Senior Sous Chef presso The Culinary Institute of America

The hiring salary for this position is $75,000. 

The CIA offers a substantial benefits package that includes medical coverage available at no cost to qualifying employees, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, short and long term disability insurance, retirement savings plan with high employer contributions, a generous paid time off program, and more!

As the benefits package at the CIA results in a significant value above the base hiring salary for this position, we encourage you to apply so that our recruiters can share more information with you about the benefits of working for the CIA.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Sous Chef is responsible for efficiently managing and delegating all kitchen activities, culinary production and scheduling as directed by the Banquet Chef in supporting special event operations. This includes, but is not limited to, managing labor costs, ensuring quality food products, organization and cleanliness of the kitchen, storage and auxiliary culinary kitchens all while exceeding customer satisfaction. The Senior Sous Chef leads the kitchen staff during the Banquet Chef’s absence, guiding and supervising the team during food preparation and assisting in menu preparation.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Directs and supports special events culinary teams in the performance of their daily duties across Copia and Greystone’s range of food & beverage outlets, with a focus on attaining the highest quality of food preparation, presentation, consistency, accuracy, and timeliness.
• Monitors and ensures proper inventories of all cooking stations. Supervises proper receiving, inspecting, repackaging, and storing of all food orders.
• Oversees the cleanliness and organization of all culinary workstations, ensuring compliance with all procedures and sanitation standards. Oversees and ensures proper cleaning and sanitation of all kitchen equipment including refrigerators, freezer, rolling cages, dry storage, and surrounding work areas.
• Ensures all opening and closing procedures are properly completed by assigned team members.
• Develops standard operating procedures for set up, execution and breakdown of all equipment related to food operations.
• Works with Copia Facilities Operations Manager to properly schedule and assess all preventive maintenance checks on a quarterly basis.
• Monitors attendance of culinary team to ensure schedules are being accurately followed with adherence to the California Meal Break Law. Approves hours for assigned employees in the time and attendance system.
• Runs assignments effectively while keeping guest satisfaction as the focus. Provides constructive feedback during service as needed.
• Communicates directly with Front of House team in relation to time guidelines, counts and special dietary restrictions during execution of service.
• Conducts pre-service meetings, when appropriate, to review menu items, ensuring the service team has the information needed to properly execute service.
• Works with the culinary management team to attain and maintain food cost goals.
• Leads training and evaluations of culinary team under the direction of the Banquet Chef.
• Reports incidents of performance deficiencies, insubordination, and injuries to the Banquet Chef.
• Organizes, produces, and executes all special events services assuming full responsibility in the absence of the Banquet Chef.
• Educates and coaches all culinary team members in all aspects of cooking skills, ingredients and recipe requirements as documented by the Banquet Chef.
• Resourcefully solve any issues that arise and seize control of any problematic situations.
• Manages full and proper uniform appearance of back of house staff.
• Any and all other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Associate's degree or graduate of an accredited culinary school, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience:

• Minimum of five (5) years of cooking experience in a full-service restaurant, hotel, or resort.
• Background in a catering, high volume, or fine dining restaurant establishment.
• Minimum of one (1) year of supervisory experience.

Licenses:

• HACCP or ServSafe Certified, or California Food Handler’s Certificate or ability to obtain within 30 days of hire.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Understanding and ability to calculate and manage food and labor costs within a set budget.
• Culinary Institute of America graduate preferred.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Expert knife skills.
• Advanced level of culinary skills.
• Advanced butchery skills.
• Excellent written, verbal communication, and presentation skills required. Must have demonstrated ability in organizational, time management, problem solving and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to use sound judgment and discretion in handling sensitive issues with confidentiality and discretion.
• Ability to monitor, evaluate and solve operations problems as they arrive.
• Strong teamwork and interpersonal skills; ability to be adaptable, dependable and handle multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Demonstrated ability to show a high level of service responsiveness to customers.
• Excellent logistical planning and delegating skills.
• Must display a high level of energy and self-motivation.
• Must have a demonstrated history of improved guest experience with measurable results.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Must be available to work a flexible schedule, including nights and weekends based upon business needs.
• Regular work requires a great deal of standing, lifting, bending and stretching.
• Ability to work in extreme temperatures hot and cold for extended periods.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 25 pounds.
• Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds, or more with assistance.
• Must be able to work at both locations of the CIA California Campus (Copia in Napa, CA and Greystone in St. Helena, CA). Must possess own transportation in order to travel between locations during the workday as required.