Santo Agave – Urban Kitchen & Tequila Bar
Location: Park West, Peoria, Arizona
Job Type: Full-time
Compensation: Competitive salary based on experience
About Santo Agave
Santo Agave is an upscale, modern Mexican restaurant and tequila bar offering chef-driven cuisine, premium ingredients, tableside presentations, and an energetic dining experience. We are seeking an experienced, disciplined, and hands-on Sous Chef to help lead our culinary team and maintain consistent execution throughout every service.
Position Summary
The Sous Chef will work directly with the Executive Chef and management team to oversee daily kitchen operations, supervise and train employees, maintain recipe consistency, control food and labor costs, and ensure every dish meets Santo Agave’s quality and presentation standards.
Candidates must be highly proficient at running the expo line and capable of maintaining control over ticket flow, timing, communication, quality, and final plate presentation during high-volume service.
The Sous Chef must also be proficient in all areas of kitchen production and capable of stepping into any station when necessary, including sauté, grill, fry, pantry, prep, seafood, meat fabrication, sauces, and banquet or event production.
Proficiency with Toast POS is required. Spanish-speaking or bilingual candidates are strongly preferred.
Essential Responsibilities
- Assist the Executive Chef with all daily back-of-house operations.
- Lead line cooks, prep cooks, dishwashers, and other kitchen employees during assigned shifts.
- Run the expo station confidently during high-volume dinner, brunch, holiday, and special-event services.
- Use Toast POS and applicable kitchen-display functions to manage tickets, modifiers, allergy notices, coursing, refires, order timing, and communication with the front-of-house team.
- Troubleshoot basic Toast POS ticket-routing and kitchen-display issues during service.
- Control ticket flow, course timing, modifications, allergy requests, refires, and communication between the kitchen and front-of-house team.
- Perform final quality-control inspections for temperature, portion size, preparation, garnishing, plate presentation, and cleanliness.
- Maintain awareness of all open tickets and immediately correct delays or production problems.
- Coordinate firing times across every station so complete orders reach the table together.
- Maintain calm, clear, and professional communication during demanding service periods.
- Demonstrate proficiency in every kitchen production area and provide hands-on assistance wherever needed.
- Prepare and supervise stocks, sauces, marinades, proteins, seafood, vegetables, garnishes, and other production items according to established recipes.
- Ensure all dishes are prepared according to approved recipes, portions, temperatures, and presentation standards.
- Conduct daily line checks and verify that every station is properly prepared, stocked, labeled, and organized before service.
- Supervise preparation, cooling, storage, rotation, reheating, and holding procedures.
- Enforce FIFO practices, date labeling, portion control, recipe compliance, and waste-reduction standards.
- Assist with ordering, receiving, inventory counts, product rotation, and vendor-quality inspections.
- Monitor food waste, overproduction, incorrect portions, remakes, and unnecessary overtime.
- Assist with kitchen scheduling and labor deployment according to forecasted sales and production requirements.
- Train, coach, and evaluate kitchen employees while reinforcing accountability and teamwork.
- Maintain recipe confidentiality and protect company culinary procedures and intellectual property.
- Ensure compliance with health-department regulations, sanitation standards, workplace-safety requirements, and company policies.
- Maintain a clean, organized, and inspection-ready kitchen.
- Report equipment problems, product shortages, employee concerns, and operational issues promptly.
- Assist with menu development, daily specials, banquets, private events, and seasonal offerings.
- Assume full kitchen leadership responsibilities when the Executive Chef is unavailable.
Required Qualifications
- Minimum of two years of experience as a Sous Chef, Kitchen Manager, Lead Line Cook, or comparable kitchen leader.
- Demonstrated proficiency running an expo station in a high-volume, full-service restaurant.
- Proficiency with Toast POS, including ticket management, modifiers, coursing, refires, allergy notifications, and basic order-routing troubleshooting.
- Proficiency in all major kitchen stations and production areas.
- Ability to read tickets, control pacing, coordinate stations, and maintain consistent ticket times.
- Experience in an upscale, high-volume, or chef-driven restaurant is strongly preferred.
- Strong knowledge of food preparation, sanitation, recipe execution, portion control, and plate presentation.
- Familiarity with Mexican cuisine, steaks, seafood, sauces, and high-quality plate presentation is preferred.
- Proven ability to supervise, train, motivate, and hold kitchen employees accountable.
- Working knowledge of food-cost control, inventory, purchasing, labor management, and waste reduction.
- Strong organizational, communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to remain composed and make sound decisions during high-volume service.
- Bilingual English and Spanish is strongly preferred but not required.
- Must possess or obtain all food-safety certifications required for the position.
- Must be able to stand for extended periods and safely lift up to 50 pounds.
- Open availability for evenings, weekends, holidays, brunches, and special events is required.
- Reliable transportation, dependable attendance, and consistent punctuality are essential.
What We Offer
- Competitive compensation based on experience.
- Full-time culinary leadership opportunity.
- Professional kitchen environment with established standards and recipes.
- Opportunity to work alongside experienced culinary leadership.
- Training and advancement opportunities as Santo Agave continues to grow.
- Employee dining benefits in accordance with company policy.
How to Apply
Please submit your résumé through Indeed and include your current availability, relevant leadership experience, and expected compensation. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their Toast POS knowledge, expo experience, kitchen-station proficiency, production knowledge, and experience leading high-volume service.
Qualified candidates will be contacted to schedule an interview.
Santo Agave is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, experience, performance, reliability, and business needs.
Pay: $51,787.21 - $62,367.39 per year
Work Location: In person
