Executive Sous Chef

Royal Sonesta San Juan, PR•Carolina, PR

About The Position

The Executive Sous Chef follows and maintains standard procedures for banquet functions and supervises the banquet kitchen. The role includes ordering for functions, maintaining food cost and inventory, and ensuring food quality, presentation, and consistency. The Executive Sous Chef supervises and develops culinary staff, plans and organizes production, purchasing, and scheduling, and works closely with the front-of-house team to promote communication and teamwork. The position also supports the Executive Chef with administrative tasks and contributes to food and labor cost management across outlets. The role requires mastery of cooking techniques, the ability to create innovative dishes and presentations using seasonal and regional ingredients, and the ability to work efficiently under business demands. The Executive Sous Chef monitors staffing, uniforms, production sheets, meal-period consistency, banquet event orders, and event counts; trains staff on menu items; and attends relevant meetings. The position is expected to deliver engaged guest service, build respectful relationships with colleagues, and assist in other hotel areas when operationally needed. Candidates must have three years of culinary supervisory or management experience, a culinary degree or equivalent experience, and ServSafe certification. The job requires availability to work nights, weekends, and holidays as needed. Physical duties include standing and walking regularly, occasional reaching, bending, kneeling, crouching, crawling, and lifting or moving up to 25 pounds. The work environment may include outside weather and extreme cold or heat; noise is usually moderate.

Requirements

Three years of experience in a culinary supervisory or management role.
Culinary degree or relevant experience.
ServSafe certification.
Track record of delivering exceptional guest or client experiences.
Knowledge of and dexterity with complex kitchen equipment.
Expertise and experience in planning, designing, and preparing meals.
Strong communication skills, including communication for training, safety, and interaction with guests and associates.
Excellent time-management and organizational skills.
Proven leadership and creative abilities in a kitchen.
Appropriate professional appearance and demeanor.
Ability to read and interpret safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
Availability to work nights, weekends, and holidays as needed.
Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees.
Ability to solve practical problems and handle situations with limited standardization.
Ability to interpret written, oral, diagrammatic, or scheduled instructions.

Responsibilities

Supervise chefs and cooks of diverse backgrounds and training to produce consistently superior cuisine.
Plan and organize production, purchasing, and scheduling.
Maintain a strong working relationship with the front-of-house team to support communication and teamwork across food and beverage operations.
Establish professional demeanor and management standards for the outlet.
Delegate responsibilities effectively across the culinary team.
Perform administrative tasks as assigned by the Executive Chef.
Demonstrate mastery of cooking techniques, including sautéing, braising, poaching, grilling, frying, and steaming.
Create innovative dishes and plate presentations using seasonal and regional ingredients.
Work efficiently to meet business deadlines and demands.
Check staffing, uniforms, and daily production sheets.
Check production for all meal periods to ensure consistency.
Train staff on menu items.
Manage food and labor costs in all outlets.
Hold and attend regular staff meetings.
Maintain a clean and safe work environment in accordance with local health department rules and regulations.
Monitor guarantees and counts for banquet food functions and events on the property.
Review event order sheets for breakfast, lunch, dinner, receptions, and special events.
Attend BEO, staff, pre-shift, food and beverage, and other meetings as assigned by the Executive Chef.
Assist with schedules, events, and needs of other chefs on the property.
Deliver engaging guest service, recognize guests, anticipate their needs, and resolve requests or complaints.
Treat colleagues with respect and dignity.
Work in other hotel areas when needed to assist operations.