Sous Chef

The Karol Hotel; Clearwater (FL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Paid time off and holidays

Travel discounts

Meals during shift

Free parking

Growth opportunities

Job summary

The Karol Hotel in Clearwater, FL is seeking a talented Sous Chef to join our leadership team. You will cook on the line during service and own the systems that make service repeatable, balancing culinary creativity with precise inventory and labeling practices.

We require 3+ years in a similar role, ServSafe certification, strong HACCP experience, and comfort with kitchen tech. Expect a 24/7 hospitality environment with a focus on training and standards.

Qualifications

• Three+ years as Sous Chef or Kitchen Supervisor with leadership.
• Current ServSafe certification or ability to obtain within 30 days.
• Experience maintaining HACCP logs in an inspected kitchen.
• Comfort with technology: Excel/Sheets, tablets, cloud storage, and POS systems.
• Experience with ordering and inventory in high-volume operation.

Responsibilities

• Own ordering and inventory control with written par levels.
• Train culinary team against written recipes and station standards.
• Maintain labeling, dating, FIFO and proper storage; weekly deep clean.
• Maintain HACCP logs and food safety program; stay current with standards.
• Lead line during service and assist Executive Chef in absence.

Skills

Leadership

Food safety

Menu development

Kitchen operations

Inventory management

Education

ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification

Tools

Excel/Sheets

POS systems (Oracle Simphony or Micros)

Job description

About Us

The Karol Hotel is an independently owned Marriott Tribute Portfolio property in Clearwater, Florida. We are one of the top rated hotels in the Tampa Bay area, a four star property, and a Best of the Best winner in both 2025 and 2026.

Our kitchen supports three distinct outlets and a growing private dining and events business: Katch Seafood Bistro for brunch and all-day service, Katch Bar for evening dining, and Vantage, our ninth floor rooftop bar.

This industry has a reputation for burning people out and treating cooks as interchangeable. That is not how we operate. Our kitchen runs on written recipes, real training, and a schedule you can plan a life around. When someone here has a good idea, it gets heard and it gets tested.

The Role

We are looking for a Sous Chef with both halves of the job. The creative half: you have opinions about food, you taste constantly, and you want a hand in what goes on the plate. The structural half: you find genuine satisfaction in a labeled walk-in, an accurate count, and a log that is filled out correctly the first time.

Most kitchens ask you to be one or the other. We need both, and we will give you room for both. This is the second salaried culinary position on property and a true partner to the Executive Chef. You will cook the line during service, and you will own the systems that make good service repeatable.

Where Your Ideas Go

1. Seasonal menu development with the Executive Chef, including dish concepts, testing, and costing
2. A growing private dining and events program with room for new formats and offerings
3. Rooftop menu development for one of the area's best views, where the product has to be as memorable as the setting

If your first instinct when you walk into a kitchen is to notice and implement what could work better, you will be at home here.

The Commitment

A hotel is a 24/7 business, and this is a salaried leadership role built around that. Expect a minimum of 45 to 50 hours per week, with additional hours during peak season, holidays, and heavy banquet periods. Schedules include early mornings, nights, weekends, and holidays, and they move with business demand.

We are direct about this up front. What we will also be direct about: we build schedules in advance, we honor requested time off, and we cover for each other.

What You Will Own

Ordering and Inventory
Place and receive all food orders against written par levels. Verify weights, counts, temperatures, and quality at the dock. Reconcile invoices, track waste, and complete monthly physical inventory counts. Training and Development
Train the culinary team against written recipes and station standards. Onboard new cooks on food safety, allergen procedure, and equipment handling. Cross train across outlets and develop your prep and banquet staff toward greater independence. Kitchen Organization and Cleanliness
Keep the kitchen, coolers, freezers, dry storage, and all prep areas inspection ready every day. Own labeling, dating, FIFO rotation, and proper storage order. Run weekly deep clean assignments and partner with Engineering on equipment condition. Food Safety and HACCP
Maintain the complete log program: refrigeration and hot hold temperatures, cooking, cooling and reheating records, sanitizer and dish machine checks, receiving temperatures, and employee health documentation. Keep our HACCP based food safety plan current as menus evolve, and serve as the property's day to day food safety authority under Florida DBPR standards. Service Execution
Run the line through peak service across brunch, dinner, banquets, and private dining. Support production and quality across all three outlets. Lead the kitchen in the Executive Chef's absence.

What We Are Looking For

1. Three or more years as a Sous Chef or Kitchen Supervisor, or five or more years on the line with leadership responsibility
2. Current ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification, or ability to obtain within 30 days
3. Hands-on experience maintaining food safety logs and HACCP documentation in an inspected kitchen
4. Comfort with technology: Excel or Google Sheets, tablets, cloud file storage, and POS systems. Oracle Simphony or Micros experience is a plus
5. Experience with ordering, receiving, and inventory in a high volume operation

A leadership style built on training and standards

Availability for nights, weekends, holidays, and extended hours during peak season

Ability to lift 50 pounds and stand for extended shifts of 8-10 hours in some cases

Nice to have:

Hotel or multi-outlet background, banquet and plated event volume, seafood and Gulf Coast product knowledge, culinary degree or equivalent training.

What We Offer

1. Competitive salary based on experience, plus bonus eligibility
2. Medical, dental, and vision coverage
3. Paid time off and holiday pay that we expect you to actually use
4. Marriott associate travel and dining discounts worldwide
5. Meals during shift and free parking
6. A real voice in menu and program development, and a clear path to grow with a property still expanding its culinary program