitchen cook resume and required skills for a kitchen cook to have include:

  • Dishes
  • Food Handling
  • Cleanliness
  • Math
  • Basic Math
  • Culinary
  • Kitchen Equipment
  • Customer Service
  • Food Products
  • Safety Standards
  • Quality Standards
  • Roasting
  • Kitchen Prep
  • Exceptional Guest
  • Fine Dining
  • Slicers
  • Quality Food
  • Work Ethic
  • Cold Food
  • Broilers
  • Mixers
  • Food Storage
  • Fryers
  • Display Cases
  • Steamers
  • Cooking Surfaces
  • Health Regulations
  • Inventory Control
  • Stoves
  • Fifo
  • Large-Volume Cooking Equipment
  • Kitchen Operations
  • Garnishing
  • Hot Food
  • Food Preparation Equipment
  • Food Cost
  • La Carte
  • Quality Service
  • Food Preparation
  • Food Safety Procedures
  • Customer Orders
  • Groceries
  • RAN
  • Clean Kitchen
  • Kitchen Appliances
  • Mix Ingredients
  • Kitchen Inventory
  • Food Inventory
  • Making Sandwiches

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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