Junior Sous Chef

Hebrew Rehabilitation Center•Dedham, MA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Junior Sous Chef supervises culinary staff and their assigned tasks under the direction of the Executive Chef and Executive Sous Chef. The role helps oversee kitchen operations in management’s absence and works with the culinary team to meet the needs of the kitchen, RSU Pantry, and households. It ensures that food operations meet applicable licensure, food safety, sanitation, nutrition, recipe-compliance, and safety standards, while supporting high-quality service and efficient operations. The position works alongside the supervisory team on menu development and engineering, recipe review, cost analysis, production planning, training, and food presentation. It supports staff through hands-on supervision, onboarding, and training, and contributes to audits, staff huddles, quality improvement, documentation, and compliance with organizational and regulatory requirements. The role also communicates with culinary leadership and nutrition staff about daily operations, equipment needs, and issues affecting production or service.

Requirements

Seven years of food service experience, with at least two years in a supervisory capacity preferred.
ServSafe Certification.
Basic computer skills to access email and other online resources.
Professional, proactive, collaborative, conscientious, and results-oriented approach.
Optimistic and positive demeanor, excellent oral and written communication skills, good intuition, adaptability to changing priorities, sound judgment, and a sense of humor.
Superb organizational skills.
Ability to be creative and proactive while remaining disciplined and able to streamline work volume amid multitasking and daily reprioritization.
Ability to innovate, think strategically and conceptually, manage multiple projects simultaneously, and handle difficult situations.

Responsibilities

Supervise culinary team members and coordinate their assignments to ensure economical, timely food production, providing hands-on support when needed.
Oversee kitchen operations in the absence of other management.
Work with the Executive Chef and Executive Sous Chef on menu development and engineering, menu and recipe review, and food, labor, and overhead cost analysis.
Consider guest counts and dish popularity when managing food surpluses and leftovers.
Familiarize and train newly hired Cooks, Nutritional Assistants, Culinary Associates, Stewards, and Dietary interns in kitchen practices.
Resolve customer concerns and represent the company courteously and efficiently in interactions with customers and employees.
Establish and enforce nutrition, sanitation, recipe-compliance, safety, and merchandising standards.
Ensure compliance with applicable local, state, and federal requirements, including sanitation, ServSafe, OSHA, and safety requirements.
Coordinate culinary assignments using prep lists and production sheets; monitor temperature taking and logs; and ensure daily production follows prep lists and RSU tally guides.
Ensure recipe adherence and note suggested adjustments.
Support oversight of DPH sanitation regulations in the kitchen, RSU Pantry, and households.
Manage leftovers, storage, food usage, and cooler organization in walk-in and reach-in coolers in hot and cold production areas.
Oversee filling food orders for the kitchen, RSU Pantry, and households.
Communicate daily adjustments with the Nutrition Lead and kitchen issues with the Executive Chef and Executive Sous Chef.
Support onboarding and training of new employees with guidance from the Executive Chef and Executive Sous Chef.
Participate in preparing and presenting material for weekly staff huddles and in weekly internal DPH audits with operations supervisors; follow up on open audit items.
Communicate equipment work orders, repair needs, and ordering needs to the Executive Chef and Executive Sous Chef.
Coordinate with Nutritional Assistants, Culinary Associates, and Dietary interns on plate presentation and meal overviews.
Supervise the production, preparation, and presentation of assigned foods to ensure consistent, quality products that meet company standards.
Maintain a professional appearance and follow organizational policies, procedures, confidentiality requirements, and regulatory and licensure standards.
Maintain documentation in accordance with professional standards and guidelines, and use a computer to access email and online resources.
Communicate issues and concerns that may require quality monitoring, suggest improvements to systems and care, and stay updated on performance improvement projects.
Follow safety and infection-control practices; report safety issues and errors or potential errors; use equipment according to training and policy; and remove and report malfunctioning equipment.
Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.