Restaurant Kitchen Lead & Culinary Innovator

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance

Health Savings Account with Company8?

401(k) Retirement Plan with Company 8

Paid Vacation & Sick Time

Paid Parental Leave

Company‑Paid Life Insurance

Company‑Paid Short‑Term & Long‑Term D

Disability Insurance

Educational Assistance

Hotel Discounts

Additional Perks & Employee Discounts

Job summary

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation is seeking a Restaurant Chef to lead day-to-day culinary operations across restaurants, catering, room service, and events. You will supervise kitchen teams, coach staff, and ensure exceptional guest dining experiences with consistent quality and service.

The role emphasizes menu development, food innovation, and maintaining HACCP standards in a fast-paced hospitality environment.

Qualifications

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

Responsibilities

• 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.

Skills

Leadership

Culinary expertise

Team coaching

Menu development

Food safety HACCP

Education

Culinary degree or formal culinary training

Job description

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation is seeking a Restaurant Chef to lead day-to-day culinary operations across restaurants, catering, room service, and events. You will supervise kitchen teams, coach staff, and ensure exceptional guest dining experiences with consistent quality and service.

The role emphasizes menu development, food innovation, and maintaining HACCP standards in a fast-paced hospitality environment.