13 Catering Resume Examples for 2025

Creating a strong resume is vital in the catering industry. This guide will show you proven examples that work. You will also get strategic advice to improve your resume. Learn how to highlight your skills, experience, and relevant certifications. Make your resume appealing to hiring managers.

  Compiled and approved by Jason Lewis
  Last updated on See history of changes

  Next update scheduled for

At a Glance

Here's what we see in the best resumes for catering roles.

  • Show Impact Using Numbers: The best resumes show impact using numbers like reduced food waste by 20%, increased client satisfaction by 15%, handled events for 200+ guests, and cut costs by 10%.

  • Include Relevant Skills: Include skills on your resume that you have and are mentioned on the job description. Some popular ones are menu planning, event coordination, budget management, food safety management, and vendor relations. But don't include all of them, choose the ones you have and are mentioned in the JD.

  • Highlight Experience With Large Events: Jobs in catering often involve large events. Use phrases like managed large-scale events or coordinated 250+ guest events to show this experience.

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Positioning your education

As you prepare your resume for a career in catering, the placement of your education section can help you stand out. If you are new to the workforce or have recently graduated, put your education section near the top of your resume. This showcases your most recent training and relevant coursework to hiring managers first.

For those with experience in catering or related fields, list your education after your work history. Emphasize any culinary degrees or food service certificates you have. These details show you have a solid foundation for the tasks at hand. Remember to highlight food safety certifications, as these are especially important in this industry.

Highlight customer service skills

Catering requires strong customer service skills. Detail any experience you have working directly with clients or customers.

Mention achievements like positive client feedback or repeat business. Showing that you can meet and exceed client expectations is important in the catering industry.

Ideal resume length

Keep your resume brief and relevant. For catering roles, you would benefit from a one-page format if you have less than 10 years of experience in the industry. This helps you show the most important information without unnecessary details. Focus on recent and relevant jobs that highlight your skills in the kitchen or event management.

If you have extensive experience or are applying for a senior role in catering, it is okay to extend your resume to two pages. Use the space to add details about your leadership roles, large events you have catered, and complex tasks you have managed. Make sure every word counts and the information is easy for the hiring manager to read. Remember, it is not about the number of pages, but the quality of the content that matters.

Show relevant certifications

If you have any catering-related certifications, like food safety training or culinary courses, list them prominently. These can set you apart from other applicants.

Mention any specific skills like menu planning, special diet accommodations, or large event coordination. These are valuable in catering and can show your expertise clearly.

Beat the resume bots

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are used by hiring managers to screen resumes before they reach human eyes. Your catering resume must be ATS-friendly to ensure it gets seen. Here are a few tips for making a resume that stands out to both machines and humans.

  • Use simple, standard section headings like 'Work Experience' and 'Education' to help the ATS understand and sort your information correctly.
  • Include keywords from the job posting, such as 'food preparation' or 'event coordination,' which are likely to be the terms an ATS is programmed to look for in a catering role.

Show your catering skills

To grab a hiring manager's attention, make sure your resume matches what they look for in catering. Show how you meet needs and solve problems. This ensures your resume hits the mark.

  • For menus you’ve created or events you’ve catered, use terms like menu development and event execution.
  • If you’ve managed teams or coordinated vendors, detail this with phrases like team leadership and vendor coordination.
  • When moving into catering from a different field, link past job skills. Talk about organizing events or managing customer service to show fit with catering.

Highlight accomplishments, not tasks

When you create your catering resume, focus on achievements rather than just listing your daily responsibilities. Employers want to see the real impact you've made in your roles. This shows that you're not just going through the motions; you're contributing to the success of events and the satisfaction of clients.

Before:

  • Arranged food displays at various events
After:
  • Designed and executed 20+ high-impact food displays that increased client satisfaction ratings by 30%

Remember, use numbers to give a clear picture of your impact. Don't just say you 'managed a team'; specify how many people you led and the outcome of that leadership. For instance, turning 'Managed a team in setting up event spaces' to 'Led a team of 10 to seamlessly set up and service 50+ large-scale events, resulting in zero delays or client complaints' gives a much more compelling story of your work experience and potential.

Using strong action verbs

When you're aiming to impress with your resume in the catering field, the verbs you choose can make a significant difference. Picking strong and clear action verbs helps you show your skills and contributions effectively. Think about the tasks you perform and how you can describe them in an active way.

Below is a list of action verbs that are particularly good for showcasing your experience in catering. Use them to clearly point out your responsibilities and achievements.

  • To demonstrate leadership and initiative, use managed, directed, coordinated, orchestrated, oversaw.
  • For highlighting your customer service skills, include verbs like serviced, assisted, accommodated, responded, engaged.
  • To show your active role in food preparation, say you prepared, crafted, executed, plated, designed.
  • When emphasizing efficiency and time management, use expedited, streamlined, optimized, managed, scheduled.
  • To reflect your responsibility in maintaining standards, verbs like enforced, monitored, upheld, inspected, implemented are effective.

Want inspiration for other action verbs you can use? Check out synonyms to commonly used action verbs like Coordinated, Organize, Handled, Directed, Conducted.

Showcase leadership growth

When you're crafting your resume, it's important to highlight any leadership roles or promotions you've received. This shows potential employers that you're capable of taking on responsibility and growing in your career.

Think about your time in the food service and event planning sectors. Have you led a team during a large event? Perhaps you've trained new staff or taken charge of a particularly challenging project. These are excellent examples of leadership.

Here are ways you could show this growth:

  • "Promoted from server to lead server within one year, supervising a team of 10 during high-profile events."
  • "Managed inventory and vendor relationships, reducing food cost by 15% while maintaining quality."

Remember to be specific about your achievements. If you've been entrusted with more responsibility or moved up to a position with more oversight, make sure this is clear. Use simple, direct language to paint a picture of your leadership journey.

Key skills for catering roles

When crafting your resume for a role in catering, it's vital to highlight specific technical skills. You should show these in a separate skills section for clarity. Including these skills helps your resume pass Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which are used by many employers to filter resumes.

  • Menu planning
  • Food preparation
  • Inventory management
  • Food safety
  • Equipment maintenance
  • Customer service
  • Event setup
  • Budgeting
  • Culinary expertise
  • Vendor relations

Choose skills that match the job you want. For example, if you are aiming for a management position, include budgeting and inventory management. If you are applying to be a chef, focus on culinary expertise and food preparation. Place these skills in the top third of your resume to catch the eye quickly.

You might wonder if you need all these skills. The answer is no. Pick the ones that best fit your experience and the job you're applying for. This approach keeps your resume focused and shows you know what the role needs. Put these skills near the top and use simple words to describe them, so anyone can understand.

Quantify catering achievements

When you detail your experience in catering, showing the impact you've had with numbers can make your resume stand out. Numbers help you show the real value you added in past roles. Here's how you can do that:

  • Think about the number of events you've catered. Mention the average number of guests you served, or the largest event you managed, to give a sense of scale.
  • Calculate the percentage of repeat business you helped achieve if you have that information. This shows customer satisfaction and loyalty.
  • Consider time management. Did you implement a new process that resulted in time savings? Quantify this with a percentage or actual time saved, like reducing setup time by 20%.
  • Have you helped reduce costs? Mention specifics, like cutting food waste by 10% or negotiating with suppliers to lower ingredient costs by 15%.
  • If you trained staff, how many? Show your leadership and impact on efficiency by stating trained 30 new staff members or increased team efficiency by 25%.
  • Look at customer feedback. Use numbers to represent satisfaction, such as 95% positive feedback or increased customer satisfaction scores by 10 points.

Even if you're unsure about the exact figures, estimate them based on your experiences. For example, if you know you often served large parties, you can estimate the average size of parties you managed. If your work helped to grow the business, think about how much it grew during your time, such as a 30% increase in booked events year over year.

Tailoring for company size

When you apply for jobs at smaller companies like local catering services, show you can wear many hats. Use phrases like 'flexible team player' or 'adaptable to various tasks'. It's good to highlight experience where you helped a business grow or where you had a big impact with limited resources.

For larger companies such as Compass Group or Sodexo, focus on your ability to handle high-volume tasks. Use terms like 'experienced in large-scale event management' or 'proficient in industrial catering operations'. It's important to show that you understand strict compliance and standard operating procedures that big companies follow.

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