Sous Chef, Ford House

Continental Services • Grosse Pointe Shores, MI

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Sous Chef at the Continental at Ford House restaurant, is the day-to-day culinary execution leader. This role supports the Executive Chef by ensuring station readiness, ticket pacing, quality control, cleanliness, and team coaching during service. The Sous Chef reinforces recipe standards, maintains food safety discipline, and supports prep systems so the restaurant performs at a premium level every shift. The Sous Chef will support restaurant production, service execution, and culinary team development within the restaurant program.

This role is hired as Sous Chef with an Executive Sous Chef incentive pathway. The Executive Sous Chef title may be earned as a performance-based incentive after demonstrating consistent leadership results and successful completion of role goals. Title change and compensation adjustment are determined by leadership/HR based on performance and scope.

Requirements

• 3+ years progressive kitchen experience; Sous Chef or lead line experience preferred.
• Recipe development experience required (specials development, recipe write-ups, portioning/yields).
• Proven ability to teach and coach line/prep cooks to consistent standards.
• Strong service execution fundamentals: timing, quality control, organization, and communication.
• Strong food safety knowledge; ServSafe preferred (or willingness to obtain within 90 days if required by company/venue).
• Flexible availability includes nights, weekends, and holidays as required by business volume.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily restaurant line execution, ensuring timing, quality, and presentation meet Continental and Ford House standards.
• Maintain ticket pacing and station communication; coordinate with FOH leadership to protect guest experience.
• Conduct line checks/tastings and confirm station readiness prior to service.
• Develop weekly dinner specials that align with seasonal availability, operational efficiency, and brand standards.
• Provide brunch special suggestions (rotating features) to drive weekend engagement and elevate experience.
• Create a weekly dessert special (concept, recipe, plating direction) that is executable and consistent.
• Standardize specials with clear recipes, yields, portions, allergens, and plating notes to ensure consistency.
• Teach and coach line/prep cooks on recipes, techniques, station setup, timing, and plating standards.
• Support onboarding and station training; reinforce consistent execution across all shifts.
• Provide performance feedback to the Executive Chef and support development plans for culinary staff.
• Support Executive Chef with ordering/inventory discipline by using Continental’s ordering systems/processes.
• Work with multiple suppliers to source products, confirm availability, and communicate substitutions.
• Support pars, storage organization, receiving standards, and rotation (FIFO) to protect quality and food cost.
• Enforce food safety and sanitation standards (temperatures, cooling/reheating, allergen controls, labeling).
• Maintain cleanliness and organization of stations, coolers, and BOH areas; uphold inspection readiness.
• Ensure safe knife/equipment practices and proper chemical/PPE use.

Benefits

• This position offers the opportunity to join a large, well-established catering company with an outstanding team culture, innovative systems, and proven standard operating procedures. We take pride in delivering exceptional events while maintaining a fun, respectful, and supportive work environment. The right candidate will be admired by peers, trusted by leadership, and empowered to grow within our organization.
• We prioritize the health, wellness and work-life balance of our associates and designed our comprehensive compensation packages to reflect that. Full-time associates are eligible for medical, dental and vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, parental leave, 401(k) with company match, at-work dining perks, flexible schedules, generous PTO, and a total rewards program. Employees can also use our inclusive employee assistance program. Location-specific perks may also include wellness programming, on-the-job training, corporate-hosted courses, certifications and team events.
• Continental offers a highly competitive compensation package.
• Continental is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees