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Sous Chef skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted Experts
Aaron Guerra,
Stacey Schwartz
Sous Chef Example Skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical sous chef skills. We ranked the top skills for sous chefs based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 14.6% of sous chef resumes contained culinary as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a sous chef needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 sous chef skills for your resume and career

1. Culinary

Here's how sous chefs use culinary:
  • Trained and managed all culinary personnel, supervised and coordinated all culinary activities, estimated food consumption and managed food cost.
  • Collaborated closely with senior management and fellow supervisors in scheduling, training and disciplining culinary and utility staff members.

2. Food Handling

Here's how sous chefs use food handling:
  • Monitored food prep/production/service/storage/food handling and sanitation.
  • Developed skills in restaurant environment including food handling, equipment operation and safety standards.

3. Food Preparation

Here's how sous chefs use food preparation:
  • Job included assisting and overseeing food preparation, implementing new safety and sanitation practices and organizing employees for services.
  • Directed and motivated 8 food preparation employees on behalf of fine dining/full service restaurant establishment guidelines.

4. 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 sous chefs use customer service:
  • Assist in overall accountability for all operations, including financial objectives, personnel management, and customer service and product quality.
  • Processed approximately 500-700 products per shift while providing excellent customer service to restaurant patrons ensuring their visit upheld their expectations.

5. Fine Dining

Here's how sous chefs use fine dining:
  • Prepared fine dining meals in executive dining room for company executives and entertainment figures.
  • Researched and Development of Molecular Gastronomy techniques Provided fine dining dishes for guests.

6. Food Service

The food service industry is a vast industry comprising of restaurants, caterers, cafeterias operating in institutions and any other business offering a meal not prepared at home. Foodservice operators require necessary utensils for preparing food for the consumers, foodservice distributors are the people who take care of this need for them.

Here's how sous chefs use food service:
  • Monitored and coordinated food preparation, packaging and distribution to assure maximum quality of food service given to patients in hospital.
  • Participated in daily kitchen operations including food preparation and food service, including creation of daily specials in Mediterranean theme.

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7. Kitchen Operations

Here's how sous chefs use kitchen operations:
  • Managed daily kitchen operations for University Event Management catering service provided for both University events and private clients.
  • Appointed executive chef while restaurant in-between chef leadership; trained incoming executive chef on all kitchen operations.
Select Skills To Add To Your Resume

8. Chefs

A chef is a professionally trained cook who is competent in all aspects revolving around preparation of food, with proficiency in various cuisine and specialization in one. The word "chef" is derived from the term chef de cuisine, that means director or head of the kitchen. A chef oversees all activities inside the kitchen, from menu creation, plating design, controlling raw material costs, management of staff, ordering and purchasing of inventory.

Here's how sous chefs use chefs:
  • Worked directly with commissary manager and other Chefs on new product development and implementation.
  • Coordinated and worked with Chefs to execute daily business and various restaurant-sponsored functions.

9. 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 sous chefs use quality standards:
  • Selected and developed recipes, standardize production recipes to ensure consistent quality, establish presentation technique and quality standards.
  • Supervised and evaluated high-end restaurant / kitchen operations and activities to ensure that quality standards are consistently being achieved.

10. Cleanliness

Here's how sous chefs use cleanliness:
  • Maintained cleanliness and organization of kitchen, individual stations, and walk-in refrigerators.
  • Implemented new organizational and cleanliness systems to allow for more efficient kitchen operations.

11. Cuisine

Cuisine refers to a certain style, method, or manner of preparing food peculiar to a particular country, region, or establishment. It is often characterized by distinctive techniques, ingredients, and dishes that are usually associated with a specific geographic region or culture. Examples include New Mexico Chile in New Mexican cuisine and Japanese rice in Japanese cuisine.

Here's how sous chefs use cuisine:
  • Performed purchasing function for this million-dollar upscale establishment specializing in Modernized French cuisine with other worldly influences.
  • Managed people and oversaw production of high-volume establishment for this upscale restaurant specializing in Mexican cuisine.

12. Wine

Here's how sous chefs use wine:
  • Inventory management, recipe development, Chefs Regional/International table tasting and Wine pairing.
  • Improved ability of menu development including developing and execution of monthly wine dinner.

13. Kitchen Equipment

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

Here's how sous chefs use kitchen equipment:
  • Promoted proper food safety and sanitation at all time and ensure kitchen equipment is properly maintained
  • Managed food purchasing and storage and conducted regular inspections of kitchen equipment.

14. Sanitation Standards

Sanitation Standards are the minimal rules and requirements that must be carried out and followed in the process of sanitizing or cleaning something or somebody. These measurements might be employed by individuals and institutions alike and organizations like the World Health organization often develop and define these standards for both groups. They are also frequently found in certain businesses, such as medical institutions like hospitals or places that prepare and/or serve consumable goods, such as food and drinks.

Here's how sous chefs use sanitation standards:
  • Led activities to ensure high levels of productivity by efficiently opening and closing kitchen, expediting food and maintaining sanitation standards.
  • Learned menu development, fiscal accountability, employee performance reviews, time management and sanitation standards.

15. PET

Here's how sous chefs use pet:
  • Started in 2011, Executive Pet Sitting has been a successful hit around North Dallas.
top-skills

What skills help Sous Chefs find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on Sous Chef resumes?

A

Aaron GuerraAaron Guerra LinkedIn Profile

Tenured Professor of Cuisine Management, Department Head, Clark College

ServSafe 5 year certification as a student; basics of any quality student: good attendance, substantial grades, evidence of incorporating and demonstrating hard skills like plating and organization as well as soft skills like the ability to cost recipes correctly, produce accurate production sheet, and execute events; portfolios and management project binder that illustrate previous skills (Our students must provide a portfolio at the end of the program with their 120-hour externship paperwork and develop a small business plan/Restaurant management project that includes menu, full costing including q factor and budgeted yield percentage, profit and loss sheets, equipment depreciation, dining area and kitchen floor plans, business prospectus including demographics, marketing, and specified segmentation.

What Sous Chef skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

S

Stacey SchwartzStacey Schwartz LinkedIn Profile

Chef Instructor, Edmonds Community College

If a student needs to take a gap year, a good way to spend it would be immersing themselves in culinary literature and information, familiarizing themselves with the basics, eating diverse foods, and exploring unique ingredients. This would be a wonderful way to start!

What type of skills will young Sous Chefs need?

R

R. Earl FrederickR. Earl Frederick LinkedIn Profile

Tenured Professor of Cuisine Management, Clark College

Graduates entering the workforce need to have the ability to multitask, communicate well, think critically in high-pressure situations, and be reliable. For years, the margins for restaurants and most food service establishments have been skinny. The coronavirus pandemic has shown that the most successful businesses have pivoted and learned to adapt to thrive. This same attitude is what we instill in our students so that they can be successful.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about Sous Chef

List of sous chef skills to add to your resume

Sous Chef Skills

The most important skills for a sous chef resume and required skills for a sous chef to have include:

  • Culinary
  • Food Handling
  • Food Preparation
  • Customer Service
  • Fine Dining
  • Food Service
  • Kitchen Operations
  • Chefs
  • Quality Standards
  • Cleanliness
  • Cuisine
  • Wine
  • Kitchen Equipment
  • Sanitation Standards
  • PET
  • Work Ethic
  • Guest Satisfaction
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Exceptional Guest
  • Food Production
  • Develop Team
  • Food Storage
  • Labor Costs
  • Banquet Functions
  • Safety Standards
  • Food Cost
  • Dinner Service
  • Portion Control
  • Menu Planning
  • Cost Control
  • HACCP
  • Inventory Control
  • Menu Development
  • Line Cooks
  • Sanitation Practices
  • Room Service
  • Beverage Management
  • Menu Changes
  • Recipe Development
  • Private Dining
  • Food Orders
  • Garnishing
  • Product Inventory
  • La Carte
  • Inventory Management
  • Line Checks
  • Dishwashers
  • Staff Training
  • BOH

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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