Restaurant Chef

Sonesta International Hotels; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance

401(k) with Company Match

Paid Vacation & Sick Time

Parental Leave

Hotel Discounts

Job summary

Sonesta International Hotels is seeking a Restaurant Chef to lead day-to-day kitchen operations, partner with the Executive Chef, and deliver outstanding dining experiences across restaurants, catering, room service, and events. You will drive quality, consistency, and efficiency while fostering a positive kitchen culture.

The role emphasizes leadership, menu development, and adherence to food safety standards to ensure memorable guest experiences in a fast-paced hospitality setting.

Qualifications

• Culinary degree or formal culinary training preferred.
• 3+ years of culinary leadership experience in hotels, restaurants, or high-volume environments.
• Strong knowledge of food preparation and kitchen operations.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and teamwork skills.
• Knowledge of HACCP standards and health department compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day culinary and kitchen operations across restaurants, catering, room service, and events.
• Coach and train kitchen staff, schedule, and provide hands-on leadership to ensure excellence.
• Ensure food quality, presentation, portions, and service standards across outlets.
• Assist with menu development and seasonal offerings and food innovation.
• Oversee kitchen workflow and high-volume service efficiency.
• Manage inventory, food ordering, receiving, and quality control processes.
• Monitor costs, labor, waste, and productivity to support profitability.
• Maintain compliance with food safety regulations, sanitation and HACCP guidelines.
• Maintain a clean, safe, and high-performing kitchen environment.
• Step in as operations lead in the absence of the Executive Chef.
• Support training and development within the kitchen team.

Skills

Leadership

Culinary leadership

Food safety

HACCP

Menu development

Education

Culinary degree

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 ).

We’re People People. Are you?We’re Sonesta International Hotels—the 8th largest hotel company in the U.S. (and growing fast ).

With a dynamic mix of full-service and focused hotels across major cities, our diverse portfolio of owned, managed, and franchised properties means we’re everywhere our guests need us to be.

But here’s the thing—we’re not just in the business of hotels, we’re in the business of people. We bring service with passion, loyalty with purpose, and create experiences that genuinely connect—delivering quality, value, and memorable stays across 1,000+ properties in eight countries (and counting).

What This Role Is All About

Incredible guest experiences start in the kitchen. As the Restaurant 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, 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, 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.


• 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.

Anticipated Pay Range & Additional Job Information

What great looks like

• Culinary degree or formal culinary training preferred.


• 3+ years of culinary leadership experience in hotels, restaurants, resorts, 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.

How We Reward You

At Sonesta, we know showing up for our guests starts with showing up for our people. That means supporting your health, your financial future, and everything in between.

Here’s a snapshot of what we offer:

• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance


• Health Savings Account (HSA) with Company Match


• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Company Match


• Paid Vacation & Sick Time


• Paid Parental Leave


• Company-Paid Life Insurance


• Company-Paid Short-Term & Long-Term Disability


• Hospital Indemnity, Critical Illness & Accident Insurance


• Educational Assistance


• Sonesta Hotel Discounts (yes, you’ll want to use these )


• Additional Perks & Employee Discounts

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.