Sous Chef Job Description
A Real Word Rendition

A Sous Chef  job description starts with their working environment. Usually a sous chef is working in a commercial kitchen. Common employers of a Sous Chef are restaurants hotels cruise ships and casinos but more and more catering and private Chefs have been hiring as well.

A sous chef normally works just underneath the Chef, Executive Chef or Kitchen Manager in some instances. As the second in command, so to speak, they generally have the same duties and responsibilities as the Chef, but generally do not have the experience or have been given the break to run their own operation.

As any management position the Sous Chef must have the skill set to problem solve quickly, delegate duties and responsibility, be a mentor and still have exceptional culinary ability. The Sous Chef job description leaves out one thing in most places I have seen it attempted to define and that is simply culinary ability.

Graduating form culinary school does not guarantee you have this ability, it does show your ability to learn and your desire to succeed, but many just do not have the talent to pull it all off, do you?

On the Job - Sous Chef Job Description

Although the job description for restaurant personnel is different than what you will find in other industries there are some general expectations for a Sous Chef. I say it differs because all of the restaurants I have managed or owned I had only one job description for every position and every member of the team had one title on their business cards (yes even my dishwashers had business cards) and that was the same title that was on my business cards – “Whatever it Takes”.

But getting back to what a Sous Chef job description would look like. Responsible for making the Chef look good. It varies from place to place, but that is the crux of it. You can expect to work the line during peak times, you can expect to be the Chef when he or she is off or unavailable. You can expect to have a firm grasp on inventory, labor cost, scheduling and without a doubt maintain the quality standards the Chef has set down.

It is not all about cooking as you can see. Expect to sharpen your administrative skills in this position as well. Upwards of 25% of a Sous Chef’s time can be spent doing administrative duties.

Look, the bottom line is this. A Sous Chef is one step closer to getting the helm. This is your chance to shine and show what you have. When given the opportunity take it with both hands and give it everything you have. The money is not as good as you were probably making hourly when you add it all up, but it should be close. Your major advantage here is putting it on your resume so if you have the desire to be a Chef and take control of your own kitchen get your experience when you can

They have a vital role in any kitchen operation as many Chefs are now being called away to do more and more promotional aspects of promoting the establishment. Take advantage of this and make your Sous Chef job description just this - your chance to shine!