Sous Chef

About the Role

The Sous Chef supports the daily success of Mateo’s café and commissary kitchens through hands-on leadership, production planning, and team supervision. Working closely with the Verve Culinary Management, this position organizes workflow, maintains recipe and food safety standards, develops employees, and helps ensure food is produced accurately, efficiently, and on time. The Sous Chef is expected to work alongside the team while taking ownership of routine operational decisions within delegated authority.

Kitchen Leadership & Production

• Plan and coordinate daily prep and production based on pars, sales demand, inventory, and operational priorities.
• Assign work to Shift Leads, cooks, prep cooks, and dishwashers; monitor progress and adjust workflow as needed.
• Work directly in production while maintaining oversight of café and commissary operations.
• Escalate significant staffing, production, equipment, and service issues.

Food Quality & Safety

• Maintain consistent execution of approved recipes, scaling, portions, presentation, and product quality.
• Conduct quality checks and address deviations promptly.
• Reinforce food safety, sanitation, labeling, dating, FIFO, and safe equipment practices.
• Ensure stations, storage areas, and equipment are clean and organized at shift handoff.

People Leadership

• Train, coach, and support team members and Shift Leads; identify performance and development needs.
• Monitor attendance, timekeeping, breaks, and overtime trends; report exceptions to management.
• Recommend daily staffing adjustments and more efficient labor allocation without compromising standards.
• Support an accountable, respectful, and collaborative kitchen culture.

Inventory & Operational Improvement

• Support inventory counts, receiving, ordering coordination, and accurate ingredient usage reporting.
• Identify opportunities to reduce waste, improve portion consistency, and maintain appropriate pars.
• Help develop and implement production procedures, training tools, and workflow improvements.
• Communicate shortages, vendor concerns, and cost or productivity.

Qualifications

• At least three years of professional kitchen experience, including experience leading or training others preferred.
• Strong culinary fundamentals, organization, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with standardized recipes, production planning, inventory practices, and food safety.
• Ability to work hands-on across café and commissary environments and adapt to changing priorities.
• Flexible availability, including weekends and holidays as business needs require; required California food safety certification.

Leadership & Decision-Making

The Sous Chef is responsible for coordinating daily execution and supporting the team’s performance. Larger decisions involving hiring, discipline, schedules, purchasing authority, menu changes, and significant changes to pars or operating procedures remain with Verve Culinary Management unless expressly delegated.

Physical Requirements

The following physical demands outline the requirements necessary for employees to effectively carry out the essential functions of this position. During the performance of duties, employees are expected to engage in regular communication, auditory perception, and reading tasks. Reasonable accommodations will be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to fulfill essential job functions.

This role is dynamic and involves prolonged periods of standing (or being on one's feet for up to 8 hours), walking, bending, stooping, and crouching throughout the shift. Additionally, employees will be required to lift products and packaging overhead and may frequently handle items weighing between 25 and 50 pounds. Essential vision capabilities for this role encompass close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. Furthermore, adept finger and wrist dexterity are essential for successful performance in this position.

Benefits and Compensation

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - Physical and mental health, financial and legal coaching available at no cost to the employee
• Free coffee with every paycheck and 30% employee discount on all merchandise, whole bean, beverages, and food items
• Paid sick time and paid time off
• Healthcare Benefits (for full-time employees working over 30 hours per week) including medical, dental, vision and 401k.
• Eight observed holidays per year
• Compensation will be commensurate with experience and location.

This position description intends to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. It is not intended to include all duties and responsibilities. Job responsibilities can change according to the operational needs of the business. The order in which duties and responsibilities are listed is not significant.

Verve Coffee Roasters is committed to creating an accessible, supportive environment that recognizes and celebrates diversity as an integral component of building a trusted brand and a successful team. Candidates who can contribute to this mission are encouraged to apply and to identify their strengths in this area. Verve is an equal-opportunity employer. All aspects of employment including the decision to hire, promote, and discharge will be based on competence, performance, and business needs. Verve does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability or any other applicable legally protected characteristics.