Banquet Sous Chef - [EXE] Dollywood's HeartSong Lodge & Resort - Exempt

The Dollywood Company•Pigeon Forge, TN

About The Position

The Banquet Sous Chef supervises and coordinates food preparation according to standards set by the Executive Chef. The role helps oversee hot and cold food produced and served across Food and Beverage outlets, ensuring consistent, high-quality food. It includes directing banquet and catering execution, supporting menu development and event planning, supervising kitchen staff, maintaining food safety and quality, and assisting with kitchen operations and departmental human-resource functions. The position requires hands-on culinary leadership in banquet production and other kitchen duties as needed. The chef works with cooks and other teams to prepare and plate menu items, manage event timing and quantities, maintain equipment and inventory standards, and meet health and safety requirements. Work schedules may include overtime, evenings, weekends, and holidays. The role may involve shifts of up to 13 hours and work in varying weather conditions, including extreme heat and cold.

Requirements

Must be at least 21 years of age.
High school diploma or equivalent.
At least 2–3 years of experience as a sous chef or in a very similar restaurant role.
At least 2 years of experience as a sous chef in banquet operations.
At least 2 years of supervisory experience.
Basic knowledge of sous vide cooking and saucier responsibilities.
Basic computer experience.
Ability to safely operate company vehicles under company policy; valid driver’s license, proof of auto liability insurance, and an acceptable motor vehicle driving record.
Employment offer is contingent on satisfactory background screening, including criminal-history and motor-vehicle-record checks.
Able to make a friendly impression when speaking or corresponding with guests, vendors, and employees.
Self-motivated and disciplined; able to prioritize and complete assignments on time.
Able to maintain strict confidentiality and exercise judgment with privileged information.
Professional appearance and good personal hygiene.
Able to be productive in a fast-paced environment and maintain dependable attendance and flexibility with assigned schedules, including required overtime, evenings, weekends, and holidays.
Sensitive to guest needs and empowered to respond within company guidelines.
Effective communication, problem-solving, conflict-management, and interpersonal skills; able to communicate with guests and hosts using approved methods.
Able to collaborate with cross-functional teams, comprehend instructions, and retain information.
Able to perform duties that create a safe and secure environment for hosts and guests and adapt to frequent changes in priorities.
Committed to the Dollywood Company’s Lead with Love qualities and culture, including patience, kindness, humility, respect, selflessness, forgiveness, honesty, and commitment.
Genuinely friendly and caring, takes pride in work, and is committed to continuous improvement.
Promotes teamwork by cooperating with and helping coworkers.
Able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide accurately.
Able to meet the physical demands of the job, including occasional to frequent lifting of up to 50 pounds, intermittent to prolonged sitting, standing, or walking for shifts up to 13 hours, repetitive movements, and work in varying weather conditions including extreme heat and cold.
Strong cognitive and sensory skills, including critical thinking, problem-solving, processing and retaining information, attention to detail, and effective communication.

Nice To Haves

Culinary degree or American Culinary Federation (ACF) certification preferred.

Responsibilities

Demonstrate banquet and catering skills to execute Banquet Event Orders (BEOs).
Direct buffet and plated service techniques and execution, including modern and classical plating techniques.
Assist with developing custom banquet menus and meeting planner requests.
Organize and update BEOs to reflect current guest and group needs.
Assist with ordering food products and kitchen supplies, coordinate with the purchasing agent to set products up in Crunchtime, and help conduct periodic food inventories.
Manage kitchen staff within culinary responsibilities and follow scheduling procedures to maintain appropriate, productive staffing levels.
Assist the Executive Chef with departmental human-resource functions.
Demonstrate and teach proper cooking methods to produce excellent food for guests and hosts.
Ensure safety training is completed according to company policy.
Supervise and coordinate food production according to menu specifications and required quantities; assist cooks with daily cuisine preparation, including hot prep, cold prep, saucier station, brick-oven cuisine, banquet production, and staff meals; perform all back-of-house duties as needed.
Ensure ingredient inventory meets quality specifications, correct unacceptable items, and inform the Executive Chef of quality concerns.
Taste menu components regularly and check food quality, flavor profiles, plating, and appearance.
Check kitchen cleanliness and ensure staff use clean-as-you-go practices and sanitizer properly and follow health regulations.
Maintain equipment in proper working order; inspect ovens, ranges, fryers, faucets, refrigerators, and warewashing machines, and report deficiencies through HotSOS to Engineering and verbally to the Food and Beverage Team.
Maintain food safety standards in kitchens and banquet areas and ensure time and temperature logs are used and monitored for food stations, cooling and hot-holding equipment, and dish machines.
Support continuous improvement through ongoing health, Steritech, REI, internal, and other audits.
Use butchery and fabrication techniques for beef, chicken, and fish.
Execute recipe standards for batch cooking and plating; prepare scratch-made sauces, soups, dressings, vinaigrettes, doughs, vegetables, proteins, and garnishes; apply basic sous vide and saucier knowledge.
Plate dessert, hot and cold items, appetizers, and amuse-bouche, and set up refreshment breaks.
Manage the complexities of banquets and meeting planner needs.
Direct back-of-house and front-of-house teams in banquet timing for buffet and plated service.
Ensure proper handling of food products by receiving and culinary staff.
Educate and instruct hosts on spoilage and food-cost controls.
Communicate and collaborate with guests, vendors, employees, and cross-functional teams; prioritize assignments, adapt to changing priorities, and support a safe, welcoming team environment.