Executive Sous Chef Temporary

Sonesta International Hotels; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance

Health Savings Account with Company M

401(k) Retirement Plan with Company M

Paid Vacation and Sick Days

Sonesta Hotel Discounts

Educational Assistance

Paid Parental Leave

Company Paid Life Insurance

Company Paid Short Term and Long‑Term

Job summary

Sonesta International Hotels is seeking an Executive Sous Chef to lead and inspire kitchen teams, partnering with the Executive Chef to oversee dining, banquets, catering, room service, and events. The role emphasizes culinary creativity, operational leadership, and a positive, collaborative culture in a fast-paced hospitality environment.

You will help lead menu execution, drive operational excellence, manage costs, and ensure food safety and guest satisfaction across all culinary operations,

Qualifications

• Culinary degree or formal culinary training required.
• 3+ years of culinary leadership experience in hotels, restaurants, resorts, banquets, or high‑volume hospitality environments.
• Previous Sous Chef or Kitchen Leadership experience preferred.
• Strong knowledge of food preparation, banquet operations, inventory management, and kitchen operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead day‑to‑day culinary operations across restaurants, banquets, catering, room service, and events.
• Coach, train, schedule, and lead kitchen teams to ensure operational excellence.
• Maintain food quality, presentation, and service standards across outlets.
• Assist with menu development, seasonal offerings, and food innovation.
• Oversee inventory management, purchasing, and product quality control.

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).

What This Role Is All About

Incredible guest experiences start in the kitchen. As the Executive Sous 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 restaurant dining, banquets, catering, room service, 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

• Support the Executive Chef in leading all day‑to‑day culinary and kitchen operations across restaurants, banquets, catering, room service, and special events.
• 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.

What Great Looks Like

• Culinary degree or formal culinary training preferred.
• 3+ years of culinary leadership experience in hotels, restaurants, resorts, banquets, or high‑volume hospitality environments.
• Previous Sous Chef or Kitchen Leadership experience preferred.
• 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.

Anticipated Pay Range & Additional Job Information

Pay range is $80,000 - $90,000 and are eligible for a Bonus Plan.

The base pay offered may vary based on various factors, including but not limited to job‑related knowledge, skills, and specific/overall experience.

Sonesta recognizes that benefits play a vital role in helping ensure the health and financial security of employees and their families. We offer a variety of benefits to our employees including:

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Health Savings Account with Company Match
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match
• Paid Vacation and Sick Days
• Sonesta Hotel Discounts
• Educational Assistance
• Paid Parental Leave
• Company Paid Life Insurance
• Company Paid Short Term and Long‑Term Disability Insurance
• Various Employee Perks and Discounts
• Hospital Indemnity
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Accident Insurance

Who We Are

We are an organization made up of people, thoughts and ideas – all working towards fulfilling our simple mission: To wow every guest, team member, partner & community we operate in by delivering quality, value & amazing hospitality.

We will achieve our mission by being passionate about exceeding expectations - by being persistent, resilient, and constantly seeking new and creative ways to succeed. Doing the Right Thing and Going Beyond are our principles that guide everything we do.

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.

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.