Field Chef

Upper Crust Food Service•Athens, GA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Field Chef is a campus-wide culinary role designed to provide agile daily coverage across all houses on a qualifying campus and to serve as the on-campus bench for permanent Chef openings. Rather than being assigned to a single house, the Field Chef rotates across every house in the campus portfolio — stepping in to cover chef absences, support high-volume service, assist with special events, and partner with senior chefs on structured development.

Requirements

Culinary degree or equivalent professional kitchen experience.
3+ years in a professional kitchen, with at least 1 year at the Sous Chef level or equivalent.
Demonstrated ability to execute a menu designed by another chef to that chef's standard.
Strong food safety knowledge; ServSafe certification or ability to obtain within 60 days of hire.
Flexibility and mobility — willingness to work across multiple kitchens on short notice, including early mornings, evenings, and occasional weekends.
Strong interpersonal skills; ability to integrate quickly into established kitchen teams.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in high-volume residential, hospitality, or institutional food service.
Experience with menu design, recipe costing, and inventory management.
Exposure to dietary accommodation programs (allergen management, religious and lifestyle diets).

Responsibilities

Receive daily assignments from the Area Manager or Operations Specialist and report to the assigned house ready to lead service.
When covering an absent Chef, execute the house's planned menu to the standard expected by the house's clients — preserving continuity during the absence.
Manage back-of-house operations for the day including prep coordination, station setup, food safety compliance, and service execution.
Partner with the house's front-of-house team and house leadership on day-of logistics, dietary accommodations, and guest needs.
Rotate across all houses served on campus, building working relationships with each house's team, clients, and leadership.
Learn each kitchen's equipment, inventory systems, vendor relationships, and service cadence.
Document insights, standards, and opportunities observed across houses to inform campus-wide best practices.
Provide pre-service prep assistance at houses with high-volume meal periods.
Support new house onboarding during the first weeks of service on a new campus contract.
Execute special events including philanthropies, recruitment events, and formal dinners.
Complete structured shadow time with senior chefs as part of a documented development plan.
Participate in semi-annual development reviews with the Area Manager covering culinary skills, leadership, client management, and business acumen.
Build a portfolio of menu concepts, costed recipes, and service plans in preparation for independent menu ownership.
Maintain a professional, coachable posture across every rotation — the role's success depends on being welcomed into every kitchen on campus.