Sous Chef

Job Summary:

To operate a profitable restaurant and catering facility, manage a team of cooks, and other staff to provide a quality dining experience for patrons and serve a seasonal and innovative menu.  Responsible for hiring, promoting, and disciplining associates as required.  Coordinates all related departments regarding food purchases, production, service, storerooms, sanitation, and maintenance of equipment.  Analyzes and controls all expenses related to the food department. 

Essential Job Functions:

-Plans daily menu featuring a variety of seasonal offerings and assigns preparation of different dishes among team of chefs.

-Buys or supervises purchase of food daily, taking advantage of fresh foods in season and developing a roster of reliable -merchants of quality foods. Supervises wine purchases to maintain an excellent cellar.

-Monitors receipt of supplies and proper storage.

-Estimates food, overhead, and labor costs, and establishes menu prices accordingly.

-Hires kitchen staff, draws up work schedules, evaluates job performances, and discharges unsatisfactory employees.

-Experiments with new menu offerings and trains other chefs as necessary to prepare new and unfamiliar recipes.

-Samples food occasionally to ensure that it has been prepared and seasoned properly, that portion sizes are correct, and hot food is served hot, and cold, cold.

-Plans plating of food to maximize the visual impact and checks to make sure that the presentation is proper

-Inspects kitchen and dining room to ensure that proper hygiene and safety standards are strictly observed and that the dining room is always pristine and attractive.

-Responsible for menu cost control; labor cost control and achieving budgets and forecasts..

-Maintain high associate moral among staff.

-Checks and shops competition

-Responsible for care and maintenance of all equipment in food department.

-Inspects all refrigerators and storerooms for excessive inventories, over-preparation and spoilage, and to ensure that sanitation is maintained in all food and beverage areas.

-Meets requirements set by the Board of Health.

-Responsible for maintaining open lines of communication between all departments.

-Performs other duties as requested by General Manager.

Necessary Skills and Attributes:

Graduation from a well-known culinary school or demonstration of previous successful management of a quality restaurant.

Excellent verbal, comprehension, listening and problem solving skills

Excellent reputation for presenting an interesting, well-prepared menu.

-Ability to deal with a diverse staff and to operate efficiently despite stressful time pressure.

-Interpersonal and time management skills

-Adaptability

Formal Education:

-  Culinary Degree or BA/BS Degree a plus

Experience:

Three years of Food and Beverage experience required.  An intimate working knowledge of culinary standards and management execution with an entrepreneurial spirit to create and mentor superior culinary talent is essential.  In addition, a history with annual revenue and expense budgets is preferred.

Physical Requirements:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; stand; bend; walk; use hands or finger; or feel objects, tools or controls; lift boxes (up to 30 pounds); talk and hear.  Vision abilities required by this job include close vision to a computer screen.