Sous Chef | Full-Time | McCormick Place Convention Center

Oak View Group; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental and Vision Insurance

401(k) Savings Plan

401(k) matching

Paid Time Off

Job summary

Oak View Group is seeking a skilled Sous Chef for McCormick Place Convention Center in downtown Chicago. You will manage culinary staff, scheduling, purchasing, and food safety, while maintaining quality and controlling costs.

The role reports to the Executive Chef with responsibilities including recipe development, inventory control, labor management, and ensuring food quality. Salary ranges $70,000–$76,000 annually, with comprehensive benefits and growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years as a Sous Chef in a high-volume location.
• Union kitchen experience is a plus.
• Strong computer literacy including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.

Responsibilities

• Create the production schedules to meet business demands.
• Create order lists and submit to the Purchasing Department.
• Communicate with the purchasing department to ensure the best quality product is utilized
• Monitor cooler and freezer inventory on a daily basis to prevent overordering and spending.
• Manage, lead, plan, and execute catering operations on a daily basis with the assistance of the other Chefs.
• Ongoing recipe development that includes proper recipe scaling and build sheets.
• Continually manage, monitor, and seek labor efficiencies to reduce costs, improve product output, and enhance overall guest experience
• Maintain and manage Union culinary and stewarding personnel to meet labor and production objectives
• Monitor recipe compliance and quality control are met throughout the production process by the Union Cooks.
• Maintain a health department score of 90 or above and OVG's 3rd party audit score of 95 or above.
• Maintain food costs and budget goals and report any inconsistencies to the Executive Chef immediately.
• Attend internal event-related meetings and relay immediate changes to other internal departments.
• Carry out management responsibilities in accordance with company policies and applicable laws.
• Maintain brand standards for all food services in accordance with the company’s vision.
• Support, train, and implement the company's sustainability objective and goals. To include usage of local and minority vendors as well as carbon-neutral/negative products.
• Develop a solid understanding and comply with the unit's Collective Bargaining Agreements.

Skills

Sous Chef experience

High-volume kitchen experience

Strong organizational skills

Multitasking abilities

Education

High School Diploma or equivalent

Culinary Degree

Tools

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Access

Job description

Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in premium live entertainment infrastructure and services, with a platform spanning venue development and end-to-end capabilities across venue management, hospitality, and sponsorship sales. Founded in 2015, the company serves a collection of seven world-class owned venues and a client roster of the most iconic arenas, stadiums, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions, spanning four continents.

Position Summary

McCormick Place Convention Center has an immediate opening for a Sous Chef. This position reports to the Executive Chef with responsibilities to include purchasing, inventory control, scheduling and managing culinary staff, food safety program, cost of goods accountability, labor management, food production, and quality control.

This role pays an annual salary of $70,000 - $76,000

This position will remain open until December 11, 2026.

Benefits for Full-Time roles:

• Health, Dental and Vision Insurance
• 401(k) Savings Plan
• 401(k) matching
• Paid Time Off (vacation days, sick days, and 11 holidays)

About The Venue

McCormick Place Convention Center, located in downtown Chicago, is the largest and most flexible convention center in North America. With over 2.6 million square feet of exhibition space, the campus proudly hosts some of the world’s largest and most prestigious conventions, meetings, and trade shows, welcoming approximately 3 million visitors to Chicago every year.

Responsibilities

• Create the production schedules to meet business demands.
• Create order lists and submit to the Purchasing Department.
• Communicate with the purchasing department to ensure the best quality product is utilized
• Monitor cooler and freezer inventory on a daily basis to prevent overordering and spending.
• Manage, lead, plan, and execute catering operations on a daily basis with the assistance of the other Chefs.
• Ongoing recipe development that includes proper recipe scaling and build sheets.
• Continually manage, monitor, and seek labor efficiencies to reduce costs, improve product output, and enhance overall guest experience
• Maintain and manage Union culinary and stewarding personnel to meet labor and production objectives
• Monitor recipe compliance and quality control are met throughout the production process by the Union Cooks.
• Maintain a health department score of 90 or above and OVG's 3rd party audit score of 95 or above.
• Maintain food costs and budget goals and report any inconsistencies to the Executive Chef immediately.
• Attend internal event-related meetings and relay immediate changes to other internal departments.
• Carry out management responsibilities in accordance with company policies and applicable laws.
• Maintain brand standards for all food services in accordance with the company’s vision.
• Support, train, and implement the company's sustainability objective and goals. To include usage of local and minority vendors as well as carbon-neutral/negative products.
• Develop a solid understanding and comply with the unit's Collective Bargaining Agreements.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent (i.e., GED).
• 3-5 years as a Sous Chef in a high-volume location and or Culinary Degree
• Prior experience in a union environment is a plus.
• Prior experience in food ordering processes and systems a plus.
• Strong computer literacy (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access).
• Must be flexible, have a sense of urgency, and be able to respond quickly and resourcefully to internal and external issues.
• Ability to multitask and complete projects according to deadlines.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Must be able to walk and stand for extended periods.

Strengthened by our Differences. United to Make a Difference

At OVG, we understand that to continue positively disrupting the sports and live entertainment industry, we need a diverse team to help us do it. We also believe that inclusivity drives innovation, strengthens our people, improves our service, and raises our excellence. Our success is rooted in creating environments that reflect and celebrate the diverse communities in which we operate and serve, and this is the reason we are committed to amplifying voices from all different backgrounds.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Oak View Group is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.