Field Sous Chef

Upper-Crust-Food-Service; Pullman (WA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Upper Crust Food Service in Pullman, WA is seeking a Field Sous Chef to provide campus-wide culinary coverage, lead daily service, and rotate across houses to support operations and client satisfaction.

Promising candidates participate in structured development with Area leadership, shadow senior chefs, and build a portfolio for eventual menu ownership, with promotion aligned to vacancies on the assigned campus.

Qualifications

• Culinary degree or equivalent professional kitchen experience; 3+ years in a professional kitchen with at least 1 year at the Sous Chef level.
• Certifications such as ServSafe or ability to obtain within 60 days.
• Ability to stand for extended periods, lift up to 50 lbs, and travel between houses on campus.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to integrate quickly into established teams.

Responsibilities

• Daily coverage and service execution across campus kitchens, coordinating prep, setup, food safety, and front-of-house logistics.
• Rotate across houses, build relationships with teams, and document insights to inform campus-wide practices.
• Provide pre-service prep for high-volume houses, assist onboarding, and support events (philanthropies, recruitment, dinners).
• Engage in shadow time with senior chefs, participate in development reviews, and prepare a portfolio for future menu ownership.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Adaptability

Team collaboration

Education

Culinary degree or equivalent

Tools

ServSafe certification

Job description

Proudly serving Sororities and Fraternities, Upper Crust Food Service is known for freshness, quality, variety, and excellent customer service. Upper Crust Food Service began with a vision to solve a problem that many Fraternity and Sorority houses face. That problem is a lack of consistency and professionalism in the kitchen. With a focus on great food and personal service, we’ve remained true to our roots. Today, the chefs of Upper Crust Food Service prepare tens of thousands of meals weekly for students across the country.

The Field Sous Chef is a campus-wide culinary role that provides agile daily coverage across every house on a qualifying

campus and serves as the on-campus bench for permanent Chef openings. Rather than holding a single house assignment, the Field Sous Chef rotates across the campus portfolio — covering chef absences, supporting high-volume service and special events, and building working familiarity with every house's team, clients, and kitchen. That familiarity positions them as the leading internal candidate when a permanent Chef vacancy opens. Promotion is triggered by a vacancy, not a tenure clock; upon promotion, the Field Sous Chef moves into a permanent house with full menu ownership and a dedicated team.

Key Responsibilities

• Daily coverage & service execution. Take daily assignments from the Area Manager or Ops Coordinator and arrive ready to lead service. When covering an absent Chef, execute the house's planned menu to the standard its clients expect, managing prep coordination, station setup, food safety compliance, and day-of logistics with the front-of-house team.
• Cross-house rotation. Rotate across all houses on campus, building relationships with each team and learning each kitchen's equipment, inventory systems, vendors, and service cadence. Document insights across houses to inform campus-wide best practices.
• Prep, events & onboarding support. On coverage-light days, provide pre-service prep at high-volume houses, support new-house onboarding, and execute special events (philanthropies, recruitment events, formal dinners).
• Development & promotion readiness. Complete structured shadow time with senior chefs, participate in semi-annual development reviews with the Area Manager, and build a portfolio of menu concepts, costed recipes, and service plans in preparation for independent menu ownership.

Promotion Pathway

Promotion to permanent Chef is triggered by a Chef vacancy on the assigned campus. When a role opens, the Area

Manager first evaluates whether the Field Sous Chef is ready. If ready, they are promoted without an external posting, and a

new Field Sous Chef is recruited to maintain coverage. If not yet ready, the role may be posted externally while the Field

Sous Chef continues in the coverage role with targeted development toward the next opening. Upon promotion, the Chef

takes full ownership of menu planning and creation for their house.

Qualifications

• Required: Culinary degree or equivalent professional kitchen experience; 3+ years in a professional kitchen with at least 1 year at the Sous Chef level; demonstrated ability to execute another chef's menu to standard; strong food safety knowledge (ServSafe certification or ability to obtain within 60 days); flexibility to work across multiple kitchens on short notice, including early mornings, evenings, and occasional weekends; strong interpersonal skills and the ability to integrate quickly into established teams.
• Preferred: High-volume residential, hospitality, or institutional food service experience; menu design, recipe costing, and inventory management; exposure to dietary accommodation programs (allergen management, religious and lifestyle diets).
• Physical requirements: Ability to stand for extended periods in a commercial kitchen, lift up to 50 lbs, and travel reliably between houses on the assigned campus.

What Makes This Role Different

This is not a backup position or a temporary assignment, it is a structured entry point into the Upper Crust culinary team

at our highest-density campuses, deliberately designed as the pipeline to permanent Chef roles. The tradeoff is clear: in the

float role, daily variety, broad campus exposure, and structured development toward Chef readiness; upon promotion, the

stability of a single house, full menu ownership, and a dedicated team.

Upper Crust Food Service provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.