Chef CV: Example and Template
How to structure your CV as a chef so that head chefs can see your station, business size, covers and food cost at a glance.
Currently 75 open Chef positions in Switzerland, across 11 cantons, 16 of them from the last 7 days. Coop advertises the most.
CV example — two-page template
This template is editable straight away — or upload your existing CV and it is carried into this layout automatically.
Which qualification belongs in a chef CV?
In Switzerland, the Federal Certificate of Proficiency Cook EFZ is the standard qualification, supplemented by further training from Hotel & Gastro formation.
Always state your qualification with its exact title, the training company or vocational school, and the year of completion, for example 'Cook EFZ, Berufsbildungszentrum Gastgewerbe Luzern, 2016'. If you completed a two-year basic training as a Kitchen Assistant EBA and then shortened the path to the EFZ, show both steps - this demonstrates a willingness to develop. Anyone who trained abroad should add a note on recognition by the SBFI (State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation) or a level confirmation, since head chefs otherwise cannot tell which Swiss level your diploma corresponds to.
Weight further training according to its relevance for the advertised position. The professional examination for Head Chef with Federal Professional Certificate, the Küchenchef or Chef de Cuisine diploma examination, but also additional qualifications such as dietary cook or institutional catering specialisations belong clearly visible in the CV. Mention ongoing training with the planned completion year, as this signals predictability for shift planning.
Courses on HACCP, sous-vide, allergen management or the course for vocational trainers are not a minor detail but a selection criterion. If a business trains apprentices, the course for vocational trainers often determines whether you make the shortlist at all. List these certificates with the provider and year so that their currency is clear.
How do I describe my work experience as a chef convincingly?
For each position, describe the type of business, kitchen size, your station and the number of covers - and back up results with figures.
A head chef reads your CV in two minutes and looks for three things: which station you worked, how many covers you handled, and in what type of establishment. So don't write 'cook in a restaurant', but rather 'Chef de Partie Saucier, à la carte establishment with 14 GaultMillau points, up to 220 covers per service, brigade of 11'. Add the type of business - seasonal hotel, chain catering, hospital and care-home kitchen or staff restaurant - because the requirements differ completely.
Quantify your impact. Meaningful figures include food cost as a percentage, cost of goods in francs, number of menu lines, portions per day, banquet sizes, service times, reduced food-waste volumes, or the number of staff and apprentices supervised. A sentence like 'reduced food cost from 32% to 28.5%, equivalent to around CHF 61'000 per year' says more than a whole list of general duties.
Seasonal positions are normal in Switzerland and no drawback, as long as you label them as such. Write 'winter season 12/2019 - 04/2020, seasonal position' instead of what looks like a terminated employment. Explain gaps due to military service, a language stay or civilian service briefly and factually; unexplained gaps raise more questions at the interview than an honest line.
How long should the CV be and is a photo needed?
Two pages is the maximum; a professional portrait photo is still customary in the Swiss hospitality industry and is usually expected.
Keep your CV to a maximum of two pages; with less than five years of experience, one page is enough. Describe the last three to four positions in detail, and summarise older positions in one line with employer, station and period. Use a clean, easily readable layout without graphic gimmicks - in the kitchen, order matters, and that is exactly what your dossier should show.
A professional portrait photo in chef's whites or in neat, neutral clothing is customary in Switzerland and never hurts. Also expected are your year of birth, place of residence, nationality or residence permit (B, C, G or L), and whether you have a driving licence and a vehicle. Especially for businesses with early shifts or in mountain regions, mobility is a genuine selection criterion.
Add information that matters for staff scheduling: availability from when, willingness to work split shifts or seasonal positions, interest in staff accommodation. Include employment references from your most recent positions and your Cook EFZ certificate with the dossier. Two to three references with job title and phone number, whose consent you have obtained in advance, round off the application - in hospitality, people really do call them.
Where Chef are hired in Switzerland
How the 75 open positions are spread across the cantons.
Figures as a table
| Canton | postings |
|---|---|
| Zürich | 7 |
| Bern | 7 |
| Luzern | 4 |
| Solothurn | 2 |
| Basel-Stadt | 2 |
| Zug | 2 |
| Thurgau | 2 |
| Graubünden | 2 |
Which languages the postings require
Of 62 postings that state a language — in brackets, those requiring professional level.
Figures as a table
| Language | postings |
|---|---|
| German | 62 (60) |
| French | 6 (3) |
| English | 5 (1) |
Who hires Chef in Switzerland
Employers with the most open positions. Staffing agencies are excluded.
Figures as a table
| Employer | postings |
|---|---|
| Coop | 20 |
| Compass Group Switzerland | 3 |
| Tertianum | 3 |
| Oase – Wohnen im Alter | 3 |
| Luzerner Kantonsspital | 3 |
| Merian Iselin - Klinik für Orthopädie und Chirurgie | 2 |
Full-time or part-time?
How the positions are advertised.
Figures as a table
| Workload | postings |
|---|---|
| Vollzeit / plein temps | 70 |
| Teilzeit / partiel | 2 |
| Temporär | 1 |
The CV in full
To read through and reuse.
Marco Brunner
Cook EFZ, Chef de Partie Saucier - further training as Head Chef with Federal Professional Certificate
Cook EFZ with 9 years of experience in à la carte restaurants, banqueting and seasonal hotels, including 4 years as Chef de Partie at the saucier and poissonnier stations. I cook for up to 220 covers per service under the brigade system and supervise 3 commis and 2 apprentices during peak periods. My strength lies in consistent mise en place, clean stock management and a food cost that I have reduced from 32% to 28.5% in two establishments.
What sets me apart
Strength at the Saucier and Poissonnier stations: I prepare stocks, jus and emulsions myself every day; 14 basic sauces and 9 fish dishes are made without convenience bases, which earned guest ratings of 4.6 out of 5 for food.
Food cost and inventory management mindset: I calculate costings including wastage and gross weight, carry out weekly stocktaking in Gastrofix, and have reduced product loss by 11% through consistent nose-to-tail use of veal and zander.
Food safety as routine: Self-inspection concept according to HACCP, including traceability, cold-chain records and an allergen matrix under the LIV; three cantonal food inspections without any complaints.
Training apprentices: As a certified in-house trainer having completed the course for vocational trainers, I supervised 5 Cook EFZ apprentices; all passed their final exam (QV), two with a grade of 5.0 or higher in the practical part.
Key achievements
Reduced food cost from 32% to 28.5%. Recalculated 46 menu components, switched to whole cuts of meat and standard recipes with gram specifications - saving around CHF 61'000 in food costs per year at the same turnover.
Scaled banquet operations to 450 guests. Developed a new mise en place scheme and regeneration process for weddings; reduced main course service time from 38 to 22 minutes, across 27 events per season.
Halved staff turnover in the kitchen brigade. Introduced fixed station rotation and predictable days off under the L-GAV; turnover in the 11-person kitchen brigade fell from 45% to 21% within 18 months.
Experience
Chef de Partie Saucier — Hotel Seematt Vierwaldstättersee AG, Weggis, 03/2021 - present
4-star superior seasonal hotel with 98 rooms, à la carte restaurant (14 GaultMillau points), banquet hall and half-board; brigade of 11 cooks.
- Responsible for the saucier station for up to 220 covers per evening, including mise en place for half-board service for 140 guests
- Reduced food cost for the meat and fish product group from 32% to 28.5%, equivalent to around CHF 61'000 per year
- Supervised 3 commis de cuisine and 2 Cook EFZ apprentices; all 5 apprentices passed the qualification procedure
- Two cantonal laboratory food inspections without any complaints; cold-chain records completed in full every day
Demi-Chef de Partie / Poissonnier — Restaurant Bruggmatt Gastro GmbH, Zug, 08/2018 - 02/2021
Market-fresh à la carte restaurant with 85 indoor and 60 terrace seats, rotating weekly menu, 6-person brigade.
- Poissonnier and entremetier stations for an average of 130 covers per day, up to 190 covers on peak days
- Developed and costed 18 new dishes for the weekly menu, increasing the contribution margin per main course by CHF 4.20
- Filleted and used whole fish from 3 regional suppliers, reducing fish wastage from 26% to 17%
- Set up new HACCP documentation: 6 control points, daily temperature checks, traceability via delivery-note archive
Commis de Cuisine — Betriebsrestaurant Nordfeld Catering AG, Emmenbrücke, 08/2016 - 07/2018
Institutional catering for an industrial company, 850 lunches daily, free-flow with 4 service lines and dietary options.
- Produced 850 menus daily across 3 lines, including 220 vegetarian and 60 allergen-specific portions
- Co-supervised the cook-and-chill process; documented cooling from 65°C to 10°C within 90 minutes
- Reduced food waste by 14% per week through portioning aids and replenishment control
- Created an allergen matrix for 120 recipes and made it easy to understand at the service counter
Education
Federal Certificate of Proficiency, Cook EFZ, Kitchen, focus on à la carte and banqueting — Berufsbildungszentrum Gastgewerbe Luzern · 2016
Professional Examination: Head Chef with Federal Professional Certificate (ongoing), Kitchen management, costing, staff scheduling — Hotel & Gastro formation Schweiz, Weggis · completion 2026
Course for Vocational Trainers in Training Companies (40 lessons), Canton of Lucerne, 2022 · HACCP self-inspection and hygiene training, GastroSuisse, 2023 · Sous-vide and low-temperature cooking, Hotel & Gastro formation, 2021 · First-aid course and basic fire-safety training for kitchens, 2024