A sous chef in a professional restaurant or hotel kitchen is the second in command of the kitchen staff, under the Chef de Cuisine, executive chef, or head chef. The French word sous in this terms means under while chef means “chief.” The sous chef or “under-chief” is responsible for much of what happens in the kitchen, including direct supervision and coordination of the various station cook or “chef de parties.” The sous chef is in command when the head chef is not present.
The executive chef is the person who is ultimately in charge of the kitchen. He or she decides what will be on the menu and how it should be prepared and presented. Most other management responsibilities often fall to the head chef, including ordering inventory and managing the kitchen staff. Smaller restaurant may not have a sous chef at all, but only a head chef that conducts the duties of an executive chef and a sous chef.
However, in larger kitchens, the sous-chef is often the person who is responsible for the day to day workings of the kitchen, tasked with carrying out the will of the head chef in every aspect. Some larger restaurants may have more than one sous-chef, perhaps one for the day and another for the night shift. In restaurants where the head chef is the owner of the restaurant, the sous chef may take on many of the responsibilities of an executive chef, since the head chef is busy running the restaurant as a whole.
In some modern restaurants, the executive chef may not run the kitchen on a daily basis but instead appoint a separate “chef de cuisine” to do so. In this case, the sous chef may work under the chef de cuisine, making them the third in command instead of the second.
Duties of the Sous Chef
Every restaurant is different so there are no universal job duties for a sous chef. Some of the duties that a sous chef might perform include:
- working closely with the executive chef in all aspects, including helping to choose menu items and create dishes
- ordering food ingredients and supplies
- ensuring proper storage and rotation of food ingredient items
- training new staff
- review performance of staff
- discipline staff when needed
- assign station duties
- assign work schedules
- expediting kitchen service
- control inventory and food costs
- make sure staff adhere to safety and sanitation standards
- maintain equipment
- ensure the quality of food prepared
- cooking certain dishes, especially the most complex ones or those with more expensive ingredients
- assist station chefs or line cooks as needed
How much independent authority a sous chef has to make decisions is decided by the executive chef and the degree of authority will often be specified in a written job description.
