Sous Chef

SALARY RANGE: $72,400 - $90,000 annually

Summary / Objective

Santa Rosa Entertainment Company LLC is seeking an experienced, hands-on Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager to help lead Red Eye Barbecue food operations.

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager is responsible for supporting the Executive Chef in managing the day-to-day kitchen operation, including kitchen staff supervision, line execution, prep systems, food quality, food safety, inventory controls, kitchen labor management, training, scheduling, production planning, and operational readiness for high-volume periods.

This is not intended to be a production-only cook position. The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager is expected to function as a salaried kitchen leader with real management authority, regular supervision of kitchen employees, responsibility for assigning and directing work, meaningful input into employment decisions, and accountability for operational and financial performance.

The successful candidate must be able to lead people, manage systems, maintain standards, solve problems, and support Red Eye Barbecues goal of delivering excellent food while improving total food gross margin dollars.

This position is intended to be classified as an exempt salaried management position. The primary duty of the Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager is to help manage the kitchen operation of Red Eye Barbecue, including supervising employees, directing daily work, maintaining production systems, enforcing food quality and food safety standards, managing prep and line execution, supporting labor and inventory controls, and exercising independent judgment on matters of operational significance.

Essential Functions

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager exists to ensure that Red Eye Barbecues kitchen operates with consistency, urgency, cleanliness, accountability, and financial discipline. This role supports the Executive Chef by managing daily kitchen execution, developing kitchen employees, maintaining standards, and ensuring the kitchen is prepared for restaurant service, takeout, private events, tournaments, sports-viewing crowds, catering, and special promotions.

Key Responsibilities

1. Kitchen Leadership and Daily Operations Management

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager will help manage daily kitchen operations and ensure that the kitchen is ready to execute at a high level.

Responsibilities include:

- Manage daily kitchen operations under the direction of the Executive Chef.

- Direct kitchen staff during prep, service, opening, closing, cleaning, and high-volume periods.

- Ensure all kitchen stations are properly staffed, stocked, organized, and prepared for service.

- Create and manage daily prep lists, production priorities, station assignments, and shift plans.

- Monitor food quality, ticket times, portioning, plating, product availability, and overall kitchen execution.

- Make real-time operational decisions to protect food quality, guest experience, labor productivity, and speed of service.

- Ensure the kitchen is prepared for weekends, holidays, tournaments, private events, sports-viewing events, catering, and peak business periods.

- Communicate daily priorities, product shortages, quality issues, and service needs to the Executive Chef and management team.

2. Supervision and Team Management

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager will supervise assigned kitchen employees and direct the work of line cooks, prep cooks, dish staff, BBQ production staff, food runners when assigned to kitchen-related duties, and other kitchen employees.

Responsibilities include:

- Customarily and regularly direct the work of two or more full-time employees or the equivalent.

- Assign daily work to kitchen employees based on business needs, prep requirements, production schedules, and service volume.

- Monitor employee performance and provide coaching, correction, training, and feedback.

- Help recruit, interview, onboard, train, evaluate, discipline, and develop kitchen employees.

- Make recommendations regarding hiring, promotion, discipline, transfer, scheduling changes, and termination decisions.

- Hold kitchen employees accountable for attendance, productivity, food quality, cleanliness, safety, teamwork, communication, and compliance with company standards.

- Help build a kitchen culture based on urgency, accountability, consistency, respect, and pride in the food.

- Serve as the primary kitchen leader on duty when the Executive Chef is not present.

3. Line Execution and Service Leadership

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager will be responsible for leading successful kitchen execution during service periods.

Responsibilities include:

- Ensure line stations are properly set up, stocked, labeled, cleaned, and ready for service.

- Supervise line cooks and other kitchen employees during active service.

- Monitor ticket times, food quality, order accuracy, portion control, and presentation.

- Ensure BBQ items, sides, appetizers, entres, specials, and event items are executed according to approved standards.

- Coordinate with front-of-house leadership, servers, bartenders, food runners, and event staff regarding order flow, product availability, guest issues, and timing.

- Resolve kitchen service issues quickly and professionally.

- Support high-volume service while maintaining standards for quality, cleanliness, and food safety.

- Step into hands-on production or line work when needed while maintaining primary responsibility for management and supervision.

4. Prep, Production and Recipe Systems

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager will help maintain strong kitchen systems for prep, production, recipes, and consistency.

Responsibilities include:

- Maintain and enforce approved recipes, build sheets, prep procedures, batch recipes, portion standards, and plating standards.

- Create and update prep lists based on forecasted demand, inventory levels, product availability, event schedules, and service needs.

- Ensure prep is completed accurately, efficiently, safely, and on time.

- Verify that products are properly labeled, dated, stored, rotated, and ready for service.

- Work with the Executive Chef and Pit Master / BBQ Production Manager to coordinate smoked meat production with line needs, event volume, and expected demand.

- Identify production bottlenecks and recommend improvements.

- Maintain systems that reduce waste, improve consistency, and support faster execution.

5. Food Quality and Red Eye Barbecue Brand Standards

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager is responsible for protecting Red Eye Barbecues food quality and brand reputation.

Responsibilities include:

- Inspect food quality throughout prep, production, and service.

- Ensure all food meets Red Eye Barbecue standards for flavor, temperature, portioning, appearance, freshness, and consistency.

- Correct or reject products that do not meet quality expectations.

- Train kitchen employees on proper cooking techniques, plating standards, portion sizes, holding procedures, and product handling.

- Support continuous improvement of menu items, recipes, specials, sides, sauces, and service procedures.

- Help ensure the food program is viewed by guests as a major upgrade and a core part of the Red Eye Barbecue brand.

- Assist with tastings, staff menu training, food photography, promotional events, and special menu rollouts as needed.

6. Inventory, Purchasing Support and COGS Control

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager will support the Executive Chef in managing food inventory, purchasing discipline, waste control, and food cost performance.

Responsibilities include:

- Assist with food ordering, receiving, invoice review, product storage, labeling, rotation, and inventory counts.

- Monitor inventory levels to prevent shortages, over-ordering, spoilage, theft, and excessive waste.

- Track waste, overproduction, incorrect portioning, spoilage, and product usage issues.

- Enforce portion controls, recipe standards, and yield expectations.

- Recommend changes to reduce food COGS and improve total food gross margin dollars.

- Communicate vendor issues, product quality concerns, pricing changes, shortages, or inventory discrepancies to the Executive Chef.

- Help maintain organized walk-ins, freezers, dry storage areas, prep areas, and line stations.

- Support menu engineering, recipe costing, product usage review, and profitability discussions as assigned.

7. Kitchen Labor Management

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager will help manage kitchen labor to ensure staffing levels are appropriate for business volume and production needs.

Responsibilities include:

- Assist with kitchen scheduling based on projected sales, events, prep needs, catering orders, tournament schedules, and peak business periods.

- Monitor labor deployment during shifts and make adjustments as needed.

- Assign breaks, station responsibilities, prep priorities, and cleaning duties.

- Recommend schedule changes based on employee performance, availability, business needs, and labor productivity.

- Help reduce unnecessary labor cost while protecting food quality and service execution.

- Train employees to work efficiently and productively.

- Serve as a leadership resource for employees during active kitchen shifts.

8. Food Safety, Sanitation and Compliance

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager will enforce food safety and sanitation standards throughout the kitchen operation.

Responsibilities include:

- Ensure proper food handling, storage, thawing, preparation, cooking, cooling, reheating, holding, labeling, and rotation.

- Monitor and document required food temperatures, cooling logs, reheating logs, cleaning logs, and other food safety records.

- Enforce sanitation standards in prep areas, line stations, dish areas, walk-ins, freezers, dry storage, smoker-related support areas, and equipment areas.

- Ensure kitchen employees follow food safety rules, personal hygiene requirements, glove policies, allergen procedures, and company standards.

- Take immediate action to correct unsafe, unsanitary, or non-compliant practices.

- Prepare the kitchen for health inspections and internal audits.

- Maintain or obtain required food safety certifications, including ServSafe Manager or an equivalent company-approved certification, if required.

9. Operational Decision-Making and Independent Judgment

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager is expected to exercise independent judgment on matters of operational significance.

Responsibilities include:

- Make daily decisions regarding prep priorities, station assignments, product readiness, labor deployment, and service execution.

- Decide when to adjust production quantities, batch sizes, station support, holding procedures, or kitchen priorities.

- Identify and solve kitchen problems before they affect guest experience.

- Make recommendations regarding staffing, training, discipline, menu execution, inventory controls, equipment needs, vendor issues, and operational systems.

- Balance food quality, guest experience, food safety, labor efficiency, product availability, and financial performance.

- Escalate major issues appropriately while independently managing routine operational decisions.

10. Event, Catering and High-Volume Support

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager will help prepare and execute food service for events and high-volume periods.

Responsibilities include:

- Support food production and service for private events, banquets, catering orders, tournaments, sports-viewing events, holidays, and promotions.

- Coordinate with the Executive Chef, Pit Master / BBQ Production Manager, Assistant Director of Operations, front-of-house leadership, and event staff regarding expected demand and food service needs.

- Help create production plans for large groups and high-volume service.

- Ensure event food is prepared, held, transported, served, and replenished according to company standards.

- Help evaluate event execution and recommend improvements.

11. Equipment, Maintenance and Safety

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager will help ensure kitchen equipment and work areas are properly maintained and used safely.

Responsibilities include:

- Ensure kitchen equipment is properly used, cleaned, maintained, and reported when repairs are needed.

- Monitor the condition of ovens, fryers, grills, refrigeration, freezers, prep tables, smallwares, slicers, mixers, hot holding equipment, and other kitchen tools.

- Report equipment failures, maintenance issues, safety concerns, and supply needs promptly.

- Ensure employees follow safe practices when using knives, slicers, hot equipment, chemicals, ladders, carts, and cleaning tools.

- Help maintain a clean, organized, and safe work environment.

Work Schedule

This is a full-time salaried leadership position. The schedule will vary based on business needs and may include early mornings, nights, weekends, holidays, sports-viewing events, tournaments, catering orders, private events, and other high-volume periods.

The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager is expected to be present during key business periods and to ensure the kitchen is properly prepared, staffed, supervised, and executed.

Work Environment

This job operates in a building-wide capacity. This role routinely uses electrical equipment, sharp knives, and other potentially dangerous equipment. Proper training will be given prior to using any dangerous equipment. Employees in this role are frequently exposed to hot water, potentially slippery floors, and cleaning chemicals.

Physical Demands

This position requires the ability to work in a commercial kitchen and outdoor smoker environment. The Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager must be able to stand for extended periods, lift and carry food products and supplies, work around heat, smoke, fire, hot equipment, sharp tools, cold storage, wet floors, and cleaning chemicals, and perform hands-on kitchen and BBQ production tasks as needed.

The position may require standing, lifting (and moving objects up to 50 pounds), crouching, kneeling, pushing, pulling, bending, reaching, carrying, trimming, moving food products, loading smokers, unloading smokers, cleaning equipment, and working outdoors in varying weather conditions.

Reasonable Accommodation

The essential duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and physical demands described in this Job Description are representative of those that must be met by a Sous Chef / Kitchen Operations Manager to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions so long as the accommodation does not cause undue hardship on Santa Rosa Entertainment, LLC.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

- Be a team player. Look for opportunities to help other team members.

- Work hard to maintain and promote a positive work environment.

- Available to work all shifts: days, nights, weekends and holidays, as necessary.

- Have the ability to work in a noisy, fast-paced environment with many distractions.

- Have the ability to lift and carry up to 50 lbs.

- Have the ability to move around the facility and walk or stand 100% of the shift.

- Have the ability to reach, bend, stoop, mop, sweep and clean frequently.

- A minimum of 5 years of experience in varied kitchen positions including food preparation, line cook, fry cook and expediter.

- Strong leadership skills.

- Possess strong organizational and decision-making skills.

- Work well in fast-paced setting.

- At least 6 months experience in a similar capacity.

- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively.

- Be able to work in a standing position for long periods of time.

- Must have exceptional hygiene and grooming habits.

- Must have or obtain Food Manager Certification.

- Must have or obtain Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) certification.

- Must be 21 years of age or above.

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience working in a commercial kitchen.

- Bilingual a plus.

Other Duties

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this job. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Equal Opportunity Employer