Field Sous Chef

Upper Crust Food Service • Pullman, WA

17d • Onsite

About The Position

The Field Sous Chef is a campus-wide culinary role that provides agile daily coverage across every house on a qualifying campus and serves as the on-campus bench for permanent Chef openings. Rather than holding a single house assignment, the Field Sous Chef rotates across the campus portfolio — covering chef absences, supporting high-volume service and special events, and building working familiarity with every house's team, clients, and kitchen. That familiarity positions them as the leading internal candidate when a permanent Chef vacancy opens. Promotion is triggered by a vacancy, not a tenure clock; upon promotion, the Field Sous Chef moves into a permanent house with full menu ownership and a dedicated team.

Requirements

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

Nice To Haves

• High-volume residential, hospitality, or institutional food service experience
• Menu design, recipe costing, and inventory management
• Exposure to dietary accommodation programs (allergen management, religious and lifestyle diets)

Responsibilities

• Execute daily assignments from the Area Manager or Ops Coordinator, leading service and managing prep coordination, station setup, food safety compliance, and day-of logistics with the front-of-house team when covering an absent Chef.
• Rotate across all houses on campus, building relationships with each team and learning each kitchen's equipment, inventory systems, vendors, and service cadence. Document insights across houses to inform campus-wide best practices.
• Provide pre-service prep at high-volume houses, support new-house onboarding, and execute special events (philanthropies, recruitment events, formal dinners) on coverage-light days.
• Complete structured shadow time with senior chefs, participate in semi-annual development reviews with the Area Manager, and build a portfolio of menu concepts, costed recipes, and service plans in preparation for independent menu ownership.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree