Sous Chef

MEZZE CULVER CITY LLC•Culver City, CA

About The Position

The Sous Chef is a hands-on kitchen leader responsible for ensuring daily preparation, service, and sanitation meet José Andrés Group standards. The role runs the line during assigned services, coaches cooks, manages station pars and ticket flow, upholds food safety compliance, and supports inventory and cost-of-goods discipline. The Sous Chef partners closely with the Chef de Cuisine or Executive Chef to deliver consistent quality, speed, and teamwork. Responsibilities span culinary standards and training, service execution and expo, preparation and production planning, food safety and sanitation, inventory and ordering, labor deployment, kitchen equipment and facilities, and—where applicable—events, banquets, openings, and seasonal transitions.

Requirements

3–5+ years of professional kitchen experience, including 1–2+ years as a lead/strong line cook or Sous in upscale/casual-fine or fine dining.
Advanced station skills in grill, sauté, fry, and garde manger, plus strong expo experience.
Knowledge of HACCP and food safety; ServSafe Manager certification or equivalent, or ability to obtain it.
Ability to coach teams, stay organized under pressure, and communicate clearly.
Familiarity with KDS/POS, inventory, and scheduling tools, and comfort using Google Workspace.
Schedule flexibility for nights, weekends, and holidays.
Ability to stand and move for extended periods, up to 8+ hours, and bend and reach frequently.
Ability to lift, carry, push, or pull up to 35–50 lbs.
Ability to work with exposure to heat, steam, refrigeration, and cleaning chemicals, and perform repetitive knife and equipment use.
Slip-resistant footwear is required.

Responsibilities

Lead line checks and pre-service tastings, ensuring seasoning, temperatures, texture, and plating meet specifications.
Uphold standardized recipes and SOPs, communicate updates, and provide real-time technique training.
Coach cooks on knife skills, fire management, station organization, and expo discipline.
Own the pass or a key station during assigned services and protect service times and quality.
Monitor KDS/printers and promptly communicate pacing, 86s, and low pars to FOH leadership.
Resolve remakes and service issues immediately and record lessons in manager logs.
Turn forecasts into prep lists, set station pars, and adjust production throughout the day.
Verify labeling, dating, FIFO, hold times, and batch-production yields.
Support menu changes and specials with mise en place, tastings, and training materials.
Enforce DOH/HACCP requirements, including cooling logs, hot and cold holding, allergen and cross-contact protocols, and personal hygiene.
Maintain cleaning schedules and equipment care, ensure safe chemical and PPE use, prepare for inspections, and correct violations promptly.
Assist with ordering and receiving, verify product quality and temperatures, and ensure proper storage by zone.
Maintain inventory accuracy and waste logs and reinforce portioning and recipe adherence to meet COGS targets.
Flag shortages and propose substitutions that protect quality and margin.
Provide schedule input based on volume and skill mix, manage breaks and shift deployment, and cross-train team members across stations.
Ensure safe operation and daily maintenance of kitchen equipment, filter fryers, clean hoods and filters on schedule, track work orders, and tag out unsafe equipment.
As applicable, execute BEOs, PDR, and off-site activations to standard, on time, and to cost.
Support openings and seasonal transitions through hiring support, training, tastings, prep builds, and stabilization.