Look, a lot of chefs are interested in working in private houses because, let’s be honest, working for a celebrity or billionaire is very cool. But landing that first role is tough, and without a strong CV, you probably won’t even be considered
Working at this level is great because you often get paid more, you don’t have to do the crazy volume you do in restaurants, so people are very interested in working for a family of 4 to 6 people. It sounds great. Quite often, you get two full days off, you get well paid, sometimes you even get to travel, and you work for the elite. So it’s kind of a prestigious job. I get it, it’s attractive and interesting.
Your CV is your business card, and it is your portfolio. This is marketing. This is not optional.
Please don’t be that guy who says, “I don’t do social media,” because you know what, that guy does not get hired. So don’t be that guy, and make sure you have proper marketing for yourself. Proper advertising.
Your portfolio is marketing. Your CV is marketing. You must promote yourself!
Make it accessible, approachable, and kind. People don’t want to talk to you if your CV and your documents look like you have not paid any attention to it, because they know every day you need to pay attention to the work you do and to the food you produce for the family you work for – your CV and portfolio are proof that you can do it.
If you can’t present nicely plated food and a clean CV, they just won’t trust you to come into their house. They’re not even going to consider you, because they don’t trust you, they don’t think you are capable of doing this for the family.
1. The Look of the CV in General
Now you need a CV, a clean-looking CV. You need a nice photo, you need a portfolio, and you need to clearly show where you are based.
If you have any certificates (especially when applying to work on a yacht), you need to put them on. If you have any awards or achievements, if you won competitions, you need to put it there.
If you worked in a Michelin-starred restaurant, a Rosette restaurant, even if it was just a stage for a day or a week, it shows that you’re interested in high-end food, which is very important.
The other thing you need to put is this: if you worked in a restaurant that was voted best in the city that year, or if you worked under a great chef who trained under a celebrity chef or Michelin-starred chef, mention it. Because all of this is going to play in your favor, and it needs to be well written.
Keywords such as Michelin, Rosette, Award, First place, or Competition need to be highlighted in bold.
2. The Content of the CV → What Words Go Where
Job description: no more than five lines. NO ONE is reading more than that (you’re wasting your time)
I know you want to say how much you were attentive to the daily cleanliness of the kitchen and how many times you went to the store, into the shop, and the stock taking and all of this, but people don’t care about this…
So please, five lines maximum per job.
Make sure you put the job titles and always put the dates, starting and ending. Even better if you can say how long you were there. Like, “2 years here,” “3 years there.” Okay great.
And yes, have a modern-looking CV.
3. The Portfolio → It’s Very Important
Have a link to your portfolio online. It can be an Instagram account (please make sure it’s public), or it can be a website, or it can be a PDF portfolio, as long as you have 10 to 15 nice photos of food.
Photos of you working, maybe something plated, something buffet-style, very colourful,and some pastry. Just a good variety of what you would be able to offer as a private chef.
4. The Profile Photo → You Need to Have a Nice One
Please have a clean, modern profile photo of you in smart casual, or in a chef uniform, even better.
Please smile. Don’t have your arms crossed holding a knife, because it’s quite a threatening photo, and no one wants to hire someone at this level who looks like they are just coming out of jail or are actually going to jail.
So please be smiley. Just look like a nice person, because that will make them decide if they want to have a phone call with you or not.
Two important things are the visuals:
They will look at your photo, and they will look at your portfolio. If these two are not attractive and accessible, they will not contact you.
5. How You Present on Email and Messages
You need to present how you prepare and how you present yourself on emails and messages.
You cannot, and I repeat, you cannot just send your CV in a different language to a job you applied for or just write nothing in the email.
You need to convert your CV into English if you want to work anywhere in the world, because people at this level in this ultra-high net worth industry communicate in English.
And it needs to be clean. It needs to be translated. Check for spelling.
You cannot afford to have a misspelling. If you have one or two that are very hidden, I understand. But if you have simple words, like “cuisine” or some other words that are the main heart of your industry, you need to spell them right, because it’s going to look very bad on you.
Final Word
Okay, so this is all good, but how do you actually update your CV? Who do you ask to do it?
Here is a solution for you.
We have created a simple Free CV Update template at Montclair Chef that you can access right now. Just click the link at the bottom of the page and get an updated CV in under 15 minutes.
You just need to log in to identify yourself once you are there. It is a simple upload, drag, and drop. Update your name, your info, and then voilà. Download this file as a PDF.
You can add one to many pages if you want. It is very easy to do. There is no need to overthink it. You just upload, click, drag, and drop. And you have your portfolio done.
Here is the link: Our Free Chef’s Portfolio Template
And below is a short video that I made myself to show you how to use this template.
Watch how to use the free portfolio template here
I hope that helps.
See you around, chefs.
Ciao!
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