Sous Chef

Job Description

Job Description

Sous Chef
Athenian Hospitality Group — Knoxville, TN
Full-Time, Salaried | $67,000–$75,000/year

Athenian Hospitality Group is hiring an experienced Sous Chef for our Knoxville kitchen. This is the second-in-command role — you work alongside the Chef, and you run the kitchen when the Chef is off. The standard doesn't move either way.

Service Leadership

You run the line during service. That means expediting, calling tickets, watching the pass, and keeping food moving on time without letting quality slide to make the clock. When the rush hits or someone falls behind, you jump on a station and pull the line back together. Cooks read the room off whoever's leading it — steady beats loud, every time.

Prep & Production

You own what happens before the doors open. Par levels hit, product rotated first-in-first-out, prep lists built so the next shift walks into a kitchen that's ready instead of behind. Most service problems are prep problems that nobody caught in the morning. Your job is catching them in the morning.

Consistency & Execution

The Chef sets the spec; you make sure the line holds it. Portion, seasoning, temperature, plate build — you check plates before they leave and you send back what isn't right, including your own. Consistency is a discipline, not a talent, and it's mostly enforced at your level.

Training & Coaching

You train new cooks and develop the ones you have. That means teaching technique and the reasoning behind it, correcting a cook mid-shift without derailing service, and following up so the same mistake doesn't come back tomorrow. Good sous chefs create cooks who can be promoted.

Inventory & Cost Support

You back the Chef on the business side — receiving and checking deliveries against invoices, tracking waste, running counts, and flagging cost problems while they're still small. You should notice when yields drop or a case comes in short, and say something the same day.

Safety & Sanitation

Temperature logs, dating and labeling, allergen protocol, station cleanliness, organized coolers. You hold the line on this every shift, and you hold the team to it — especially at close, when it's easiest to let go.

Stepping Up

Chef's day off, vacation, or emergency: the kitchen runs the same. Ordering placed, schedule covered, service executed. That's the real test of the role.

Requirements

• 2+ years as a Sous Chef, Lead Line Cook, or Kitchen Supervisor in a high-volume kitchen
• Strong on multiple stations — grill, sauté, and fry — with the ability to hold any of them at peak
• Working knowledge of prep par levels, receiving, inventory, and food cost basics
• Proven ability to direct and train a team
• ServSafe certification (or ability to obtain)
• Ability to work nights, weekends, and holidays as business requires
• Scratch cooking background preferred; Mediterranean/Greek cuisine experience is a plus but not required

What We Offer

• $65,000–$75,000 annually, based on experience
• Clear path to Chef — we promote from within
• Direct working relationship with the Chef and ownership
• Employee meals

Athenian Hospitality Group is an equal opportunity employer.

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