Sous Chef, Menu Devolpment

We're looking for motivated, engaged people to help make everyone's journeys better.

Reporting to the Customer Dedicated Executive Chef (CDEC), the Sous Chef assists the Executive Chef in designing and preparing meals. This position is dedicated to a strategic airline partner for development of new menus and culinary concepts globally across a range of cuisines (Asian, Modern European and Ethnic etc.) for the client in line with their brand values and corporate identity with the use of approved suppliers taking into account budget, dietary and operational needs. Joint responsibility for kitchen operations globally related to the dedicated customer with influence in training in multiple units to deliver the customers' expectations whilst ensuring quality and culinary standards are consistently upheld by actively supporting operational execution on a regular basis.

Annual Hiring Range/Hourly Rate:

• $100,000-$104,000 Per Year

Benefits

• Paid time off
• 401k, with company match
• Company sponsored life insurance
• Medical, dental, vision plans
• Voluntary short-term/long-term disability insurance
• Voluntary life, accident, and hospital plans
• Employee Assistance Program
• Commuter benefits
• Employee Discounts

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for ensuring food specifications meet all Company and customer requirements
• Ensures items are produced and dated according to specification, and coding system is adhered to correctly (i.e. - FDA, USDA, HAACP and other governmental regulations)
• Partners with the (CDEC) to ensure seamless integration of menu requirements into production and ensure menus are consistently executable in-flight via gate gourmet or supplier partner production environment
• Secures the confidence of the customer and strengthen the levels of consistent quality service.
• Assists the customer with the development of food philosophies and standards and ensure gategroup has the capability to deliver consistently against the customers culinary standards
• Be a trusted point of contact for the customer regarding Menus, Food and Kitchen service requirements.
• Works closely with the Company's Total Cost Management (TCM) organization. Assure new specifications, recipes and photos are properly documented and delivered for pricing analysis
• Monitors customer feedback and ensure appropriate corrective actions are taken in a timely manner.
• Measures success based on KPI's that are mutually agreed by gategroup and the customer including but not limited to margin, customer satisfaction, quality and recipe management
• Travels to designated units and fly specified routes to learn, inspect, audit, train and make recommendations for improvements
• Prepares culinary aspects of the presentation to the customer including but not limited to the food presentation, messaging, ingredients and physical appearance
• Creates a joint responsibility for the customer satisfaction between the local kitchens and the dedicated chef team
• Ensures safety procedures are adhered to; maintain cleanliness through shift to ensure quality product
• Manages daily production of hot and/or cold kitchens for quality and consistency
• Responsible for employee retention and reducing employee turnover.
• Employee must complete all company required training including but not limited to ServSafe
• Compliance with all company required policies, procedures and processes including but not limited to required training

Qualifications

Education:

• Associates degree in the Culinary Arts or a Culinary Arts certification preferred.

Work Experience:

• Minimum 1-3 years of experience as a Chef and/or Sous Chef required.
• Minimum 7 years of experience as a cook required.
• Previous supervisory experience working in a high volume, manufacturing, food production, restaurant or catering environment preferred.
• In-flight catering experience or experience in a high-volume food service environment preferred.

Job Skills:

• Ability to cook meals according to detailed specifications.
• Ability to work in a fast paced, deadline driven environment.
• Must have strong and effective leadership skills, and the ability to successfully manage a team of cooks.
• Current or previous labor relations experience is a plus, but not required.
• Candidate must be comfortable with all levels of employees and have the ability to drive positive program change.
• Ability to train others required.
• Must have the ability to give negative and positive feedback to employees on a daily basis.
• Excellent time management skills required. Ability to handle multiple tasks without losing focus on priorities.
• Strong organizational, analytical, communication and leadership skills required.
• Must be innovative and have the ability to make changes to the operation as needed to further improve the work environment and unit performance.
• Experience with menu design a plus.
• Basic computer skills required. Working knowledge of Microsoft Office products preferred.

Technical Skills: (Certificates, Licenses and Registration)

• ServSafe Certified is preferred.

Language / Communication Skills:

• Must have excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Bi-lingual in Spanish is a plus.

Job Dimensions

Geographic Responsibility: USA

Type of Employment: Full-Time

Travel %: Yes - Up to 40%

Exemption Classification: Exempt

Internal Relationships: all production areas

External Relationships: airline customers

Work Environment / Requirements of the Job:

• Regularly, stands, bends, lifts, and moves intermittently during shifts of 10+ hours.
• In a normal production kitchen facility, there may be physical discomfort due to temperature and noise.
• Must be able to lift, push, pull and move product, equipment, supplies, etc., in excess of twenty-five (25) pounds.
• A rotating schedule of over 55 hours per week is typical.

Budget / Revenue Responsibility: N/A

Organization Structure

Direct Line Manager (Title): Executive Sous Chef, Operations or Executive Chef, Operations

Number of Direct Reports: Up to 40, varies by unit (Head Cook, Specialty Cook, Assistant Cook in Hot Kitchen)

Number of Dotted Line Reports: N/A

Estimated Total Size of Team: Up to 40, varies by unit

We anticipate that this job will close on:

07/06/2025

For California Residents, please click here to view our California privacy notice.

If you want to be part of a team that helps make travel and culinary memories, join us!