Ember Steak - Executive Sous Chef

Title: Executive Sous Chef

Reports to: Executive Chef

Department: food and beverage / culinary

Salary - $100,000 - $115,000

Position Summary:

The Executive Sous Chef assumes responsibility for all restaurant culinary operations within the resort, ensuring the attainment of the highest standards in food quality, innovation, and presentation. They provide leadership to the kitchen team, inspiring them to deliver exceptional dining experiences while maintaining compliance with health codes and meeting financial targets.

Primary responsibilities / essential function:

Achieves budgeted revenues, controls expenses, and maximizes profitability within assigned areas. Develop and manage budgets, including food costs, labor expenses, and operational expenditures. Monitor product mix and pricing to optimize profitability.

Plans and oversees the procurement, production, preparation, and presentation of all food within the hotel restaurants, prioritizing safety, sanitation, and cost-effectiveness. Maintains strict adherence to our Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) program to uphold quality standards and cost efficiency in all purchases.

Culinary Excellence: Develop and execute innovative menus that reflect seasonal ingredients, dietary trends, and market trends. Maintain consistency and quality across all dishes and all avenues of the resort.

Collaborative Menu Creation: Work closely with the Resort Executive Chef to guide the restaurant CDC's and Sous Chefs in menu development, daily specials, holiday and seasonal offerings and any other programming or promotions.

Quality Control: Ensure that the same level of quality and attention to detail applied consistently across the resort restaurants. Conduct tastings and quality checks to guarantee consistency in flavor, presentation, and execution.

Collaborating with other departments to ensure seamless coordinating of food and beverage services and highest satisfaction of guests.

Attention to Detail: Pay meticulous attention to detail in every aspect of banquet preparation and service, from table settings to garnishes to final plating. Strive for perfection in every dish served to exceed guest expectations.

Adaptability: Remain flexible and adaptable to accommodate last-minute changes or special requests from clients. Anticipate potential challenges and proactively address them to minimize disruptions during events.

Ensure onsite teams are effectively utilizing corporate systems and processes (labor standards with Unifocus, Avero, Birchstreet, forecasting, Profitsword, etc.).

Ensure property compliance with corporate management company standards, procedures, protocol (ex: menu theoretical, F&B SOPs).

Monitors SOPs to ensure consistent exceptional service is provided. Assists in developing and updating policies and procedures. Run meetings with Food & Beverage Management Team to ensure weekly goals, challenges, and service standards are met.

Adheres strictly to all Human Resources policies, ensuring that staff members receive necessary training and attend mandatory meetings. Ensures full compliance with California health regulations and all relevant OSHA laws across all aspects of the culinary operation. Maintains up-to-date records including health inspections, ServSafe certifications, and logs.

Performs supervisory duties in accordance with organizational policies and relevant laws. These duties encompass conducting interviews, making hiring decisions, and providing training to team members. Additionally, responsibilities involve planning, assigning, and overseeing tasks, evaluating performance, administering rewards and disciplinary actions, and handling complaints and conflict resolution. The Executive Chef is also accountable for setting departmental objectives and guiding team members towards their accomplishment.

Passion and Enthusiasm: Lead by demonstrating unwavering passion, enthusiasm, and a steadfast dedication to culinary excellence. Inspire and motivate your team to cultivate pride in their work and pursue excellence in every aspect of banquet events.

Efficient Execution: Develop efficient workflows and timelines for banquet preparation and execution. Coordinate closely with front-of-house staff to ensure seamless service and timely delivery of courses.

Continuous Improvement: Regularly solicit feedback from clients, guests, and staff to identify areas for improvement and innovation in banquet offerings. Use feedback to refine menus, enhance service standards, and elevate the overall banquet experience.

Other Responsibilities/Supportive Functions:

Makes merit recommendations within the budget or established guidelines and determines promotions or reclassifications in line with company policy.

Approves leave and time away from work in accordance with company policy.

Spearhead the development, execution, and oversight of the departmental budget. It will requires continuous analysis, forecasting, and monitoring of labor and food costs to align with management objectives and budgetary constraints.

Addresses guest complaints within the scope of authority; otherwise, escalates the matter to resort management. Notifies supervisors and/or Security of all unusual events, circumstances, missing items, or alleged theft.

Reports unsafe conditions, equipment maintenance needs, and any accidents to leadership team. (E.C)

Qualifications (relevant experience, education, and training):

• High school diploma or General Education Degree (GED), or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Bachelor's degree in culinary arts desired.
• At least four years of progressively increasing responsibility in culinary management as an executive Chef (or comparable position).
• Experience overseeing high-quality food production and related food and beverage operations.
• The ideal candidate should demonstrate a strong understanding of high-quality culinary operations and management, as well as service standards consistent with reputable hotels. Proficiency in guest relations and etiquette is essential. They should have a proven track record of effectively leading and coordinating staff in a fast-paced, high-volume environment. Moreover, the role requires the ability to mentor and provide training to departmental staff, ensuring they consistently meet or exceed guest expectations and deliver exceptional levels of guest satisfaction. Knowledge of culinary operations encompasses various aspects such as marketing plans, security and safety protocols, personnel and labor relations, business planning, maintenance, and budget forecasting.
• Additionally, familiarity with quality assurance programs, hospitality laws, and long-range planning is crucial for maintaining operational excellence and ensuring the hotel's sustained success. The candidate should be adept at integrating these elements into their leadership approach to drive continuous improvement and uphold the hotel's reputation for excellence
• Completes required training as scheduled.
• Ability to monitor labor as required by anticipating business activity while ensuring that positions are staffed when and as needed and labor cost objectives are met.
• Requires ability to serve the needs of guests through verbal face-to-face interactions.

Contacts sometimes contain confidential/sensitive information so requires the ability to use discretion. Must demonstrate positive attitude and professional demeanor. Requires strong communication and interpersonal skills and commitment to a high level of guest satisfaction.

• This role necessitates proficiency in using telephone and computer systems specific to the hotel industry. It requires familiarity with Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook, as well as the ability to quickly adapt to new software. Experience with Silverware POS and other hotel-specific systems is highly advantageous. The successful candidate will demonstrate a capacity to efficiently navigate and leverage these technological tools to streamline operations and enhance productivity within the hotel environment.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to handle multiple tasks. Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, team members, guests, and the general public. Must be able to speak, read, write, and understand English to communicate with management, team members and guests. Bilingual Spanish a plus.
• Must have a valid current Food Handlers management Card.
• Due to the cyclical nature of the hospitality industry, team members may be required to work varying schedules to reflect the business needs of the hotel. Work schedules will include working on holidays, weekends, and alternate shifts.
• Must maintain a clean appearance and professional demeanor.