Sous Chef | Fine Dining Restaurant | Mission-Driven HospitalityPosition Summary
A mission-driven fine dining restaurant is seeking a skilled and disciplined Sous Chef to help lead a scratch-made, high-expectation kitchen. This role is ideal for a strong cook and steady leader who can support the Executive Chef, maintain standards during service, train the team, and help keep daily kitchen operations organized, clean, consistent, and financially aware.
The Sous Chef should be hands-on, calm under pressure, and capable of leading from the line while also supporting prep, ordering, inventory, sanitation, and team development. This position requires strong cooking ability, clear communication, and a commitment to building a professional kitchen culture rooted in preparation, respect, precision, and accountability.
Key ResponsibilitiesCulinary Leadership
- Support the Executive Chef in the daily operation of the kitchen.
- Lead prep and service with consistency, urgency, cleanliness, and attention to detail.
- Execute scratch-made fine dining food at a high standard.
- Maintain recipe standards, plating standards, portion control, and station organization.
- Help ensure all dishes leave the kitchen properly seasoned, presented, and timed.
- Step into any station as needed during prep or service.
- Assist with menu execution, specials, tastings, and culinary development.
- Communicate clearly with the Executive Chef, FOH leadership, and kitchen team.
Service Execution
- Help lead the kitchen through lunch, dinner, private events, and special services.
- Keep the line organized, stocked, clean, and ready before service begins.
- Maintain calm, clear communication during high-pressure moments.
- Support proper ticket flow, pacing, and quality control.
- Help correct mistakes quickly and professionally.
- Hold the team accountable to timing, cleanliness, and consistency.
- Ensure food is handled, fired, plated, and served according to house standards.
Team Leadership & Training
- Train cooks, prep cooks, dish, and support staff on recipes, systems, prep lists, and station expectations.
- Set the example for professionalism, urgency, cleanliness, and communication.
- Help create a kitchen culture built on respect, discipline, teaching, and teamwork.
- Support newer cooks and developing team members through hands-on coaching.
- Communicate expectations clearly and follow through consistently.
- Help identify training needs and bring solutions to the Executive Chef.
- Lead by example rather than ego.
Prep, Ordering & Organization
- Assist with daily prep lists, production needs, and station setup.
- Help monitor inventory, waste, pars, and product quality.
- Assist with ordering and receiving as assigned.
- Ensure proper labeling, dating, storage, and rotation.
- Maintain organized walk-ins, dry storage, prep areas, and line stations.
- Help protect food cost through portion control, waste management, and smart prep planning.
- Support systems that make the kitchen more consistent and easier to run.
Food Safety & Standards
- Maintain high standards for sanitation, food safety, and cleanliness.
- Ensure proper cooling, storage, labeling, and allergen awareness.
- Follow and enforce health department standards.
- Keep work areas clean, safe, and organized throughout the day.
- Support a kitchen where cleanliness and preparation are treated as part of the craft.
Required Qualifications
- Previous experience in a sous chef, lead line cook, junior sous chef, or senior cook role.
- Strong hands-on cooking ability in a scratch kitchen.
- Experience in fine dining, upscale casual, hotel, private club, tasting menu, or high-volume polished dining preferred.
- Ability to lead prep and service with calmness and professionalism.
- Strong knife skills, station organization, and timing.
- Understanding of food cost, portion control, waste, inventory, and ordering basics.
- Ability to train and support cooks with patience and clarity.
- Strong communication skills with both BOH and FOH teams.
- Knowledge of sanitation, food safety, and allergen procedures.
- Willingness to work nights, weekends, holidays, and special events as needed.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Southern, Creole, French, seafood, seasonal, or regional American cuisine.
- Experience opening a restaurant or building kitchen systems.
- Experience with prep systems, recipe cards, station guides, and training tools.
- Interest in mentorship, education, workforce development, or mission-driven hospitality.
- Ability to collaborate with FOH on service timing, allergies, guest experience, and special events.
- Comfort working in a kitchen that values both discipline and teaching.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal Sous Chef is a strong cook first: organized, clean, precise, and serious about the work. They are calm during service, respectful with the team, and willing to jump into any task that helps the kitchen succeed. They understand that leadership in the kitchen is built through consistency, preparation, communication, and accountability.
This person does not need to be the loudest voice in the room. They need to be steady, focused, and reliable. They should be able to push standards while still teaching, support the Executive Chef while still taking ownership, and help create a kitchen where people can grow without sacrificing excellence.
Expectations
- Lead by example every day.
- Maintain high culinary and cleanliness standards.
- Support the Executive Chef’s systems, recipes, and expectations.
- Keep communication direct, respectful, and solution-focused.
- Protect consistency, food cost, labor awareness, and guest experience.
- Help build a kitchen culture that is disciplined, professional, and rooted in care.
Equal Opportunity Statement
We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We are committed to building a respectful, inclusive, and professional workplace where team members are supported, challenged, and given opportunities to grow.
Pay: $62,000.00 - $75,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
