Senior Sous Chef

Job Summary

Overview:

Reporting to the Culinary Director, the R&D Sous Chef is responsible for driving culinary innovation and maintaining the accuracy and consistency of our recipe development. This role combines creativity with technical precision, supporting the culinary team by creating and testing new menu items, maintaining recipe databases, and ensuring that all dishes meet high standards of quality, cost, and scalability. The R&D Sous Chef also plays a central role in leading and presenting client tastings, showcasing new ideas with professionalism and clarity. In partnership with the Culinary Director, Chef team, and leadership team, this position ensures our culinary program remains dynamic, innovative, and financially sound.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and test new menu items for tastings, seasonal offerings, and client proposals
• Write precise, detailed recipes that are scalable and easy to execute in high-volume catering environments
• Conduct food costing, yield, and loss analysis for recipes to ensure profitability and consistency
• Manage and maintain recipes in the company’s database software, ensuring data accuracy and version control
• Lead and participate in client tastings, preparing and presenting dishes while clearly articulating culinary concepts, ingredients, and execution methods
• Partner with Sales and Event Teams to translate client feedback into actionable recipe refinements
• Collaborate with Chefs, Design, Sales, and Purchasing to ensure innovation aligns with client expectations, operational capacity, and cost targets
• Stay current with culinary trends, techniques, and ingredients, adapting them into viable catering concepts
• Provide training and mentorship to culinary staff during the roll-out of new recipes and menu items
• Support compliance with food safety, sanitation, and workplace organization standards

Preferred Qualifications:

• Extensive culinary experience in fine dining, luxury catering, or other high-end culinary concepts
• 5+ years of progressive culinary/kitchen management experience, depending upon formal degree or training
• Proven track record of creativity, innovation, and successful menu development
• Advanced knowledge of recipe writing, food costing, and yield calculations
• Experience with recipe management/database programs
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate across departments and engage directly with clients
• Time management and organizational skills with attention to detail
• Experienced with computers, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Outlook, and ability to learn custom software
• ServSafe certified – highly desirable