Sous Chef

Barberry; San Antonio (TX); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Bar Nado at Sítio El Tropicano is seeking an experienced Sous Chef to lead the poolside kitchen, delivering a Texas‑meets‑Japan culinary identity through handrolls, ceviches, sandwiches and fresh poolside offerings.

Reporting to the Culinary Director, you will manage production, staffing, quality, and sanitation in a high‑volume outdoor setting, while guiding the team and ensuring strict food safety standards.

Qualifications

• Progressive culinary experience in high‑volume settings.
• Experience with seafood, sushi, handrolls, ceviche preferred.
• Ability to lead a fast‑paced kitchen with safety and quality focus.
• Outdoor/poolside service experience preferred.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily Bar Nado culinary operations and service execution.
• Ensure recipes, plating, portions, and quality meet standards.
• Maintain hands‑on presence and organize kitchen stations.
• Manage prep lists, inventory, and production scheduling.
• Monitor food temperatures, waste, and product quality.
• Collaborate with Culinary Director on menu development and costing.
• Develop and train Bar Nado cooks; conduct pre‑shift meetings.
• Oversee food safety, sanitation, and allergen controls.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Seafood handling

Food safety

Kitchen management

Staff training

Education

Culinary degree or equivalent professional kitchen experience

ServSafe Manager certification

TABC certification

Tools

Inventory systems

Scheduling software

Costing and purchasing tools

Payroll systems

Job description

Description

BAR NADO SOUS CHEF

Position Summary

The Bar Nado Sous Chef leads daily culinary operations for Bar Nado, Sítio El Tropicano’s poolside restaurant and bar. This position is responsible for executing Bar Nado’s Texas-meets-Japan culinary identity through handrolls, ceviches, sandwiches, wraps, salads, fries, and other fresh poolside offerings.

Reporting to the Culinary Director, the Bar Nado Sous Chef manages kitchen production, service execution, culinary staffing, food quality, sanitation, inventory, and cost control. This is a hands‑on leadership position requiring the ability to maintain speed, consistency, and rigorous food‑safety standards in a high‑volume outdoor environment affected by hotel occupancy, weather, seasonality, events, and pool‑deck demand.

Culinary & Service Leadership

• Lead daily culinary operations for Bar Nado, including preparation, station setup, service execution, breakdown, and closing.
• Ensure all food is prepared and presented according to approved recipes, plating specifications, portion standards, and quality expectations.
• Maintain a visible, hands‑on presence in the kitchen throughout preparation and service.
• Organize kitchen stations and assign responsibilities based on anticipated business levels and team‑member capabilities.
• Conduct opening and pre‑service line checks to confirm stations are clean, organized, stocked, and ready for service.
• Monitor ticket times, order accuracy, food temperature, portioning, presentation, and product quality throughout service.
• Coordinate closely with Bar Nado’s front‑of‑house leadership to manage service flow, guest allergies, dietary restrictions, product availability, and special requests.
• Adjust production and station coverage based on pool‑deck volume, hotel occupancy, weather conditions, special events, and changing business needs.
• Resolve culinary and service issues quickly while maintaining a calm, organized, and professional kitchen.
• Taste and evaluate food throughout preparation and service to maintain consistency.
• Support special events, buyouts, activations, and seasonal programming at Bar Nado.

Production & Menu Execution

• Develop and manage daily prep lists based on pars, inventory, forecasted volume, weather, hotel occupancy, and upcoming events.
• Ensure all preparation is completed accurately, efficiently, and according to established recipes and timelines.
• Oversee the proper preparation and handling of seafood, sushi rice, handroll ingredients, ceviches, proteins, produce, sauces, garnishes, and other menu components.
• Maintain appropriate pars while preventing overproduction, shortages, spoilage, and unnecessary waste.
• Monitor the quality and freshness of all products, with particular attention to seafood and other temperature‑sensitive ingredients.
• Ensure products are properly received, labeled, dated, rotated, stored, transported, and secured.
• Partner with the Culinary Director on menu development, seasonal offerings, recipe testing, costing, and product sourcing.
• Contribute ideas that strengthen Bar Nado’s culinary identity while remaining appropriate for poolside service and operational demands.
• Ensure recipes, yields, preparation methods, allergen information, and presentation specifications are accurate and current.
• Communicate menu changes, shortages, substitutions, and sold‑out items promptly to front‑of‑house leadership.

Team Leadership & Development

• Supervise, train, coach, and develop Bar Nado cooks and other assigned culinary team members.
• Conduct daily pre‑shift meetings covering business levels, weather, menu updates, production priorities, allergies, safety concerns, and service expectations.
• Establish clear expectations and hold team members accountable for food quality, attendance, productivity, cleanliness, safety, and professional conduct.
• Provide ongoing training in cooking methods, seafood handling, knife skills, station organization, recipe execution, sanitation, and equipment use.
• Ensure team members understand the specific food‑safety risks associated with outdoor and poolside food service.
• Support recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, scheduling, performance management, and retention for the Bar Nado culinary team.
• Identify performance concerns and communicate them promptly to the Culinary Director.
• Partner with the Culinary Director and Human Resources on performance documentation and corrective action when necessary.
• Foster a positive, disciplined, inclusive, and professional kitchen culture.
• Lead by example and remain composed, organized, and solutions‑oriented during peak‑volume periods.

Administrative & Business Operations

• Support the Culinary Director in managing food cost, kitchen labor, purchasing, waste, inventory, and production efficiency for Bar Nado.
• Prepare culinary schedules based on forecasted business levels, hotel occupancy, seasonality, weather, events, and approved labor targets.
• Monitor daily staffing and adjust production or coverage based on actual volume.
• Review employee timekeeping for accuracy and communicate missed punches, overtime concerns, and attendance issues.
• Order food, supplies, and smallwares according to approved purchasing procedures and established inventory levels.
• Inspect deliveries for quality, quantity, temperature, and specification compliance.
• Complete inventory counts, transfers, waste logs, production records, temperature logs, cooling logs, and other required documentation.
• Monitor product usage, yields, portions, spoilage, comps, refires, and waste to support established food‑cost targets.
• Maintain organized storage areas and appropriate inventory levels for all Bar Nado products and supplies.
• Communicate purchasing needs, product‑quality concerns, equipment issues, and operational challenges to the Culinary Director.
• Participate in culinary meetings, financial reviews, menu tastings, and operational planning as assigned.

Food Safety, Sanitation & Outdoor Operations

• Ensure compliance with health department regulations, HACCP principles, food safety requirements, and ERHG policies.
• Maintain rigorous time‑and‑temperature controls for seafood, proteins, rice, produce, sauces, and other potentially hazardous foods.
• Enforce proper receiving, labeling, dating, storage, rotation, thawing, cooling, reheating, transportation, and disposal procedures.
• Complete required temperature, cooling, sanitation, and food‑safety documentation accurately and on time.
• Maintain clean, organized, and inspection‑ready workstations, refrigeration, storage areas, and production spaces.
• Ensure proper handling of allergens and prevention of cross‑contact.
• Establish procedures that protect food, equipment, and supplies from heat, sunlight, moisture, wind, pests, and other outdoor conditions.
• Monitor refrigeration and cold‑holding equipment closely during periods of extreme heat.
• Ensure food transported between production, storage, and poolside service areas remains protected and within required temperature ranges.
• Adjust or suspend culinary operations when weather or environmental conditions create a food‑safety or team‑member safety risk.
• Report equipment failures, maintenance issues, pest concerns, accidents, injuries, and safety hazards promptly.
• Coordinate with Stewarding to maintain appropriate levels of clean cookware, utensils, serviceware, and sanitation supplies.
• Ensure the kitchen is properly cleaned, secured, and prepared for the next service period.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Partner with the Culinary Director to execute Bar Nado’s culinary vision and operating priorities.
• Coordinate with Bar Nado’s F&B Manager on service flow, forecasted volume, staffing, events, guest feedback, and daily operational needs.
• Collaborate with Purchasing, Receiving, Stewarding, Engineering, Security, and other hotel departments to support safe and efficient operations.
• Coordinate with other culinary leaders on shared products, staffing, storage, production, and equipment.
• Work with the Events and Marketing teams on poolside activations, special events, buyouts, and promotional programming.
• Communicate weather‑related changes, equipment concerns, product shortages, and service limitations to affected departments promptly.

Standards & Conduct

• Uphold ERHG and Sítio El Tropicano’s image, values, culinary standards, and professional expectations at all times.
• Maintain exceptional standards for food quality, kitchen cleanliness, organization, equipment care, and team‑member appearance.
• Demonstrate integrity, accountability, consistency, urgency, and sound judgment.
• Foster a harmonious, positive, disciplined, and professional kitchen culture.
• Complete responsibilities accurately, on time, and in accordance with company policies and procedures.
• Perform additional responsibilities as reasonably assigned based on operational needs.

Qualifications

• Three or more years of progressive culinary experience in a high‑volume restaurant, hotel, resort, poolside, or fast‑casual operation.
• Previous Sous Chef, Junior Sous Chef, Lead Line Cook, or comparable kitchen‑leadership experience preferred.
• Experience with seafood, sushi, handroll, ceviche, or other raw‑food preparation strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of production planning, recipe execution, ordering, inventory, scheduling, and food‑cost control.
• Ability to lead a fast‑paced kitchen while maintaining quality, consistency, cleanliness, and organization.
• Strong organizational, communication, time‑management, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to respond effectively to changing volume, weather conditions, and operational priorities.
• Working knowledge of health department regulations, HACCP principles, allergen procedures, sanitation, and food safety standards.
• Experience with recipe‑costing, inventory, purchasing, scheduling, and payroll systems preferred.
• ServSafe Manager certification and TABC certification, or the ability to obtain both within the required timeframe.
• Culinary degree or equivalent professional kitchen experience preferred.

Physical Requirements

1. Ability to stand and walk for extended periods while supporting kitchen operations.
2. Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds when necessary.
3. Ability to perform frequent bending, reaching, twisting, pushing, pulling, and repetitive movements.
4. Ability to work safely around commercial kitchen equipment, hot surfaces, open flames, steam, sharp tools, and active service environments.
5. Ability to safely perform required seafood, meat, and fish‑preparation functions.
6. Ability to work outdoors and in conditions that may include heat, humidity, sunlight, wind, and changing weather.
7. Ability to work in hot, cold, refrigerated, and otherwise changing kitchen environments.
8. Ability to taste and evaluate food products regularly.
9. Ability to work mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and extended hours based on operational needs.

Direct Reports: Bar Nado Cooks and other assigned hourly culinary team members.

Reports To: Culinary Director.

This job description provides a general overview of the position and is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all responsibilities, duties, or qualifications. Responsibilities may evolve based on business and operational needs, and team members may be asked to perform other duties as reasonably assigned.