Lead Sous Chef — High-Volume Events

Aplenty; Sydney; On-site; AUD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Staff meals

Mentorship from Head Chef

Career development

Job summary

Aplenty is seeking a Sous Chef to support the Head Chef in leading daily kitchen operations for creative catering and events. This role is hands-on, focusing on production flow, team guidance, and delivering professional, on-time food service for large-scale events.

You will develop leadership, planning and event execution skills in a fast-paced, collaborative kitchen environment, with opportunities to advance into broader kitchen and operational responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2+ years in high-volume catering, events or fast-paced kitchens.
• Experience supervising kitchen teams and delegating production.
• Strong production planning, organisation and time-management skills.
• Clear and confident communicator under pressure.
• Experience interpreting event sheets, calculating quantities and coordinating multiple events.
• Knowledge of food safety, stock rotation, ordering, portion control and waste reduction.

Responsibilities

• Support the Head Chef in running daily kitchen production.
• Supervise and guide kitchen staff.
• Ensure workflow efficiency and team alignment.
• Produce prep schedules and forward planning.
• Manage ordering and stock control within budgeted guidelines.
• Maintain accurate production timelines.
• Identify and resolve operational issues early.
• Support high-volume and off-site catering logistics.
• Oversee pack-down and transport preparation to ensure events leave organised and service-ready.

Skills

Leadership

Team supervision

Production planning

Time management

Communication under pressure

Tools

Catering software

Google Suite

Job description

Aplenty is seeking a Sous Chef to support the Head Chef in leading daily kitchen operations for creative catering and events. This role is hands-on, focusing on production flow, team guidance, and delivering professional, on-time food service for large-scale events.

You will develop leadership, planning and event execution skills in a fast-paced, collaborative kitchen environment, with opportunities to advance into broader kitchen and operational responsibilities.