7 Mistakes Chefs Make When Applying to Restaurants (And How to Fix Them)

Most chefs apply to restaurants the wrong way. Not because they're bad cooks, but because nobody teaches you how to job-hunt in this industry. Here are the seven most common mistakes — and how to fix each one.

1. Sending the same email to every restaurant

This is the single most common mistake. Chefs write one cover letter, swap out the restaurant name, and blast it to 30 kitchens.

Hiring chefs can spot a copy-paste email instantly. If your email could apply to any restaurant in the world, it's not personalised enough.

The fix: Spend 15 minutes researching each restaurant before you write. Reference something specific — a dish, a technique, an interview, a recent award. Show you've done the homework.

2. Writing too much

A 500-word cover letter is not a better cover letter. It's a longer one that won't get read.

Chefs read emails between services, on their phone, standing in the kitchen. You have about 10 seconds of their attention.

The fix: Keep it under 180 words. Three paragraphs: hook, fit, ask. Every sentence must earn its place.

3. Leading with your life story

"I've been passionate about food since I was five years old and used to cook with my grandmother in her kitchen in the countryside..."

Nobody cares. The chef wants to know: can you cook, do you know our restaurant, and when are you available?

The fix: Lead with the restaurant, not yourself. Your first sentence should show that you know their kitchen.

4. Not including a CV

Some chefs think the email alone should be enough. It's not. Restaurants want to see your experience formatted clearly — where you worked, for how long, and in what role.

The fix: Always attach a one-page PDF CV. Include: restaurant names, positions, dates, and relevant skills. No headshot. No "hobbies" section. No fancy graphics.

5. Applying at the wrong time

Sending an email the week before Christmas or during a restaurant's annual closure is wasted effort. The chef isn't hiring, they're surviving.

The fix:

• Best months: January–March, September–October
• Best day of the week: Tuesday or Wednesday (never Monday, never Friday)
• Best time: 8–10am, before the kitchen gets busy

6. Not following up

You sent a great email. No response after two weeks. You assume they're not interested and move on.

But the reality is that chefs receive dozens of emails and many simply get buried. A polite follow-up often surfaces your application.

The fix: Send one follow-up email exactly 2–3 weeks after your initial contact. Keep it brief: "Just following up on my email from [date]. I'd love to hear if there's an opportunity to join your team." If still no response, move on — don't send a third.

7. Applying to the wrong restaurants

Ambition is good. But applying to Noma when you've only worked at a hotel buffet is not ambitious, it's unrealistic. It wastes your time and theirs.

The fix: Be honest about your current level and apply accordingly. If you're a culinary school grad, target 1-star restaurants and well-regarded non-starred kitchens. If you're a CDP with 3+ years at starred kitchens, you can aim for 2- and 3-star restaurants. Build upward.

The meta-mistake: treating applications as a lottery

The biggest underlying error is treating job applications as a numbers game — "If I email 100 restaurants, surely 5 will respond."

This doesn't work. Chefs talk to each other. If three restaurants in the same city receive the same generic email from you, word gets around.

Instead, treat each application as a small investment. Research deeply. Write specifically. Send fewer, better emails. A 30% response rate on 15 personalised emails beats a 2% response rate on 200 generic ones.

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