Sous Chef / Kitchen Manager
Anthony’s New York Italian – River Oaks, Houston, TX
Full-Time | Minimum 5 Years Fresh Scratch Kitchen Experience Required
About Anthony’s New York Italian
Anthony’s New York Italian is a chef-driven, upscale Italian restaurant located in River Oaks, Houston. Our kitchen focuses on fresh, scratch-made Italian cuisine, including fresh pasta, sauces, seafood, steaks, house-made desserts, and classic Italian dishes prepared with premium ingredients.
We are looking for an experienced Sous Chef / Kitchen Manager who is passionate about food, organized, hands-on, and capable of leading a high-volume professional kitchen.
This is not a position for someone whose experience is primarily in reheating, frozen-food, or pre-packaged restaurant concepts. Candidates must have strong experience working in a true fresh scratch kitchen.
Minimum Qualifications
- Minimum 5 years of professional kitchen experience in a fresh scratch kitchen
- Minimum 2–3 years in a Sous Chef, Kitchen Manager, Chef de Cuisine, or similar leadership position preferred
- Strong experience with Italian, Mediterranean, steakhouse, seafood, or upscale/fine-dining cuisine preferred
- Proven ability to supervise and develop cooks, prep cooks, dishwashers, and other BOH employees
- Strong knowledge of food preparation, cooking techniques, sanitation, food safety, and kitchen organization
- Experience managing food cost, labor, inventory, ordering, prep levels, and waste
- Must be comfortable working nights, weekends, and holidays
- Must be dependable, professional, organized, and able to work under pressure
Primary Job ResponsibilitiesKitchen Leadership & Operations
- Assist the Executive Chef/Owner in overseeing all daily back-of-house operations
- Lead the kitchen during lunch and dinner service
- Manage the line and ensure smooth communication between all cooking stations
- Maintain proper ticket times while protecting food quality and presentation
- Conduct pre-shift kitchen meetings and communicate specials, reservations, large parties, prep requirements, and service expectations
- Ensure every station is completely prepared and ready before service
- Assign daily prep and production responsibilities
- Inspect prep lists and verify completion before service
- Maintain an organized, professional, disciplined kitchen environment
- Step onto any station when necessary during busy service
- Troubleshoot kitchen problems quickly and professionally
Scratch Cooking & Food Quality
The Sous Chef / Kitchen Manager must understand and enforce scratch-kitchen preparation standards.
Responsibilities include overseeing production of:
- Fresh pasta
- House-made sauces
- Stocks and reductions
- Soups
- Dressings and vinaigrettes
- Fresh seafood
- Prime steaks and other proteins
- Chicken, veal, and braised meats
- Pizza and dough products
- Fresh vegetables and garnishes
- Appetizers and composed dishes
- Desserts and specialty items where applicable
You will be responsible for making sure recipes are followed exactly and that food leaving the kitchen meets Anthony’s standards every time.
Recipe & Portion Control
- Ensure all employees follow approved recipes
- Verify proper portion sizes
- Maintain consistency between cooks and shifts
- Monitor seasoning, cooking temperature, texture, presentation, and plate appearance
- Conduct regular food tastings
- Correct improperly prepared dishes before they reach the guest
- Train cooks on proper preparation and cooking techniques
- Prevent unauthorized recipe changes or substitutions
- Ensure expensive ingredients and proteins are properly portioned
Line & Service Management
- Check every station before service
- Verify proteins, sauces, pasta, vegetables, garnishes, and backup products are properly stocked
- Maintain communication with FOH managers during service
- Control ticket flow during high-volume periods
- Ensure proper coordination between sauté, grill, pasta, pizza, garde manger, fry, and other stations
- Monitor food temperature and presentation
- Ensure dishes are prepared according to guest modifications and allergy instructions
- Maintain a clean line throughout service
- Lead closing procedures and ensure the kitchen is properly reset for the following shift
Team Leadership & Training
- Hire, train, coach, and develop BOH employees with management
- Train employees on recipes, portions, plating, cooking techniques, sanitation, and kitchen procedures
- Develop strong line cooks and identify future kitchen leaders
- Hold employees accountable for performance and attendance
- Correct performance issues immediately and professionally
- Create a culture of urgency, teamwork, cleanliness, respect, and accountability
- Ensure employees are in proper uniform and following company standards
- Help prepare employee schedules based on business needs
- Reduce unnecessary overtime while maintaining proper kitchen coverage
Food Cost & Waste Control
A major responsibility of this position is protecting food quality while controlling food cost.
The Sous Chef / Kitchen Manager will:
- Monitor daily food usage
- Control portions
- Reduce overproduction
- Track and minimize waste
- Monitor spoilage
- Verify proper product rotation using FIFO
- Inspect deliveries for quality and correct quantities
- Monitor high-cost proteins, seafood, cheese, imported ingredients, and specialty products
- Maintain accurate prep pars
- Adjust production according to expected sales and reservations
- Assist management in achieving established food-cost targets
- Investigate unusual food-cost variances
- Ensure employees are not over-portioning ingredients
Ordering & Inventory
- Assist with food and kitchen supply ordering
- Maintain proper inventory levels
- Conduct weekly inventory as required
- Verify deliveries against invoices
- Check product quality before accepting deliveries
- Maintain organized walk-ins, freezers, dry storage, and prep areas
- Label and date all products properly
- Prevent over-ordering and unnecessary inventory
- Communicate shortages and vendor issues immediately
- Maintain appropriate par levels based on sales volume
Food Safety & Sanitation
- Maintain strict food-safety and sanitation standards
- Ensure proper food storage and labeling
- Monitor refrigerator and freezer temperatures
- Maintain proper cooling, reheating, holding, and cooking procedures
- Prevent cross-contamination
- Enforce proper handwashing and glove procedures
- Maintain clean cutting boards, equipment, utensils, and work surfaces
- Ensure the kitchen is maintained inspection-ready at all times
- Oversee daily and weekly deep-cleaning schedules
- Ensure all employees understand health department requirements
- Maintain proper handling procedures for seafood, raw meats, poultry, dairy, and other potentially hazardous foods
Equipment & Kitchen Maintenance
- Ensure kitchen equipment is properly operated and maintained
- Immediately report equipment problems
- Protect restaurant equipment from abuse or improper use
- Ensure ovens, ranges, grills, fryers, refrigeration, pasta equipment, mixers, prep equipment, and smallwares are cleaned correctly
- Coordinate preventive maintenance needs with management
- Maintain an organized and safe kitchen environment
What We Are Looking For
The right candidate is:
- A hands-on kitchen leader
- Passionate about fresh food and scratch cooking
- Strong on the line during busy service
- Highly organized
- Detail-oriented
- Consistent
- Dependable
- Calm under pressure
- Strong with people and training
- Focused on food cost and waste
- Serious about cleanliness
- Able to hold employees accountable
- Comfortable working directly with ownership and senior management
- Interested in building a long-term career with a growing restaurant organization
Preferred Culinary Background
Experience in one or more of the following is highly desirable:
- Upscale Italian restaurants
- Fine dining
- High-volume independent restaurants
- Chef-driven scratch kitchens
- Steakhouses
- Seafood restaurants
- Fresh pasta production
- Italian sauces and sauté cooking
- High-volume restaurant kitchens
Requirements
- Minimum 5 years fresh scratch kitchen experience
- Culinary leadership experience required
- Strong sauté, grill, pasta, and protein knowledge
- Food-safety certification preferred
- Ability to lift approximately 50 lbs.
- Ability to stand for extended periods
- Ability to work approximately 45–55 hours per week depending on business volume
- Nights, weekends, and holidays are required
- Reliable transportation required
What Success Looks Like
The successful Sous Chef / Kitchen Manager will maintain:
- Consistent food quality
- Strong ticket times
- Clean and organized kitchen operations
- Proper recipe execution
- Accurate portioning
- Controlled food cost
- Minimal waste
- Proper staffing and labor control
- Strong employee training
- Excellent sanitation standards
- A professional, accountable BOH culture
Important
Applicants without at least 5 years of meaningful fresh scratch-kitchen experience should not apply.
We are seeking a culinary professional who understands the difference between simply managing a kitchen and leading a high-quality scratch kitchen every day.
Job Type: Full-Time
Position: Sous Chef / Kitchen Manager
Location: Anthony’s New York Italian – River Oaks, Houston, Texas
Pay: From $55,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
