Executive Sous Chef

gategroup; Newark (NJ); On-site; USD 95,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

401k with company match

Life insurance

Medical, dental, vision plans

Disability insurance

Commuter benefits

Employee Discounts

Weekly pay

Job summary

gategroup is seeking an Executive Sous Chef for our Newark unit to lead culinary teams in high-volume airline catering operations. The role reports to the Executive Chef and drives menu quality, production planning, and cost control across multiple production areas.

Responsibilities include coaching 2–3 Sous Chefs, ensuring HACCP compliance, safety standards, and timely execution of meals for diverse international accounts.

Qualifications

• Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts.
• CCC certification from ACF or ProChef II or equivalent.
• 7–10 years in progressive chef roles.
• 1–3 years of supervisory experience in high-volume food production or catering.
• In-flight catering or high-volume food service experience preferred.
• Strong leadership and time-management skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee food preparation and production to drive menu quality.
• Lead Chefs, Cooks and production staff; minimize waste and control portions.
• Ensure menu presentations meet recipes and portion specs; train staff.
• Coach and develop kitchen staff; manage performance and corrective actions.
• Maintain HACCP, FDA safety standards and sanitation compliance across units.
• Drive operational metrics and cost controls to improve unit performance.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Menu development

High-volume production

Food safety

Training

Education

Associate or Bachelor’s in Culinary Arts

CCC certification or ProChef II

Tools

ServSafe

Microsoft Office

Job description

Executive Sous Chef

We’re looking for motivated, engaged people to help make everyone’s journeys better. The Executive Sous Chef supports the Executive Chef in the responsibility for the daily monitoring of the preparation of the pre-designed meals for multi-customer accounts with culinary expertise through the management of all Chefs, Cooks and production employees in all food production areas of a Large Catering unit. The Executive Sous Chef promotes and insures quality food services to airline clients and product management/waste in hub unit or facility of high complexity due to volume and international customer mix. Reports to the Executive Chef and acts as the lead chef in the absence of the Executive Chef.

Annual Hiring Range / Hourly Rate

$95K- $100K Per Hour/Per Year

Benefits

• Paid time off
• 401k, with company match
• Company sponsored life insurance
• Medical, dental, vision plans
• Voluntary short-term/long-term disability insurance
• Voluntary life, accident, and hospital plans
• Employee Assistance Program
• Commuter benefits
• Employee Discounts
• Weekly pay for union employees
• Free hot healthy meals for unit operations roles

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Functional Acts in support of the Executive Chef to drive menu and product quality in all production areas by overseeing food preparation and production, by consulting with the Buyer; Chefs, cooks, and team leaders; minimize waste through portioning, overboarding over-production, and inventory control. In the absence of the Executive Chefs as the Culinary Lead for the unit. Ensures Menu presentations are properly planned, set up, and specifications reviewed to ensure compliance to recipes and portion specifications as required by the customer. Understands menu and product specifications and insure menu employee training is completed. Insures waste is minimizes through oversight of proper portion and production management with all chefs throughout the production areas. Using a “Pull System”, Insures accurate and timely inventories are completed so requisitions are based on demand. Achieves culinary operational objectives by contributing information and analysis to strategic plans and reviews; preparing and completing action plans; implementing production, productivity, quality, and customer-service standards; serving as culinary resource support to Executive Chef and operations management. Acts to identifying and resolving problems, completes timely audits, and serves as a “Change Agent” Assist as the support lead for menu presentations works with the Executive Chef to insure products, production, and costs are efficiently managed and all variances are noted. Responsible for coaching, counseling, and preparing corrective action for employees Maintains safe, secure, and healthy work environment by establishing, following, and enforcing standards and procedures; complying with sanitation and federal, state, and local legal regulations; overseeing food preparation, safety, and security; reviewing and implementing accident and disaster plans. Ensures quality production standards are followed and maintained. Ensures employees adhere to HACCP, FDA and safety regulations and compliance with company policies and procedures. Ensures meal cycles are communicated in a timely and accurate basis. Monitor yields of products to ensure maximum usage. Works with management staff to improve performance of the unit

Training & Development

Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; benchmarking state-of-the-art practices; being sought for opinions as a culinary expert; contributing to professional publications; participating in professional societies and sharing this information with direct reports. Must ensure all cooks, and Sous Chef employees have the skills and abilities to perform all cooking and food preparation requirements of all the Airline Accounts serviced in the Unit Trains and monitors employees on proper work procedures and production of products to ensure maximum productivity with minimum labor and food expenses. Assists in the development and training of cooks as required Responsible for culinary employee onboarding and retention Completes all company required training including but not limited to ServSafe Sanitation Manager Certification.

Products

Maintains culinary equipment by following operating instructions; instructing staff in equipment use; troubleshooting breakdowns; maintaining equipment supplies; insuring preventive maintenance and repairs; evaluating the unit cooking equipment against the current needs and future expectations.

Processes

Initiates and supports NPT and timesaving production techniques, training others in specialty techniques Improves menu quality and consistency by analyzing food production records and menu expenses; promoting kitchen staff interest in quality improvement; studying, evaluating, and re-designing processes; implementing changes. Prepares menu and food preparation reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing food, dining, and customer data and trends.

Qualifications

Education: Associate Degree or Bachelor Degree in theCulinary Arts or a related field, (formal culinary education) required. Certification as CCC from ACF, ProChef II or equivalent Work Experience: Minimum7-10years in progressive Chef growth positions is required Minimum of1-3 years supervisoryexperience working in a high volume, manufacturing, food production, and restaurant or catering environmentrequired. In-flight catering experience or experience in a high-volume food service environment required. Technical Skills: (Certification, Licenses and Registration) Ability to cook meals according to detailed specifications. Ability to work in a fast paced, deadline driven environment. Must have strong and effective leadership skills, and the ability to successfully manage a staff of 2 to 3 Sous Chefs and over production employess Current or previous labor relations experience is a plus, but not required. Candidate must be comfortable with all levels of employees and have the ability to drive positive program change. Ability to train others required. Must have the ability to give negative and positive feedback to employees on a daily basis. Excellent time management skills required. Ability to handle multiple tasks without losing focus on priorities. Strong organizational, analytical, communication and leadership skills required. Must be innovative and have the ability to make changes to the operation as needed to further improve the work environment and unit performance. Basic computer skills required. Working knowledge of Microsoft Office products preferred ServSafe Certified preferred. Ability to obtain ServSafe Certification required Language / Communication Skills: Must have excellent written and oral communication skills. Multi-linguala plus.

Job Dimensions

Geographic Responsibility: USA Type of Employment: Full-Time Travel %: Yes – Up to 10% Exemption Classification: Exempt Internal Relationships: all production areas External Relationships: airline customers Work Environment / Requirements of the Job: Regularly, stands, bends, lifts, and moves intermittently during shifts of 10+ hours. In a normal production kitchen facility there may be physical discomfort due to temperature and noise. Must be able to lift, push, pull and move product, equipment, supplies, etc., in excess of twenty-five (25) pounds. A rotating schedule of over 55 hours per week is typical. Budget / Revenue Responsibility: N/A Organization Structure Direct Line Manager (Title): Executive Chef Number of Direct Reports: TBD Number of Dotted Line Reports: TBD Estimated Total Size of Team: TBD

Gate Group Competencies Required to be Successful in the Job

Demonstrated Values to be Successful in the Position Employees at gategroup are expected to live our Values of Excellence, Passion, Responsibility and Respect. To demonstrate these Values, we expect to observe the following from everyone: Excellence We put the customer at the forefront of everything we do, taking time to understand their needs, wishes and desires. We constantly learn by giving and receiving feedback, improving from our mistakes and bettering ourselves Respect Every job matters. We each do our part to ensure our colleagues and our customers succeed in their goals. We respect each other’s voices and foster a workplace that supports inclusion and belonging. We are all one gategroup. Responsibility We care about what we do, and we understand the impact we have on others and the planet. We always look out for each other –creating a safe workplace environment is everyone’s responsibility. Passion Hospitality, in its purest form, comes down to a single, core principle: care. We do everything with thoughtfulness, attention, and care. We have a growth mindset, a resilience that makes us determined to bounce back from failures and setbacks.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the individual(s) assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required. Management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other duties as necessary. In addition, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position. gategroup is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status or other category under applicable law. For further information regarding Equal Employment Opportunity, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf We anticipate that this job will close on: 10/01/2026.

gategroup is the global leader in airline catering, retail-on-board and hospitality products and services. gategroup provides passengers with superior culinary and retail experiences, leveraging innovation and advanced technology solutions. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, gategroup delivers operational excellence through the most extensive catering network in the aviation industry, serving passengers from over 200 operating units in over 60 countries/territories across all continents. We work in an exciting industry – fast-paced and ever-changing. Industry trends and customer expectations are constantly evolving and it is critical that we are agile, innovative and ready for change - and our people are our driving force. We offer attractive opportunities to be part of this fast-paced and truly international working environment. For further information, please visit www.gategroup.com.