Garde Manger Sous Chef

THUNDER VALLEY CASINO•Lincoln, CA

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Garde Manger Sous Chef leads the daily performance and continuous improvement of Garde Manger operations. The role requires independent judgment, ownership, initiative, and visible, hands-on culinary leadership across food preparation, quality, presentation, staffing workflow, sanitation, inventory, and team development. The Sous Chef establishes priorities, anticipates operational needs, resolves routine issues within established standards and authority, and makes decisions that support food quality, productivity, cost control, guest experience, and business volume. The Sous Chef actively participates in Garde Manger production and service while developing Team Members and emerging leaders through delegation, coaching, instruction, and accountability. The role also supports other culinary operations, banquets, holidays, and property-wide initiatives as business needs require. All work must comply with company standards, policies, procedures, and AAA Four Diamond service standards, while maintaining a professional and positive image.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Three years of culinary experience in a high-volume restaurant, resort, casino, banquet, or similar food-service environment.
Previous Sous Chef, Chef de Partie, Lead Cook, or comparable culinary leadership experience.
Strong working knowledge of Garde Manger production, including salads, dressings, sandwiches, cold displays, buffet presentation, deli and charcuterie preparation, and high-volume cold-food production.
Demonstrated hands-on culinary proficiency and ability to lead by example during preparation and service.
Ability to work independently, make sound operational decisions, prioritize competing demands, and lead a kitchen with minimal direct supervision.
Ability to identify problems, develop solutions, anticipate operational needs, and take proactive action without waiting for direction.
Strong communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills, including ability to coach Team Members, develop emerging leaders, and collaborate with culinary leadership and other departments.
Commitment to food quality, flavor, creativity, seasonality, presentation, consistency, sanitation, and Guest service, while balancing immediate tasks with overall operational success.
Working knowledge of food cost control, labor utilization, portion control, inventory practices, waste reduction, production planning, and operational planning.
Ability to read, write, and communicate effectively in English and perform math calculations for recipes, measurements, portions, costing, and operational planning.
Current ServSafe Manager Certification.
Must be at least 21 years of age.
Must be able to obtain a UAIC Tribal Gaming License.
Normal or corrected vision, ability to see color, and ability to distinguish letters, numbers, and symbols.
Ability to lift up to 50 pounds with or without assistance and push up to 250 pounds on a pushcart.
Ability to enter walk-in units with temperatures as low as -10 degrees.
Ability to bend and reach to a height of 6 feet with or without assistance.
Ability to walk and stand for extended periods in hot or cold kitchen environments.
Manual dexterity to safely operate knives, kitchen tools, and job-related equipment.

Responsibilities

Practice, support, and promote Thunder Valley Casino Resort’s “ELITE” service mission and AAA Four Diamond service standards.
Foster professionalism, accountability, teamwork, respect, and culinary excellence within Garde Manger operations.
Lead daily operations independently by assessing business needs, setting priorities, allocating resources, resolving routine issues, and making timely decisions within established authority.
Provide hands-on culinary leadership, including working, supervising, training, coaching, and mentoring Team Members in preparation, production, plating, presentation, and service.
Monitor food quality, Team Member performance, production progress, staffing, equipment, sanitation, inventory, business volume, and service readiness; adjust priorities and resources as conditions change.
Anticipate operational needs and take proactive action to address challenges affecting food quality, service, productivity, cost, or the Guest experience.
Oversee and participate in Garde Manger production, including mise en place, salads, sandwiches, dressings, cold displays, charcuterie and deli preparations, buffet items, banquet production, and other cold-food requirements.
Participate in food preparation and service and support cooking methods such as frying, sautéing, griddling, carving, broiling, and steaming as needed.
Set and communicate daily production priorities, staffing assignments, par levels, timelines, and workflow.
Ensure food is prepared, portioned, garnished, and presented according to recipes, specifications, production requirements, and quality standards; taste food and address deficiencies.
Inspect ingredients, prepared foods, and finished products for freshness, quality, appearance, proper holding, and consistency; correct deficiencies and identify recurring issues.
Enforce sanitation, food safety, hygiene, labeling, storage, temperature-control, and allergen procedures in accordance with HACCP principles, Indian Health Department requirements, and company policies.
Manage Team Member performance through expectations, delegation, feedback, coaching, recognition, accountability, and corrective action in accordance with company policy and culinary leadership direction.
Manage controllable food and labor costs through production planning, portion control, waste reduction, storage, inventory, requisitioning, labor utilization, and effective use of products and supplies.
Identify and implement practical improvements to food quality, presentation, productivity, organization, recipes, production methods, waste, labor utilization, and Team Member development; communicate successful practices to culinary leadership.
Participate in inventory activities, maintain stock and par levels, ensure proper receiving, rotation, storage, and issuing of products and supplies, and forecast needs against upcoming business.
Provide culinary input on menus, recipes, seasonal offerings, flavor development, production methods, and operational improvements; participate in recipe testing and implementation.
Oversee the proper use, cleaning, and care of kitchen equipment and work areas; identify equipment or facility concerns and coordinate maintenance requests.
Communicate proactively with culinary leadership about staffing, production, food quality, equipment, inventory, Team Member performance, operational risks, opportunities, and other significant matters.
Coordinate with culinary and Food and Beverage teams to support banquets, special events, holidays, peak periods, and property-wide initiatives.
Follow company policies, SOPs, recipes, appearance standards, safety requirements, and emergency procedures.
Work varied shifts and schedules and support other culinary areas as business needs require.