Sous Chef - Pastry

Job Overview

We are seeking a skilled and proactive Sous Chef to become a vital part of our rapidly expanding food production team, operating across various markets. This role demands comprehensive oversight of daily kitchen activities, ensuring punctual order fulfillment while maintaining exemplary quality and food safety standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage daily functions across multiple kitchen departments such as cake artistry, decorating, baking, chocolate crafting, and stewarding.
• Coordinate daily production schedules to ensure timely and precise completion of orders.
• Ensure recipes are followed meticulously and verify finished products meet quality expectations.
• Detect and address any quality concerns before products proceed to dispatch.
• Collaborate with Procurement and Inventory teams to monitor kitchen stock, reducing shortages and minimizing waste.
• Plan and adjust staff shifts according to order volume fluctuations and production needs.
• Distribute workload effectively among kitchen sections for optimal team efficiency.
• Lead and develop section leaders and their teams, enforcing accountability for performance and quality.
• Conduct daily briefings to communicate production priorities, special requests, and operational updates.
• Identify team training requirements and coordinate with Human Resources for onboarding and development.
• Strictly enforce food safety, hygiene, and HACCP compliance throughout the facility.
• Partner with Quality Control to uphold consistent safety and quality benchmarks.
• Handle escalations involving product design, quality issues, rework, and scheduling concerns.
• Make determinations on product rework, holding, or release.
• Track and report on kitchen metrics including output, quality, and on-time delivery.
• Oversee key cost drivers such as labor, ingredients, and waste management within budget constraints.
• Prepare capacity plans for peak production periods and ensure readiness across all kitchen areas.
• Identify and implement improvements in kitchen workflow, layout, processes, and productivity.
• Serve as the top decision-maker regarding kitchen equipment and operational changes impacting production.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing, and others on new product launches and planning.
• Maintain a safe, clean, orderly, and efficient kitchen environment at all times.

Candidate Profile

• 7 to 10 years of experience in professional kitchen, bakery, or food production roles.
• Demonstrated expertise leading multi-section kitchens, bakeries, or large-scale production units.
• Proficient in cake production and decoration, with advanced skills in fondant and cake craftsmanship.
• Exceptional attention to detail, particularly in product quality and presentation.
• Strong leadership background managing and growing multi-person kitchen teams.
• Experienced in staff scheduling, coaching, performance evaluation, and team development.
• Familiarity with inventory control, food costing, waste reduction, and production scheduling.
• In-depth knowledge of food safety, hygiene standards, sanitation, and HACCP protocols.
• Adept at managing production efficiently amidst fluctuating order volumes and tight timelines.
• Excellent problem-solving, decision-making, and composure under pressure.
• Effective communication and leadership capabilities.
• Commercial insight regarding kitchen budgeting and cost management.
• High organizational skills with rigorous attention to detail and operational diligence.
• Comfortable working within dynamic, high-output production settings.
• Hands-on leader eager to engage directly in daily kitchen operations.