Field Sous Chef

Upper Crust Food Service, LLC; Pullman (WA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Upper Crust Food Service, LLC is seeking a Field Sous Chef to provide campus-wide culinary coverage, rotating across houses to support chef absences, high-volume service, and events.

This role offers development toward permanent menu ownership, with structured shadowing and a clear promotion pathway when a permanent Chef vacancy opens. Candidates should have culinary credentials and ServSafe readiness.

Qualifications

• Culinary degree or equivalent kitchen experience required.
• 3+ years in a professional kitchen; at least 1 year as Sous Chef.
• ServSafe certification or ability to obtain within 60 days.
• Ability to work across multiple kitchens on short notice; weekends/evenings possible.

Responsibilities

• Daily coverage and service leadership; execute house menus to client standards.
• Rotate across houses, build relationships, learning equipment, inventory, and service cadence.
• Provide prep, events and onboarding support, including high-volume events and philanthropy dinners.
• Develop and document readiness for independent menu ownership; shadow senior chefs and contribute concepts.

Skills

Strong interpersonal skills

Flexibility across kitchens

Education

Culinary degree or equivalent professional kitchen experience

3+ years in a professional kitchen; at least 1 year at Sous Chef level

High-volume food service experience

Tools

Menu design

Recipe costing

Inventory management

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.