Sous Chef

Compass Group•Santa Clara, CA

54d•$75,000 - $85,000•Onsite

About The Position

Our Passion is Food!At Bon Appetit Management Company we are committed to two things, great food and outstanding service! At Bon Appetit you won't find our managers referring to a corporate recipe book or our chefs microwaving the lunch special. We do not have standardized recipes or central commissaries, instead, our chefs and managers are expected to stay abreast of current culinary trends and bring cutting edge food into their cafes. We are a restaurant company that operates in contract food service. That means you will have the freedom to be creative, take risks, and truly shine. We are committed to our staff growing, trying new things, and learning all that they can. Our rapid growth and breadth of accounts translates into exciting opportunities for our people! Job Summary The Sous Chef supports the Executive Chef in leading daily culinary operations within a high-volume, fast-paced, multi-kitchen corporate dining environment and reports to the Executive Chef. This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for daily kitchen execution, food quality, production, employee supervision and development, ordering, inventory, safety, sanitation, cost awareness, and consistent execution of Bon Appétit standards. The Sous Chef is expected to take ownership of their assigned operation, lead employees through preparation and service, solve problems proactively, plan ahead, and maintain an organized, productive, safe, and service-ready kitchen.

Requirements

Demonstrate excellent culinary skills, hands-on leadership, ownership, accountability, self-motivation, organization, urgency, problem-solving, teamwork, planning, and genuine interest in developing employees.
Must be comfortable working in an active, high-volume, multi-kitchen culinary environment.
Must be prepared to work the hours necessary to successfully lead the operation and meet Bon Appétit management standards, business demands, and leadership responsibilities.
Schedule flexibility may be required based on staffing, business volume, special events, and operational needs.

Nice To Haves

Culinary degree preferred or equivalent professional experience.
Progressive culinary or kitchen-management experience.
Experience supervising or leading culinary employees.
High-volume, complex foodservice experience strongly preferred.
Strong knowledge of scratch cooking, production planning, ordering, inventory, food cost, safety, and sanitation.
Corporate dining, catering, or special-event experience preferred.
ServSafe certification highly desirable.

Responsibilities

Provide hands-on leadership during preparation, production, and service while maintaining strong standards for food quality, flavor, presentation, organization, and consistency.
Lead, coach, and develop culinary employees through clear priorities, assignments, training, feedback, and accountability.
Monitor production, plan ahead, and identify staffing, equipment, ingredient, or service concerns before they impact the operation.
Support the Executive Chef with menu planning, menu engineering, production planning, and consistent recipe execution.
Assist with ordering, inventory, food-cost control, product utilization, waste reduction, and approved purchasing standards.
Maintain and reinforce food-safety, sanitation, allergen, workplace-safety, and audit-readiness standards.
Support staffing, employee deployment, timekeeping, meal-period compliance, and overtime awareness.
Work effectively with limited direct supervision and make sound decisions within assigned responsibilities.
Maintain the professionalism, responsiveness, food quality, and hospitality expected in a corporate dining environment.
Work collaboratively with the Executive Chef, Culinary Director, BOH, FOH, catering, executive dining, pantry, and other campus teams