The role of a Kitchen Porter is vital in any professional kitchen. Often working behind the scenes, kitchen porters ensure the smooth operation of the kitchen by maintaining cleanliness, assisting chefs, and handling essential kitchen tasks. Typically, a Kitchen Porter can expect to earn between £18,000 and £22,000 per year in the UK, with the salary rising depending on experience, location, and the size of the establishment. The position requires stamina, attention to detail, and a proactive attitude, making it an essential entry point for anyone looking to build a career in the culinary industry.
A strong Kitchen Porter CV can make all the difference in landing an interview. A well-structured CV highlights not just your experience, but also your commitment, work ethic, and ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
Understanding the Job Description for a Kitchen Porter
Before crafting your CV template, it is essential to understand what employers are looking for. A typical Kitchen Porter job description includes:
Washing dishes, pots, and kitchen equipment efficiently
Maintaining high hygiene standards in all kitchen areas
Assisting chefs and kitchen staff with basic prep work
Ensuring waste is disposed of correctly and recycling is followed
Following health and safety protocols at all times
Employers often look for candidates who are reliable, punctual, and adaptable. Including these qualities in your CV example can significantly improve your chances of securing an interview.
Structuring Your Kitchen Porter CV
A strong CV template is organized, clear, and tailored to the job you are applying for. Here is an ideal structure:
Contact Information: Full name, phone number, email, and location.
Professional Summary: A brief, optimistic paragraph highlighting your key strengths, experience, and career ambitions.
Key Skills: Focus on relevant kitchen and personal skills, such as time management, teamwork, and health and safety compliance.
Professional Experience: List your roles chronologically, emphasizing responsibilities that align with the Kitchen Porter job description.
Education & Qualifications: Include relevant certifications, such as food hygiene or health and safety training.
Additional Information: Voluntary experience, languages, or other relevant skills.
Writing a Professional Summary for a Kitchen Porter CV
Your professional summary is your chance to grab the employer’s attention. For example:
“Dedicated and hardworking Kitchen Porter with over three years of experience in fast-paced kitchen environments. Skilled in maintaining hygiene standards, assisting chefs with prep work, and ensuring smooth kitchen operations. Eager to contribute strong work ethic and reliability to a dynamic culinary team.”
Notice the use of action-oriented keywords like dedicated, hardworking, skilled, hygiene standards, and reliability—these terms are not only attractive to recruiters but also improve your CV SEO if uploaded online.
Highlighting Key Skills
When creating your cv template, it’s crucial to highlight skills that directly relate to kitchen operations:
Efficient dishwashing and cleaning techniques
Food safety and hygiene knowledge (Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate if applicable)
Ability to follow instructions and work under pressure
Teamwork and communication skills
Inventory management and basic prep assistance
Remember, even if you are new to the role, transferable skills like reliability, punctuality, and teamwork are highly valued by employers.
Tailoring Your Professional Experience
In your CV example, focus on results and achievements rather than just listing tasks. For example:
Kitchen Porter | The Gourmet Kitchen, London | Jan 2022 – Present
Maintained kitchen hygiene, reducing cross-contamination incidents by 30%
Assisted chefs in preparing ingredients, improving service efficiency during peak hours
Trained new kitchen porters in cleaning protocols and waste management
Using numbers, percentages, or results adds credibility to your experience and makes your CV stand out.
Education and Qualifications
While the Kitchen Porter role doesn’t always require formal qualifications, including them demonstrates your commitment to learning and professionalism:
Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate
Health and Safety Awareness
Relevant apprenticeships or culinary courses
For graduates, highlighting educational achievements can help offset limited professional experience.
Additional Tips for Graduates
If you’re a graduate entering the culinary field:
Emphasize transferable skills such as teamwork, organisation, and reliability.
Include volunteer experience, internships, or summer jobs in kitchens or catering environments.
Keep your CV concise, ideally one page, and focus on skills relevant to a Kitchen Porter role.
Advice for Middle and Senior Management
For candidates with management ambitions or experience in supervisory roles, your CV should also reflect leadership:
Highlight experience supervising kitchen staff or managing inventory
Emphasize achievements in improving kitchen efficiency
Include certifications like Level 3 Food Safety or Supervisory Management in Catering
Even in an entry-level Kitchen Porter CV, showing ambition for progression can impress employers.
CV Do’s and Don’ts
To ensure your CV is interview-ready:
Do’s:
Keep your CV clear, concise, and structured
Tailor your CV for each application
Use action verbs like assisted, maintained, improved
Proofread for spelling and grammar errors
Include quantifiable achievements where possible
Don’ts:
Don’t exaggerate skills or experience
Avoid cluttered layouts or overly long paragraphs
Don’t include irrelevant personal details
Avoid passive language like responsible for without showing impact
Never use generic statements without evidence
Creating a CV That Stands Out
To make your Kitchen Porter CV truly stand out:
Use a clean, professional layout with clear headings
Include a personal touch in your summary to show passion for the role
Showcase results and achievements, even from voluntary or part-time work
Ensure your CV is optimised for online searches if applying through job boards
For a complete example, our cv template
provides step-by-step guidance to structure your CV, highlight achievements, and tailor it to your desired kitchen role.
Boosting Your Career with Expert CV Support
Even the most dedicated candidates can struggle to make their CV shine. As a career coach with over 25 years’ experience, I, Jerry Frempong, have helped countless candidates turn their work history into a compelling story that gets noticed. Whether you’re a graduate, an experienced kitchen staff member, or aspiring to move into supervisory roles, refining your CV and LinkedIn profile is the fastest way to secure interviews and career growth.
Book an appointment today to have your CV and LinkedIn profile professionally improved: Book an appointment
. Take control of your culinary career, stand out from the competition, and land the role you deserve.
