Sous Chef

Plain Vanilla Bakery; Singapore; On-site; SGD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A renowned bakery in Singapore is seeking a Kitchen Lead to oversee hot station production and ensure the quality of cooked dishes. The ideal candidate will have 3–5 years of experience in a professional kitchen, including team leadership skills. Responsibilities include managing daily prep plans, training staff, and ensuring compliance with food safety standards. This role offers an opportunity to work in a creative environment, producing comforting baked goods that resonate with the community.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3–5 years of experience in professional kitchens.
• Experience managing a small kitchen team.
• Strong culinary skills and kitchen management knowledge.
• Ability to mentor and train junior staff.
• Foundational knowledge of food safety and sanitation.

Responsibilities

• Lead kitchen production ensuring consistency and quality.
• Set daily prep plans and manage kitchen tasks.
• Communicate effectively with Front of House (FOH) team.
• Conduct opening and closing kitchen procedures.
• Prepare kitchen reports and monitor performance metrics.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Culinary skills

Problem-solving

Organization

Education

Diploma in Culinary Arts or equivalent

Job description

• Lead hot station production and ensure consistency in all cooked dishes.
• Set daily prep plan and allocate mise en place tasks.
• Monitor plating quality, portion control, and visual presentation.
• Communicate with FOH team to pace and coordinate orders.
• Lead staff meal planning and preparation.
• Conduct opening and closing procedures, including hygiene and temperature checks.
• Maintain kitchen equipment, cleanliness, and food safety standards.
• Prepare and submit daily kitchen reports (e.g., prep sheet usage, waste, stock alerts).
• Submit weekly kitchen performance reports to the Head Chef (e.g., highlights, issues, equipment status, prep forecasting).
• Train and coach the Cook to step up during leave or peak hours.
• Escalate any equipment, staffing, or inventory issues to Head Chef.
• Any other duties that may be assigned.

Requirements:

• Minimum 3–5 years of professional kitchen experience in all-day brunch, café, or bistro concepts.
• Proven experience in managing a small kitchen team or shift leadership.
• Experience with food preparation in both hot and cold stations.
• Culinary skills (advanced cooking techniques, knife skills, sauce making), kitchen management (inventory management, ordering and receiving, cost control, HACCP knowledge), food safety and sanitation (temperature control, cross-contamination prevention, sanitisation protocols) would be advantageous.
• Strong leadership and communication with both BOH and FOH.
• Highly organised, punctual, and calm under pressure.
• Able to mentor and train junior team members.
• Problem solver with initiative; able to make decisions in real‑time service situations.
• Diploma in Culinary Arts or Certificate in Commercial Cooking or Kitchen Management would be advantageous.

Plain Vanilla Bakery it started out with a simple, earnest ambition to create and share some good old‑fashioned cake with our local community; cake that was made with real wholesome ingredients, and was familiar and comforting. In a world of mass‑produced confections, we wanted to go back to basics and bake like our mums and grandmothers used to – moist red velvet cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream, apple pound cake drizzled with caramel, decadent chocolate brownies, warm and fudgey on the inside. The kind of scents, flavours, and textures that make us nostalgic for days gone by.