Chef CV: Example and Template
As a chef, this is how you present your station experience, your food cost and covers figures, and your hygiene expertise on a single page.
Currently 5 open Chef positions in Switzerland. 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.
Check your CV against real Swiss job adverts
The check compares your CV with what Swiss adverts actually ask for — structure, language level, missing evidence.
Check my CVWhich qualifications and certificates belong in a chef's CV?
First state your Cook EFZ, including your training employer and year, followed by further training such as the Federal Professional Examination for Head Chef or the Dietary Cook certificate.
The Federal VET Diploma Cook EFZ is the qualification Swiss head chefs look for first. Write the title exactly as it stands, and add your training employer and graduation year. If you trained abroad, state whether your qualification has been recognised by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, or whether recognition has been applied for - this avoids follow-up questions and looks professional.
List further training below this: the Federal Professional Examination with Federal Professional Certificate (Head Chef, Dietary Cook, Head Chef in institutional catering), the Advanced Federal Professional Examination for Head Chef, or a diploma as Gastronomy Chef HF. Courses from Hotel & Gastro formation or GastroSuisse on HACCP, allergen management, Fourchette verte or vegan/vegetarian cooking belong in a short certificate list with the year.
Also mention your vocational trainer course if you are qualified to train apprentices, as well as your knowledge of the L-GAV (national collective employment agreement for hospitality). If you would like to work in a hospital or care home setting, experience with special diets, smoothfood and menu planning according to nutritional guidelines is worth more than any generic statement about teamwork.
How do I structure my work experience as a chef convincingly?
For each position, describe the type of establishment, number of covers, brigade size and your station - and back up your results with figures on food cost, food waste or banquet revenue.
Start each position with a context line: type of establishment (hotel, à la carte, institutional catering, chain catering), number of seats, meals per day, brigade size, and your role from commis through chef de partie to sous-chef. This way, the reader can tell within five seconds whether your pace and level match the establishment.
This is followed by three to four measurable points. Good examples: food cost reduced from 34.1% to 29.4%, 180 covers per service, banquets for up to 250 guests, food waste reduced by 24%, 12 new costed menus developed, three inspections by the Cantonal Laboratory with no findings. Avoid phrases such as 'assisted in the kitchen' - they say nothing about your abilities.
Seasonal positions are normal in the hospitality industry and not a drawback, provided you label them as such (for example, Winter season 2019/20, 5 months). Mention your station changes and periods covering for the head chef, as this is how an employer reads your leadership potential. Salary details do not belong in the CV; clarify expectations such as CHF 85'000 per year in your cover letter or at interview.
How long should the CV be, and is a photo required?
Two pages is the maximum; a professional portrait photo remains common in Swiss hospitality and is often expected.
Keep your CV to one or two pages. Summarise positions from more than ten years ago in a single line per employer, and give the most space to your last three positions. In the kitchen, a clear layout without colour gradients comes across as more credible than a design experiment, and many establishments print out the documents for the interview.
A professional portrait photo is not mandatory in Switzerland, but it is common. Choose a neutral image in a chef's jacket or smart everyday clothing, not a snapshot from service. In the header, add your place of residence, contact details and residence status (Swiss citizen, C, B or G cross-border permit), as employers need this information for planning purposes.
Finally, mention practical points that matter in hospitality: willingness to work split shifts/weekends, category B driving licence, availability from a given date, and references with function and employer (on request). Adapt your profile and skills for each application - for a gourmet restaurant, emphasise à la carte work and menu development; for a care home, emphasise special diets, cook-and-chill and menu planning.
Which languages the postings require
Of 5 postings that state a language — in brackets, those requiring professional level.
Figures as a table
| Language | postings |
|---|---|
| French | 5 (5) |
Who hires Chef in Switzerland
Employers with the most open positions. Staffing agencies are excluded.
Figures as a table
| Employer | postings |
|---|---|
| Coop | 5 |
Full-time or part-time?
How the positions are advertised.
Figures as a table
| Workload | postings |
|---|---|
| Vollzeit / plein temps | 5 |
The CV in full
To read through and reuse.
Chantal Aebischer
Chef / Cook EFZ with Federal Professional Certificate as Head Chef, specialising in à la carte and banquet service
Chef with 11 years of experience in hotels, restaurants and institutional catering, including 4 years as Sous-Chef responsible for a team of 9 employees. I independently run the entremets, saucier and garde-manger stations, plan banquets for up to 250 guests, and consistently manage food costs through recipe costing and inventory control. I am also responsible for the HACCP self-monitoring concept and allergen declaration, and train apprentices as a certified vocational trainer.
What sets me apart
Station routine for à la carte and banquets: Confident on saucier, entremetier and garde-manger; managing 180 à la carte covers and a banquet for 120 guests in parallel from a single kitchen.
Food costs under control: Costing of all recipes on a per-portion basis, monthly inventory and supplier comparison - food cost reduced by 4.7 percentage points over 18 months.
Hygiene and self-monitoring under the Foodstuffs Ordinance (LGV): Responsible for the self-monitoring concept, traceability, cold-chain and frying-oil logs; three inspections by the Cantonal Laboratory with no findings.
Expertise in special and dietary meals: Experience with pureed diets, smoothfood, gluten-free and lactose-free production, as well as Fourchette verte criteria in institutional catering.
Key achievements
Food waste reduced by 24%. Introduced waste measurement per station and adjusted mise en place quantities: kitchen waste reduced from 41 kg to 31 kg per day for 320 lunches.
Grew the banquet business. Developed a new banquet menu with 12 costed set menus; increased banquet revenue from CHF 240'000 to CHF 310'000 within one season.
Apprentice training with a 100% success rate. As a certified vocational trainer, mentored 4 Cook EFZ apprentices, all of whom qualified, with two achieving a grade of 5.0 or higher in the qualification procedure.
Experience
Sous-Chef — Hotel Aareblick Thun AG, 2021 - present
4-star hotel with 78 rooms, à la carte restaurant, lakeside terrace and banquet hall; kitchen brigade of 9 including 2 apprentices.
- Led the brigade in the head chef's absence on around 90 days per year, up to 180 covers per evening
- Reduced food cost from 34.1% to 29.4% by recalculating 140 recipes and consolidating to 4 main suppliers
- Planned and produced banquets for up to 250 guests, increasing banquet revenue from CHF 240'000 to CHF 310'000
- Revised the HACCP self-monitoring system; passed 3 inspections by the Cantonal Laboratory with no deficiencies
Chef de partie (Saucier) — Restaurant Seematte Luzern GmbH, 2017 - 2021
Seasonal restaurant with 90 indoor and 60 outdoor seats, 14-point rating, market-fresh menu changing every 6 weeks.
- Ran the saucier station with 2 staff, averaging 110 covers per service
- Co-developed 18 dishes for 6 menu changes per year, including 5 long-running bestsellers with over 300 sales per month
- Introduced sous-vide production: reduced meat cooking losses by 12%
- Increased regional sourcing to 62% of fresh produce from within a 60 km radius
Cook / Commis de Cuisine — Alterszentrum Sonnhalde Köniz, 2014 - 2017
Institutional catering with 320 meals daily, 4 diet types including special and dietary meals, 40% cook-and-chill share.
- Daily production of 320 lunches across 3 menu lines with a team of 7
- Standardised recipes for pureed diets and smoothfood for 45 residents
- Built allergen declaration for 210 recipes and implemented it in the menu plan
- Improved resident satisfaction survey score from 3.9 to 4.4 out of 5
Education
Federal Professional Certificate, Head Chef (Federal Professional Examination) — Hotel & Gastro formation Schweiz, Weggis · 2022
Federal VET Diploma EFZ, Cook — Vocational School of Retail and Hospitality, Bern · 2014
HACCP and hygiene training under the Foodstuffs and Utility Articles Ordinance (2023) · Vocational trainer course, 40 lessons, Bern Office for Secondary and Vocational Education (2020) · Fourchette verte training for balanced menu planning (2019) · Allergen management course in hospitality, GastroSuisse (2018)