Cooks and chefs from abroad for your kitchen

Duties and workplaces

Cooks prepare food, cook to recipes and plate dishes. They plan quantities, order goods and pay attention to freshness and hygiene. In larger kitchens they run a station and guide kitchen assistants.

Split shifts and weekend work are common in hospitality. They should be stated clearly beforehand. Seasonal businesses often provide accommodation.

New cooks learn the recipes and routines of a German business during the induction. Anyone coming from a large hotel kitchen often already knows fixed stations and routines.

• Restaurants and inns
• Hotel kitchens
• Canteens and catering for institutions
• Catering and seasonal businesses

Recognition

Non-regulated occupation

The Chamber of Industry and Commerce is responsible.

The occupation is not regulated in Germany. A company can hire a cook with a foreign certificate without that certificate being recognised. For people from countries outside the EU, however, the residence title comes into play.

The title as a skilled worker usually requires the qualification to be equivalent to a German one. In certain cases work experience can also lead to employment, under additional conditions set out by the official bodies.

The Chamber of Industry and Commerce is responsible for the vocational occupation of cook. It compares the foreign qualification with the German occupation and issues a decision. The route starts at the portal Recognition in Germany.

If differences remain, the decision names them. They can usually be made up through adaptation training, often in the company. Another route is the recognition partnership, in which company and skilled worker complete the procedure after entry.

As a rule, the skilled worker submits the application personally. Only the responsible chamber decides on equivalence. Nobody promises a result or a time frame.

German language skills

In the kitchen a basic vocabulary is often enough, while more helps in the team. In kitchens without guest contact, practice counts more than the language level. There is no fixed level for everyone.

What is required depends on the residence title, on the position and on the company. The responsible office or the company states it in the individual case.

We record the candidates' language level on the European scale from A1 to C2 and ask for proof.

Documents

We ask cooks for these documents. References that name the stations help to classify the experience.

• required CV Including types of kitchen, stations held and size of operation.
• required Proof of training as a cook Trade certificate, diploma or an equivalent qualification.
• required Employment references References from your recent kitchens, ideally naming your stations.
• if available German language certificate Basic German is often enough in the kitchen; more helps in the team.
• if available Note: food hygiene training A briefing on food hygiene rules is usual before you start.

The list is a general guide and creates no legal entitlement. The responsible office and the company say what is required in the individual case.

Training in Uzbekistan and Türkiye

Türkiye

In Türkiye vocational education usually starts at vocational upper secondary schools, including with a hospitality focus. There are also short job-related programmes at universities. Whether a qualification matches the German cook is checked case by case by the responsible chamber.

Uzbekistan

In Uzbekistan young people learn an occupation at colleges and technical schools with a lot of practice. Many cooks have also learned in restaurants without a certificate of their own. We record what is proven and what is not.

How it works with Regalis

1. 1

   Taking up your needs

   You describe the kitchen, stations, shifts and accommodation. We ask questions wherever something is unclear.

2. 2

   Search in our own network

   Our local partners approach cooks, ask about experience and certificates and review the documents.

3. 3

   Presenting checked profiles

   You receive profiles without names and decide whom you want to talk to. A video call often follows.

4. 4

   Coordinating the documents

   We coordinate the documents for recognition, employment, entry and residence.

5. 5

   Support until the first working day

   We stay at your side until the first working day and remain available in the first months.

For skilled workers

Are you a cook in Türkiye or Uzbekistan and would like to work in Germany? Send us a quick application or create a profile. Our service is free of charge for candidates. The page on your country of origin shows the route to Germany step by step. You sign the employment contract directly with the company. You apply for the visa at the German mission abroad, which decides on it.

• Apply in short
• From Türkiye For skilled workers from Türkiye: the route to Germany step by step, documents, learning German, fair recruitment and protection from fake agents.
• From Uzbekistan For skilled workers from Uzbekistan: the route to Germany step by step, documents, learning German, fair recruitment and protection from fake agents.