Executive Sous Chef | Culinary Leadership Team | Lawry's Restaurants
At Lawry's Restaurants, we believe great kitchens are built by great leaders.
We are seeking an experienced Executive Sous Chef who is passionate about culinary leadership, team development, and restaurant operations. This is an opportunity to join one of America's most respected hospitality brands and play a key leadership role within a high-volume, fine dining restaurant.
As a member of the culinary leadership team, you will partner closely with the Executive Chef to oversee daily kitchen operations, develop future culinary talent, maintain exceptional food quality and safety standards, and drive operational excellence across all areas of the restaurant.
The ideal candidate brings strong experience in kitchen management, food cost control, labor management, team coaching, and high-volume service execution. Success in this role requires a hands-on leader who inspires others, builds accountability, and consistently delivers exceptional dining experiences.
If you are looking to grow your career with an iconic restaurant company known for culinary excellence, hospitality leadership, and developing future Executive Chefs, we invite you to join Lawry's Restaurants and help lead the next chapter of our legendary brand.
RESPONSIBILITIES
· Culinary leader with prior management/supervisory experience in a fine dining, high-volume restaurant environment. Requires broad, in-depth knowledge and culinary skills in food preparation, cooking and presentation. Able to effectively manage, provide training and give direction to kitchen staff. Responsible for food cost control, quality control, labor management, culinary team development, food safety compliance, and ongoing sanitation practices.
· Takes proactive approach to Health and Safety, ensuring all logs/checklists are complete. To include, line checks, temp logs, receiving logs, self-audit/walk-throughs. Follows up with solutions and any appropriate actions, such as training or rolling out new systems/procedures while maintaining food safety, HACCP, sanitation, and health department compliance standards.
· Prepares station guides and ensures each station is set to established standard. Performs daily station line checks to ensure production is complete and accurate per standard, supporting kitchen operations, culinary execution, and quality assurance.
· Monitors and enforces all stations, walk-ins and storage areas for proper labeling and rotation of product. Address violations accordingly while maintaining inventory controls, product quality, and food safety standards.
· Supervise, coordinate and participate in the daily kitchen operations and culinary operations. Assist Executive Chef in the supervision of kitchen staff. Responsible for and supervises all heart of the house co-workers in regards to food handling, preparation and sanitation. Assumes responsibility of kitchen operations in the absence of the Executive Chef.
· Assist Executive Chef with food ordering, as instructed and in the absence of the Executive Chef. Able to place food orders in accordance with business needs and forecasted sales while supporting inventory management, purchasing, and cost controls.
· Assist Executive Chef with planning seasonal menus and to include recipe testing, menu development, menu execution, and culinary innovation initiatives.
· Assist with expo duties and/or delegate expo duties to ensure all plates are executed to recipe standards. Ensure proper communication and answer any specific questions from front of the house co-workers in regard to menu items, allergens, and dietary restrictions while supporting an exceptional guest experience.
· Follow corporate and unit level procedures as well as the Executive Chef's instructions.
· Complies with all health department regulations and enforces sanitary practices for food handling, general cleanliness and maintenance of kitchen while upholding hospitality excellence and culinary excellence standards.
· Enforces safe work habits and contributes to the safety-first environment in our heart of the house.
· Coaches and gives instruction to the kitchen co-workers in the fine points of cooking including proper execution and plating of all dishes while supporting training, coaching, mentorship, leadership development, and succession planning.
· Works with the Executive Chef to monitor and ensure the achievement or bettering of financial goals for food and labor costs to achieve the restaurant budget, including food cost management, labor forecasting, profitability, and restaurant financial performance objectives.
EXPERIENCE
· Good organizational skills for dealing with diverse duties and staff.
· Five years' experience in a fine dining, upscale dining, steakhouse, hospitality, or high-volume restaurant environment.
· Progressively responsible culinary management, kitchen management, restaurant management, and culinary leadership experience is required.
· Strong interpersonal skills and communication skills including oral and written skills.
· Commitment to hospitality and service excellence.
· Effective management skills to motivate, coach, develop, and retain high-performing culinary teams.
· Possession of food certifications as required by local, state and federal law.
POSITION QUALIFICATIONS
· Ability to operate kitchen appliances and equipment in a safe manner.
· Possess advanced knife skills and strong knowledge of professional cooking techniques, food preparation, butchery, and culinary execution.
· Demonstrate outstanding organizational and time management skills including the ability to make sound decisions quickly.
· Satisfactory physical and mental health to perform the requirements of the job, and to work with the public in compliance with applicable foodservice health and safety regulations.
· Able to perform the essential functions of the assigned position with or without reasonable accommodation, and within company policy.
· Able to stand and walk for up to eight (8) hours during a shift (with limited breaks); carry up to 50 lbs. and exert up to 50 lbs. of force without straining; and sustain repetitive motions of legs, feet, waist, back, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands and fingers.
· Must be able to work weekdays, weekends and holidays.
· Capable of multi-tasking, leading and communicating with others, able to express and exchange ideas in spoken and written English in an above average manner. Ability to speak Spanish a plus.
· Basic math proficiency required. Advanced spreadsheet knowledge and modeling tools to manage labor and food cost. Budgeting, forecasting, inventory management, purchasing controls, food cost analysis, and restaurant financial performance knowledge.
· Demonstrate positive supervision and culinary leadership abilities to motivate co-workers to meet and exceed guest service standards.
EXPERIENCE
· Associate degree in Culinary Arts and/or 5 years of relevant professional cooking experience in high-volume, fine dining restaurant operations.
· At least 1 year experience as Sous Chef, Executive Sous Chef, Chef, Kitchen Manager, Culinary Manager, or Restaurant Leader in a supervisory capacity required.
· Good organizational skills for dealing with diverse duties and staff.
· Strong interpersonal skills and communication skills including oral and written skills.
· Commitment to hospitality and service excellence.
· Effective management skills to motivate and develop co-workers.
· Possession of food certifications as required by local, state and federal law.
· Progressively responsible industry and culinary leadership experience is required.
· Experience with performance management, providing coaching, mentorship, employee development, and disciplinary action.
Computer Skills: Competency in POS (Toast), Restaurant365, scheduling software, Microsoft Office and any department-specific systems in use. Experience with restaurant management systems, labor management systems, inventory systems, and reporting tools preferred.
Education: Culinary degree is desirable; a combination of practical experience and education would be considered as an alternative.
Salary Range: $80,000-$85,000