Chef / Restaurant Lead
The Hungry Buffalo
About the Role
The Hungry Buffalo is not looking for someone who simply wants to work a shift. We are looking for a capable chef and servant leader who wants to take responsibility for the daily operation of a restaurant.
This is a hands-on leadership position. You will not only prepare food—you will help lead the kitchen, protect our standards, serve our guests, train team members, solve problems, and help build a restaurant known for excellence, consistency, and genuine hospitality.
At The Hungry Buffalo, we believe food is more than a meal. It is an opportunity to serve people, strengthen our community, and honor God through excellence, integrity, and hospitality.
The right person will approach this position with ownership, maturity, and a willingness to lead by example.
If you are looking for a job where you can clock in, complete only the easiest tasks, and wait for someone else to take responsibility, this position will not be a good fit.
If you want to help operate a restaurant, develop a team, and build something meaningful, we would like to hear from you.
What You Will Be Responsible For
As Chef / Restaurant Lead, you will:
- Prepare and execute all menu items with excellence, consistency, and attention to presentation.
- Ensure every dish meets established recipes, portioning requirements, and quality standards.
- Lead daily kitchen and restaurant operations during assigned shifts.
- Organize prep work and ensure critical items are completed in the proper order.
- Maintain a clean, efficient, and well-organized kitchen throughout each shift—not only at closing.
- Uphold all food safety, sanitation, temperature-control, and health department standards.
- Monitor inventory, communicate supply needs, assist with ordering, and prevent unnecessary waste.
- Receive and properly store food and supplies.
- Identify operational problems and take appropriate action to resolve them.
- Train, coach, and support team members in food preparation, service, cleanliness, and hospitality.
- Hold yourself and others accountable to established standards.
- Operate the point-of-sale system and assist with taking orders when needed.
- Greet and engage guests warmly, answer menu questions, and confidently make recommendations.
- Run food, package takeout orders, and assist wherever needed to provide a strong guest experience.
- Respond professionally to guest concerns and work to resolve problems with integrity.
- Help supervise catering events and food truck operations, including preparation, transportation, setup, service, and execution.
- Communicate clearly with owners and team members regarding staffing, inventory, maintenance, quality, and operational needs.
- Complete opening, closing, cleaning, and administrative responsibilities thoroughly and accurately.
This position requires versatility. Depending on the needs of the restaurant, you may be the chef, line cook, cashier, food runner, trainer, problem-solver, and shift leader—all during the same shift.
What We Value
At The Hungry Buffalo, we believe:
- Excellence honors God.
- We do not cut corners simply because no one is watching.
- Consistency builds trust.
Guests should receive the same quality and care every time they visit.
- Hospitality reflects our faith.
Every guest should feel welcomed, valued, and respected.A leader does not avoid difficult work. A leader notices what needs to be done and steps in.We expect honesty, accountability, and responsible stewardship of the restaurant’s time, food, equipment, and resources.Who We Are Looking For
- Leadership is service.
- Integrity matters.
The strongest candidate will be:
- Experienced in professional cooking or restaurant operations.
- Responsible, dependable, and punctual.
- Able to work independently without constant supervision.
- Comfortable making sound decisions and taking responsibility for the outcome.
- Committed to food quality, portion control, cleanliness, and consistency.
- Calm, focused, and solution-oriented under pressure.
- Emotionally mature and able to communicate professionally.
- Willing to receive feedback and continually improve.
- Able to give clear, respectful direction to team members.
- A servant leader who works alongside the team rather than simply giving orders.
- Attentive to details, including prep levels, cleanliness, ticket times, food presentation, and guest satisfaction.
- Willing to complete necessary work before moving on to less urgent or preferred tasks.
- Physically able to perform the normal duties of a working restaurant kitchen.
- Available for evenings, weekends, catering events, food truck events, and other shifts based on operational needs.
You must understand that how we serve matters just as much as what we serve.
Required Qualifications
- Professional cooking, kitchen leadership, or restaurant operations experience.
- Knowledge of food preparation, kitchen organization, sanitation, and food safety.
- Ability to work effectively during busy service periods.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Reliable transportation and dependable attendance.
- ServSafe Food Manager Certification, or the ability to obtain and maintain certification within the required timeframe.
Preferred Qualifications
- Previous experience as a chef, kitchen manager, lead cook, sous chef, or restaurant shift leader.
- Experience with inventory management, ordering, food-cost control, and waste reduction.
- Experience training or supervising restaurant employees.
- Experience with catering or mobile food operations.
- Familiarity with point-of-sale systems.
- A record of improving kitchen systems, consistency, or team performance.
Who Thrives Here
You may be a strong fit if you:
- Treat the restaurant’s reputation as if it were your own.
- Notice problems and work to solve them rather than walking past them.
- Care about the small details that affect food quality and guest trust.
- Maintain high standards even during slow periods or when leadership is not present.
- Understand that downtime is an opportunity to prepare, clean, organize, and strengthen the next shift.
- Are willing to perform every task you expect another team member to perform.
- Want a meaningful leadership role rather than only a cooking position.
- Take pride in developing people, improving systems, and serving the community.
What This Role Offers
- A genuine leadership opportunity in a growing local restaurant.
- The ability to influence kitchen systems, service standards, training, and team culture.
- The opportunity to work directly with the owners and contribute ideas.
- Growth potential as the restaurant, catering operation, and food truck expand.
- Competitive compensation based on experience and demonstrated ability.
- Performance-based bonus opportunities tied to agreed-upon goals.
- The opportunity to help build a mission-driven business that serves its guests and community with purpose.
Compensation
- Competitive base pay (based on experience: Please note that ALL of our employees start out at minimum wage; however, leadership positions are presented with a written, scalable plan, to attain higher pay rates, based on proven performance and measurable KPIs-Key Performance Indicators.)
- Performance-based bonus opportunities
- Leadership growth within a mission-driven restaurant
License / Certification
ServSafe Food Manager Certification required. Applicants who are not currently certified must be willing and able to obtain certification within the timeframe established by The Hungry Buffalo.
How to Apply
Please submit your résumé along with a brief statement explaining:
- Why you are interested in leading at The Hungry Buffalo.
- What leadership means to you in a restaurant environment.
- An example of a problem you identified and solved without being asked.
- Your availability, including evenings and weekends.
Applicants should be prepared to discuss their experience with kitchen operations, food safety, team leadership, inventory management, and maintaining standards during both busy and slow periods.
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time
Pay: From $20.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Food provided
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply
Application Question(s):
- This role requires working independently and managing multiple responsibilities (chef, cashier, food runner). Describe a time you successfully handled multiple roles during a shift.
- This position requires strict food consistency. How do you ensure every dish is prepared the same way every time?
- How do you handle situations when business is slow? What do you do during downtime?
- What does “working like an owner” mean to you?
- This is a mission-driven restaurant that values excellence and hospitality. Why does that matter to you?
- Are you currently ServSafe Food Manager certified?
- Describe your favorite customer engagement experience.
- Describe what you think the perfect customer experience looks like.
License/Certification:
Shift availability:
- Night Shift (Preferred)
- Day Shift (Preferred)
Ability to Commute:
- Pueblo, CO 81003 (Required)
Work Location: In person
