JOB TITLE: Sous Chef

SUMMARY: Under the supervision of the Dining Services Director, the Sous Chef will assist in the day-to-day operations of the kitchen and all food related events. Performs duties as a working Chef directly with the cooks, preps, and utility staff to ensure all work is completed. In the absence of the Dining Services Director, incumbent is responsible for the purchasing of inventory, control of food, labor and supply cost. Must always strive for highest customer satisfaction. Holds direct responsibilities and supervision over the sanitation and personal hygiene of the kitchen facilities and staff. Strives to keep staff moral at the highest. Upholds all policies and procedures and supervises all equal.  

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: This summarizes the major essential duties and responsibilities regularly performed and normally assigned to this position. Listed below are the major duties of the position in no order of importance as daily business needs will change the priority level of some duties. Other duties may be assigned. May be necessary to assist in the evacuation of residents during emergency situations.

• Prepares the proper amounts of quality food on time for each meal; ensures customer satisfaction of quality of food by communicating with front house staff concerning resident comments; assists in properly training of all new kitchen staff; follows highest standards of safety and equipment operation; enforces safety and sanitation program; holds daily production meeting for front house staff; follows and cooks by all standard culinary practices; works with Dining Services Director to develop new menus and ideas and develops, implements and supervises “Chef’s Du Jour Program.”
• Works as a team with coworkers; follows outlined purchasing procedures; informs Dining Services Director of any disciplinary problems that require attention.
• Assists Dining Services Director in the evaluation of cooks, preps and utility staff; attends in-service programs as directed.

QUALIFICATIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: One-year certificate from college or technical school; or three to six years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience. 

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals, Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

REASONING ABILITY: Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. 

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES: Must possess advanced knowledge of food preparation methods and operations, of kitchen equipment and materials used in food prep work. Must possess general knowledge of food operations, i.e., product specifications, customer service, management, food supplies, sanitation, employee supervision, etc.  

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, use hands to fingers, talk and hear, reach with hands and arms, twist from side to side and bend at the knees.  

The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 lbs. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be working in a clean, well-lighted and well-ventilated kitchen and dining room. The noise level in the work environment ranges from moderate (ex: business office with computers and office equipment, light traffic) to loud (ex: metal can manufacturing department, large earth-moving equipment).

OSHA EXPOSURE RISK CATEGORY: Possible work hazards include: cuts from utensils, burns, falls due to wet floors, quick temperature changes in and out of refrigeration areas and around steam tables.

OTHER WORK REQUIREMENTS: Must possess and exhibit a strong positive attitude toward customer service and have a genuine interest in geriatric care and uphold the philosophy of the community. Must uphold the utmost attention to the cleanliness and detail towards sanitation in food service. Must always strive to do the best job possible, to be creative and to work towards accomplishing the facility goals. Must have supervised a staff of 8 or more, or worked as a cook in a similar setting for at least one-year.