Sous Chef

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

The Sous Chef supports the Head Chef in leading daily kitchen operations and event production at Aplenty. This is a hands-on leadership role within a high-volume creative catering environment. You are responsible for supporting production flow, guiding the kitchen team, and ensuring food is delivered consistently, professionally and on time. This role offers strong development in leadership, planning and large-scale event execution.

Key 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

About you

• Minimum 2+ years in high-volume catering, events or fast-paced kitchens
• Previous 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
• Demonstrated knowledge of food safety, stock rotation, ordering, portion control and waste reduction
• Current Australian Driver's Licence (essential)
• Flexible availability, including weekends and event-based hours
• Proficient computer skills including catering software and google suite
• Calm, reliable and solutions focused in busy environments

About us

Aplenty is a small business with big ambition and a clear vision, where the right people grow as the business grows. We work across creative catering, weddings and large-scale events. We offer a supportive kitchen environment focused on teamwork and high standards, with exposure to large-scale, experiential and unique event catering, working with diverse menus. We are committed to developing our team and creating a workplace people genuinely enjoy.

• Direct mentorship and professional development from the Head Chef
• Opportunity to expand your skill set and progress into greater kitchen and operational responsibility
• Staff meals and team lunches
• Career development in food cost management, labour planning, menu engineering, operational systems improvement and training process development