Sous Chef

[House name], [independent restaurant / hotel restaurant / system gastronomy / fine dining] based in [city], [X] seats, [X] covers per service, [X] M€ annual revenue, a brigade of [X] cooks, is hiring a Sous Chef to deputize for the head chef and co-steer the brigade.

Your role

As Sous Chef you deputize for the head chef in operational responsibility and steer the brigade in partnership: mise en place and pass output across all stations, food usage and portioning standards, HACCP co-ownership, menu collaboration with a seasonal reference, onboarding and shift support of the brigade, and co-reporting to [management / hotel direction / F&B direction].

Key responsibilities

• Deputize for the head chef in daily operations and during absence (multi-week cover for vacation, illness or an external assignment) with a daily written handover.
• Steer the pass output and station coordination during mise en place and service ([X] covers per service across [X] stations).
• Co-own food usage and portioning standards: a daily incoming-goods check, weekly portioning audits per station, a monthly inventory in partnership with the head chef.
• HACCP co-ownership: cleaning plans, cooling-chain logs, incoming-goods control, training records per station, allergen training for the brigade twice a year.
• Brigade leadership and onboarding: a daily pre-service briefing, support of station rotation, probation feedback in week 4 for new joiners, co-decision on personnel matters.
• Menu collaboration with a seasonal reference: proposals for seasonal rotations, supplier search for regional products, margin analysis per dish in partnership with the head chef.
• [If applicable] Co-ownership of banqueting, events and external functions; coordination with [hotel direction / sales team].

Profile

• Essential: 5-12 years of experience in a professional kitchen brigade, of which at least 24 months on a Sous Chef or Chef de Partie role in a comparable house; mastery of at least 3-4 classic brigade stations (saucier, patissier, garde manger, entremetier, rôtisseur); mise-en-place discipline and pass instinct; physical presence at the pass during the rush; familiarity with HACCP duties.
• Desirable: experience in the concept category [independent restaurant / hotel restaurant / system gastronomy / fine dining]; a patisserie or saucier specialization; experience with multi-outlet, with a banqueting operation or with a starred concept; mastery of a modern ordering and inventory tool (Foodnotify, Marketman, in-house solution).
• Disqualifying: no deputy experience in the past; gaps in more than two classic brigade stations; a pure station posture without a cross-brigade instinct; instability (several consecutive 12-month stints); unfamiliarity with HACCP duties or with the Working Time Act and youth employment protection.

What we offer

• Gross annual compensation: fixed [30-48] k€ by experience, brigade size and scope, plus [Christmas and holiday pay per the DEHOGA state-level collective agreement or DEHOGA tariff recommendation, possibly a variable component tied to F&B goals, free meals on duty].
• Model: full-time, on-site in [city], shift, weekend and holiday work typical for the industry within the framework of the Working Time Act (ArbZG) and the applicable DEHOGA state-level collective agreement. Probation period 6 months.
• Benefits: [company pension, staff meals, a job ticket or bike leasing, a training budget for hotel management school or an external stage, vacation arrangement per the collective agreement].
• Stack: [POS system, ordering and inventory tool, shift planning, F&B reporting, HACCP documentation].