Banquet Chef

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) with Company Match

Paid Vacation & Sick Time

Parental Leave

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Educational Assistance

Hotel Discounts

Employee Discounts

Job summary

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation is seeking a Banquet Chef to lead, inspire, and elevate banquet culinary operations across our properties. You will partner with the Executive Chef to oversee banquets, catering, and events, driving quality, efficiency, and guest satisfaction with a focus on safety and teamwork.

The role requires a culinary degree and 3+ years in high-volume banquet settings, plus strong leadership, menu development, and cost control capabilities to deliver exceptional

Qualifications

• 3+ years in a similar role with multi‑outlet and large‑volume banquet experience.
• Understanding of professional cooking and banquet production.
• Knowledge of food safety regulations, HACCP standards, sanitation practices, and health department compliance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Supervise the daily production and distribution of banquet foods, ensuring recipes and standards are followed.
• Lead kitchen team members with coaching, training, scheduling, and hands‑on leadership.
• Maintain food quality, presentation, portioning, and service standards across culinary outlets.
• Assist with menu development, seasonal offerings, banquet menus, and food innovation initiatives.
• Oversee kitchen workflow and line operations during high‑volume service periods.
• Support inventory management, food ordering, receiving, and quality control processes.
• Monitor food costs, labor costs, waste reduction, and productivity to support profitability.

Skills

Leadership

Menu development

Banquet operations

Coaching & training

Food safety HACCP

Communication

Multitasking

Education

Culinary degree or formal culinary training

Job description

We’re People People. Are you? We’re Sonesta International Hotels—the 8th largest hotel company in the U.S. (and growing fast). With a dynamic mix of full-service and focused hotels across major cities, our diverse portfolio of owned, managed, and franchised properties means we’re everywhere our guests need us to be. But here’s the thing—we’re not just in the business of hotels, we’re in the business of people. We bring service with passion, loyalty with purpose, and create experiences that genuinely connect—delivering quality, value, and memorable stays across 1,000+ properties in eight countries (and counting).

What this role is all about

Incredible guest experiences start in the kitchen. As the Banquet Chef, you’ll play a key leadership role in delivering exceptional culinary experiences while helping lead the day-to‑day operations of our kitchen teams. This role is perfect for someone who thrives in a fast‑paced hospitality environment and loves combining culinary creativity with operational leadership. You’ll partner closely with the Executive Chef to oversee banquets, catering, and special events while ensuring consistency, quality, efficiency, and an exceptional guest experience across all culinary operations. You’ll help lead and inspire kitchen teams, support menu execution, drive operational excellence, and create a positive, collaborative culture that reflects Sonesta’s people people philosophy. If you’re passionate about food, leadership, hospitality, and creating memorable dining experiences — we’d love to meet you.

What you’ll be doing

• Supervise the daily production and distribution of all banquet foods; ensure recipes, production sheets and standards are followed, the appropriate quantity is prepared and safety standards and regulations are followed in order to provide top quality goods for an enhanced guest experience
• Supervise kitchen team members, providing coaching, training, scheduling, and hands‑on leadership to ensure operational excellence and strong team performance.
• Ensure food quality, consistency, presentation, portioning, and service standards are maintained across all culinary outlets.
• Assist with menu development, seasonal offerings, banquet menus, and food innovation initiatives.
• Oversee food preparation, kitchen workflow, and line operations to ensure efficiency during high‑volume service periods.
• Support inventory management, food ordering, receiving, and product quality control processes.
• Monitor food costs, labor costs, waste reduction, and kitchen productivity to support profitability goals.
• Ensure compliance with food safety regulations, sanitation standards, HACCP guidelines, and health department requirements.
• Partner closely with Banquets, Catering, Food & Beverage, and hotel leadership teams to execute meetings, weddings, conferences, and events, successfully.
• Help maintain a clean, safe, organized, and high‑performing kitchen environment.
• Step into operational leadership responsibilities in the absence of the Executive Chef as needed.
• Support employee engagement, culinary training, development, and succession planning initiatives within the kitchen team.
• Any other duties as assigned.

Anticipated Pay Range & Additional Job Information

• Culinary degree or formal culinary training preferred.
• 3+ years in a similar role with multi‑outlet and large‑volume banquet experience.
• Understanding of professional cooking and banquet production.
• Strong knowledge of food preparation, banquet operations, catering, inventory management, and kitchen operations.
• Experience managing food quality, labor productivity, food costs, purchasing, and operational performance standards.
• Strong leadership and team development skills with the ability to motivate and support culinary teams in a fast‑paced environment.
• Knowledge of food safety regulations, HACCP standards, sanitation practices, and health department compliance requirements.
• Ability to multitask, problem‑solve, and remain calm under pressure during busy service periods.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and collaboration skills.
• Creative mindset with a passion for hospitality, food innovation, teamwork, and exceptional guest experiences.
• Flexible availability including evenings, weekends, and holidays as required in a hospitality environment.

How we reward you

At Sonesta, we know showing up for our guests starts with showing up for our people. That means supporting your health, your financial future, and everything in between.

• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with Company Match
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match
• Paid Vacation & Sick Time
• Paid Parental Leave
• Company-Paid Life Insurance
• Company-Paid Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Hospital Indemnity, Critical Illness & Accident Insurance
• Educational Assistance
• Sonesta Hotel Discounts (yes, you’ll want to use these)
• Additional Perks & Employee Discounts

Our Commitment to You

Sonesta is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.