Sous chef
Daytime Sous Chef
Position Summary
The Daytime Sous Chef is responsible for leading and supporting all daytime culinary operations, ensuring a smooth transition between breakfast service and dinner production. While providing oversight and support for breakfast service, this role’s primary responsibility is maintaining the operational backbone of the kitchen through ordering, production, organization, inventory management, and team support. This position plays a critical role in setting the entire culinary team up for success each day.
Primary Responsibilities
Kitchen Operations
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Oversee and support breakfast service, ensuring quality, consistency, and timely execution.
Coordinate the transition from breakfast into dinner production.
Assist the Executive Chef with daily kitchen operations and operational priorities.
Maintain high standards of cleanliness, organization, food safety, and sanitation throughout the day.
Ordering & Inventory
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Manage broadline ordering to maintain appropriate inventory levels while minimizing waste.
Receive and inspect all incoming deliveries for quality, accuracy, and proper storage.
Organize and maintain walk-in coolers, freezers, and dry storage areas to ensure efficiency, cleanliness, and FIFO practices.
Assist with inventory counts, stock rotation, and product management.
Production & Preparation
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Execute and coordinate daily prep lists for all meal periods.
Produce sauces, stocks, proteins, vegetables, and other core mise en place as needed.
Support banquet, restaurant, and special event production when required.
Ensure prep levels consistently support seamless lunch and dinner service.
Team Leadership
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Provide coaching, guidance, and support to cooks and stewards during daytime operations.
Assist with training and developing culinary staff.
Foster a positive, professional, and accountable kitchen culture.
Communicate effectively with evening leadership to ensure continuity between shifts.
Family Meal
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Plan, prepare, or coordinate daily family meal.
Utilize trim and surplus product responsibly while maintaining high quality and nutritional standards.
Ensure family meal is prepared, served, and cleaned up on schedule.
Qualifications
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3+ years of progressive culinary leadership experience.
Strong organizational and time management skills.
Experience with purchasing, inventory control, and receiving.
Solid understanding of food safety, sanitation, and HACCP principles.
Ability to lead by example while working efficiently in a fast-paced environment.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Flexible schedule, including weekends and holidays as business needs require.
Success in This Role
The ideal candidate is highly organized, dependable, and proactive. They take pride in building systems that keep the kitchen running efficiently, ensuring the team arrives each afternoon with organized storage, complete mise en place, well-managed inventory, and the support needed to execute exceptional service. While breakfast oversight is an important component of the position, the primary measure of success is creating a kitchen that is consistently prepared, organized, and positioned for outstanding execution across every meal period.
