Sous Chef

Cafe Yaya is the second concept from the team behind Galit, a Middle Eastern Restaurant in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago. Cafe Yaya is owned and operated by Chef Zachary Engel and Andrés Clavero. The restaurant is a space for community: hospitality professionals, guests and suppliers will come together and celebrate food and drink in a respectful, friendly, and caring manner. The menu focuses on a seasonal and localized approach to approachable cafe dishes from the sidewalk bistros of Paris and Tel Aviv. 

Overview: The Sous Chef’s role will be to manage the daily operations of the restaurant kitchen, providing professional leadership and direction to kitchen personnel. Ensure that all recipes, food preparations and dishes meet the restaurant's commitment to quality. Maintain a safe, orderly, clean, efficient and inspired kitchen that is driven by the use of the best quality, seasonal produce. The Sous Chef will be reporting to the restaurant’s Chef de Cuisine and Executive Chef on menu creation, cost control, and kitchen personnel. Above all the Sous Chef must be passionate about creating delicious food within a team-oriented environment.

Responsibilities: 

Employee Relations:

• Involved in the recruitment and retention of culinary employees including corrective action, training, and Employee morale 
• Cultivate and maintain professional relationships with all employees through a positive and team-driven work effort
• Understanding and aiding the Executive Chef in implementing a weekly schedule to best suit employees 
• Delegating tasks to employees and helping evaluate and improve employee strengths and weaknesses
• Supervise Line Cooks, Stewards, and Porters to ensure the cleanliness and organization of the kitchen is consistently to the highest possible standards
• Supervise staff for safety and cleanliness according to Health Department regulations
• Train staff on cultural uniqueness and importance of specific dishes
• Accommodate staff and guest requests and preferences whenever possible
• Leads and counsels employees on proper actions and attitude in a kitchen and take preventative corrective action to address employee issues

Food 

• Regularly order food and cleaning products for the kitchen and stewarding staffs according to the volume of business 
• Develop, test, and implement new recipes and maintain quality and consistency in production and on the line
• Control portion sizes according to costed recipes in both production and on the line
• Engage the Galit community through food, producers, and vendors
• Organize schedule, inventory, and execution of family meals during shifts

Financials

• Creating and following a food budget, recognize sales trends, develop strategies, and adjust menu in order to maximize profit
• Minimize waste of food, labor, and efforts to maximize profit and contribute positively to the environment
• Maintain appropriate labor costs given the volume of business
• Costing recipes according to the precise standards set forth by Galit

Other Responsibilities

• Organize and create packlists and products for special and offsite events
• Work alongside Front of House staff to ensure special events are accommodating to the guests’ preferences

• Maintain appropriate pars and inventory for food, equipment and paper goods across the restaurant
• Expedite orders to line cooks during service
• Organize a schedule for employee-led educational forums
• Assist in scheduling employees for shifts as necessary
• Maintain uniform cleanliness and proper attire at all times without exception

Experience / Skills:

• High school diploma required, BA encouraged
• 4-6 years of kitchen experience
• 1-2 years of restaurant management experience, preferred
• Excellent skills in knife-handling, wood-fired cooking, and knowledge in a wide variety of cooking techniques and terminology
• Ability to speak Spanish is preferred
• Ability to lift and carry up to 50 lbs. and stand for extended periods of time
• Moderate computer skills (email, word-processing, spreadsheets, etc.)
• Serve Safe Allergens Certificate required
• Serve Safe Food Managers Certificate required
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, procedure manuals, and recipes. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or fellow employees.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl, talk, and hear. The employee frequently is required to sit, reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance.