Executive Sous Chef

Lawry's Restaurants Inc.; Beverly Hills (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Lawry's Restaurants Inc. is seeking an Executive Sous Chef in Beverly Hills, California. This role requires a culinary leader with at least five years of experience in a fine dining environment, including supervisory responsibilities. Responsibilities include managing kitchen operations, ensuring food quality and safety, and assisting in menu planning. The competitive salary for this position ranges from $80,000 to $85,000 annually, reflecting the vital role of culinary excellence and leadership in maintaining high restaurant standards.

Qualifications

• Five years' experience in fine dining, one year in a supervisory role.
• Ability to operate kitchen appliances and equipment safely.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written.

Responsibilities

• Directs and coordinates kitchen staff for food preparation.
• Ensures health and safety standards are met.
• Assists Executive Chef in food ordering and menu planning.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Management experience

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Culinary skills

Time-management

Communication skills

Education

Culinary degree

Tools

POS (Micros)

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job Overview

We are currently seeking an Executive Sous Chef to join our team! The ideal Executive Sous Chef is someone who believes in core values, upholds policy and procedure, and wants to be part of a leadership team for an iconic brand. The Executive Sous Chef assumes responsibility for the kitchen in the absence of the Executive Chef, directs and coordinates all co-workers engaged in preparing and cooking food for guests and co-workers of the restaurant. Cooks and portions meats, fishes and produce as needed for the forecasted business, and prepares daily dishes such as sauces and soups. The role ensures guest expectations are consistently exceeded with maximum fiscal responsibility.

Responsibilities

• Culinary leader with prior management/supervisory experience. Requires broad, in-depth knowledge and culinary skills in food preparation, cooking and presentation. Able to effectively manage, provide training and give direction to kitchen staff. Responsible for cost and quality control, managing labor, and ongoing safety and sanitation practices.
• Takes proactive approach to health and safety, ensuring all logs/checklists are complete (line checks, temp logs, receiving logs, self‑audit/walk‑throughs). Follows up with solutions and appropriate actions such as training or new systems/procedures.
• Prepares station guides and ensures each station is set to established standard. Performs daily station line checks to ensure production is complete and accurate per standard.
• Monitors and enforces all stations, walk‑ins and storage areas for proper labeling and rotation of product. Addresses violations accordingly.
• Supervises, coordinates and participates in daily kitchen operations. Assists Executive Chef in supervision of kitchen staff. Responsible for all heart‑of‑the‑house co‑workers in food handling, preparation and sanitation. Assumes responsibility of kitchen operations in the absence of the Executive Chef.
• Assists Executive Chef with food ordering, placing orders in accordance with business needs and forecasted sales.
• Assists Executive Chef with planning seasonal menus and recipe testing.
• Assists with expo duties or delegates them to ensure all plates are executed to recipe standards. Communicates and answers questions from front‑of‑house staff regarding menu items, allergens and dietary restrictions.
• Follows corporate and unit‑level procedures as well as the Executive Chef’s instructions.
• Complies with all health department regulations and enforces sanitary practices for food handling, general cleanliness and maintenance of the kitchen.
• Enforces safe work habits and contributes to a safety‑first environment in the kitchen.
• Coaches and instructs kitchen co‑workers in cooking techniques, proper execution and plating of all dishes.
• Works with the Executive Chef to monitor and achieve financial goals for food and labor costs, staying within the restaurant budget.

Experience

• Good organizational skills for dealing with diverse duties and staff.
• Five years’ experience in fine dining high‑volume environment; at least one year as sous chef, chef or kitchen manager in a supervisory capacity.
• Progressively responsible industry and culinary management experience.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, oral and written.
• Commitment to hospitality and service excellence.
• Effective management skills to motivate and develop co‑workers.
• Possession of food certifications required by local, state and federal law.
• Experience with performance management, coaching and disciplinary action.

Position Qualifications

• Ability to operate kitchen appliances and equipment safely.
• Possess advanced knife skills.
• Demonstrate outstanding organizational and time‑management skills, including the ability to make sound decisions quickly.
• Satisfactory physical and mental health to perform job requirements, and to work with the public in compliance with applicable food‑service health and safety regulations.
• Able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation, and within company policy.
• Able to stand and walk for up to eight hours during a shift, carry up to 50 lb., and sustain repetitive motions.
• Must be able to work weekdays, weekends and holidays.
• Capable of multitasking, leading and communicating with others; express ideas in spoken and written English at an above‑average level; knowledge of Spanish a plus.
• Basic math proficiency; advanced spreadsheet knowledge and modeling tools for labor and food cost; budgeting, tracking and inventory systems knowledge.
• Demonstrate positive supervision and leadership to motivate co‑workers to meet and exceed guest service standards.

Computer Skills

Competency in POS (Micros), scheduling software, Microsoft Office and any department‑specific systems in use.

Education

Culinary degree desirable; a combination of practical experience and education would be considered as an alternative.

Salary Range

$80,000 - $85,000