Sous Chef

Job Description

Job Description:\n\nDescription:\nWHY MY NEIGHBOR FELIX\nMy Neighbor Felix is a vibrant, Mexican-inspired restaurant built around genuine hospitality, bold flavors, handcrafted cocktails, and an energetic atmosphere. Our team creates welcoming, memorable experiences that feel personal, lively, and attentive rather than scripted. We value connection, product knowledge, professionalism, accountability, teamwork, and the confidence to anticipate what a guest needs before they ask. \nJOB OVERVIEW\nThe Sous Chef is a salaried culinary leader responsible for supervising the daily operations of the kitchen while ensuring exceptional food quality, operational efficiency, team development, and compliance with Company standards. Under the direction of the Executive Chef and restaurant leadership, the Sous Chef oversees kitchen execution by leading culinary team members, coordinating daily production, maintaining food safety and sanitation standards, supporting inventory and labor management, and promoting a culture of accountability, professionalism, and teamwork. This position plays a critical role in developing employees, maintaining recipe consistency, controlling food quality, and ensuring the kitchen operates safely and efficiently during all service periods. The Sous Chef is expected to lead by example while demonstrating sound judgment, strong communication, operational excellence, and an unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences through consistent culinary execution.\n \nESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES\n\n Supervise and coordinate the daily operations of the kitchen while ensuring food quality, consistency, cleanliness, safety, and operational efficiency.\n Lead, coach, mentor, and develop culinary team members by providing ongoing training, performance feedback, and hands-on instruction to promote professional growth and operational excellence.\n Assign stations, direct daily workflow, deploy labor effectively, and monitor kitchen productivity to ensure efficient execution throughout all service periods.\n Prepare, cook, plate, and present menu items as needed while supporting culinary operations during periods of high business volume.\n Ensure all menu items are prepared according to Company recipes, preparation procedures, portion specifications, presentation standards, and quality expectations.\n Monitor food quality throughout preparation and service by verifying proper temperatures, seasoning, cooking techniques, portion sizes, presentation, and overall consistency before food leaves the kitchen.\n Maintain compliance with all Company food safety, sanitation, allergen awareness, chemical handling, workplace safety, and health department requirements.\n Conduct regular inspections of kitchen workstations, equipment, storage areas, walk-in coolers, freezers, and food products to ensure cleanliness, organization, and compliance with Company standards.\n Assist with inventory management, purchasing, receiving, product rotation, production planning, waste reduction, and food cost control while maintaining accurate inventory practices.\n Monitor product quality, pars, inventory levels, and ordering needs while communicating shortages, quality concerns, and purchasing recommendations to restaurant leadership.\n Assist with recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, training, scheduling, employee development, and retention efforts while helping build a high-performing culinary team.\n Participate in employee coaching, documentation, performance improvement, and corrective action in partnership with restaurant leadership and Human Resources, as appropriate.\n Promote a positive, respectful, and professional work environment while resolving operational challenges and addressing employee concerns appropriately.\n Ensure proper maintenance, safe operation, and cleanliness of all kitchen equipment while promptly reporting maintenance or repair needs.\n Analyze daily kitchen operations and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, productivity, food quality, consistency, sanitation, labor utilization, and overall operational performance.\n Collaborate with the Executive Chef and restaurant leadership to implement Company initiatives, operational procedures, culinary. Maintain accurate production records, temperature logs, sanitation documentation, inventory records, coaching documentation, and other operational reports as required.\n Attend management meetings, culinary meetings, leadership development sessions, and other required Company training while maintaining current knowledge of Company policies, recipes, food safety standards, and operational procedures.\n Protect Company confidential information, including recipes, financial information, operational procedures, employee information, vendor relationships, purchasing information, and other proprietary business practices.\n Present a clean, professional appearance while demonstrating integrity, professionalism, accountability, and respectful leadership in every interaction with guests, employees, vendors, and Company leadership.\n Perform other leadership responsibilities as assigned based on business needs.\n\n \n\nMY NEIGHBOR FELIX SERVICE STANDARDS\nSTANDARD EXPECTED BEHAVIOR\nProfessionalism Demonstrate integrity, accountability, professionalism, and respect in every interaction.\nSafety Follow all food safety, sanitation, chemical handling, and workplace safety procedures.\nQuality Complete work accurately, consistently, and according to Company standards.\nOwnership Take responsibility for assigned duties, equipment, and maintaining a clean and organized work environment.\nTeamwork Communicate respectfully and support fellow team members across all departments.\nReliability Report to work prepared, maintain punctual attendance, and perform duties with urgency and consistency.\nRequirements:\nQUALIFICATIONS\nEducation / Certifications\n\n High school diploma or equivalent required; associate's or bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Business Management, or a related field is preferred.\n Current ServSafe® Manager Certification or the ability to obtain and maintain certification within the timeframe established by the Company.\n Minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible restaurant or culinary leadership experience preferred.\n Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, motivate, and develop high-performing culinary teams.\n Strong understanding of food safety, sanitation, allergen awareness, and workplace safety standards.\n Ability to effectively prioritize multiple responsibilities and make sound operational decisions in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.\n Strong communication, organizational, leadership, and problem-solving skills.\n Proficiency with restaurant technology, including point-of-sale systems, inventory systems, scheduling software, and Microsoft Office or similar business applications.\n Ability to work a flexible schedule, including mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, extended shifts, and other hours as business needs require.\n Must obtain and maintain all licenses, permits, certifications, and training required by applicable law or Company policy. \n\nEXPERIENCE\n\n Minimum of two (2) years of progressive restaurant or culinary leadership experience preferred.\n Experience supervising, coaching, developing, and motivating culinary team members in a high-volume restaurant environment.\n Experience maintaining consistent recipe execution, food quality, presentation standards, and guest satisfaction.\n Experience with inventory management, purchasing, product rotation, waste reduction, and food cost controls.\n Experience scheduling labor, managing productivity, and supporting labor cost objectives is preferred.\n Experience conducting employee training, onboarding, and performance coaching.\n Experience maintaining compliance with applicable food safety, sanitation, workplace safety, and health department regulations.\n Experience assisting with hiring, interviewing, employee development, and performance management is preferred.\n Equivalent combinations of education, training, and experience that demonstrate the ability to successfully perform the essential functions of the position may be considered. \n\nEquivalent combinations of education, training, and experience that demonstrate the ability to successfully perform the essential functions of the position may be considered.\nKNOWLEDGE\n\n Thorough knowledge of food preparation techniques, cooking methods, recipe execution, portion control, and presentation standards.\n Thorough understanding of food safety, sanitation, HACCP principles, allergen awareness, temperature controls, and applicable health department regulations.\n Knowledge of inventory management, purchasing, receiving, product rotation, waste reduction, and food cost management principles.\n Knowledge of labor planning, kitchen workflow, production scheduling, and operational efficiency.\n Knowledge of leadership principles, employee coaching, conflict resolution, performance management, and team development.\n Ability to analyze operational challenges, identify solutions, prioritize competing demands, and make sound business decisions.\n Knowledge of Company operational standards, policies, procedures, and quality expectations.\n Ability to maintain confidentiality regarding employee information, Company operations, financial information, recipes, vendor relationships, and other proprietary business information.\n Working knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local employment, wage and hour, workplace safety, and food safety regulations affecting restaurant operations.\n Proficiency with restaurant technology, scheduling systems, inventory platforms, point-of-sale systems, Microsoft Office, and other business applications as applicable.\n\nPHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT\nThe requirements below are representative of those necessary to perform the essential functions of the position. Reasonable accommodations may be made for qualified individuals with disabilities.\n? Stand and walk for prolonged periods throughout food preparation, service, cleaning, and closing duties while frequently moving throughout kitchen, storage, dishwashing, walk-in cooler, freezer, and receiving areas.\n? Frequently bend, reach, twist, stoop, kneel, crouch, climb, balance, grasp, and perform repetitive hand, wrist, and arm movements while preparing food, cleaning, stocking, lifting, and operating kitchen equipment.\n? Lift, push, pull, carry, and move up to 50 pounds on a regular basis, including food products, ingredient containers, cookware, dish racks, equipment, cleaning supplies, and other operational materials, with or without reasonable accommodation.\n? Safely operate commercial kitchen equipment, including but not limited to dishwashing machines, ovens, grills, fryers, slicers, mixers, food processors, knives, and other kitchen equipment appropriate to the position.\n? Work in a fast-paced kitchen environment with frequent exposure to hot surfaces, steam, open flames, boiling liquids, sharp objects, cleaning chemicals, food allergens, grease, wet floors, refrigeration units, freezers, and varying indoor temperatures.\n? Utilize proper lifting techniques and follow all Company safety procedures, food safety standards, sanitation requirements, chemical handling procedures, and personal protective equipment requirements as applicable.\n? Hear, speak, read, and communicate effectively with managers, team members, vendors, and other departments in a busy kitchen environment with multiple simultaneous activities and elevated noise levels.\n? Maintain the physical stamina necessary to perform repetitive tasks while working efficiently during extended periods of high business volume.\n? Work a flexible schedule that may include mornings, afternoons, evenings, weekends, holidays, extended shifts, and overtime as business needs require.\nEMPLOYMENT EXPECTATIONS\n\n Maintain regular and punctual attendance while providing dependable leadership and operational support.\n Demonstrate professionalism, integrity, accountability, and sound judgment in all interactions with guests, employees, vendors, and Company leadership.\n Lead by example by consistently modeling Company values, policies, food safety standards, sanitation procedures, and operational expectations.\n Coach, mentor, develop, and support culinary team members through ongoing training, feedback, and performance coaching while promoting a positive and respectful workplace culture.\n Maintain compliance with the My Neighbor Felix Employee Handbook, Company policies, food safety standards, workplace safety requirements, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, confidentiality obligations, and all applicable federal, state, and local laws.\n Promptly report workplace injuries, safety concerns, food safety issues, equipment failures, suspected policy violations, or other operational concerns through appropriate reporting channels.\n Protect Company assets by ensuring proper handling of inventory, equipment, confidential information, recipes, and proprietary business practices.\n Support restaurant profitability through responsible labor management, food cost awareness, waste reduction, inventory control, and operational efficiency.\n Complete required administrative responsibilities, documentation, training, coaching records, and operational reporting accurately and in a timely manner.\n Foster teamwork, accountability, open communication, and continuous improvement while supporting Company initiatives and operational goals.\n Perform other leadership responsibilities as assigned based on business needs. \n\nLEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES\nExamples include:\n\n Lead by example and model Company values, professionalism, accountability, and integrity.\n Foster a positive, respectful, and inclusive work environment focused on teamwork, development, and operational excellence.\n Coach, mentor, and develop team members through ongoing training, constructive feedback, and performance coaching.\n Support recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, and retention efforts while helping build a high-performing culinary team.\n Hold team members accountable to Company standards while partnering with senior leadership on performance improvement, corrective action, and recognition.\n Promote compliance with Company policies, food safety standards, sanitation requirements, and all applicable federal, state, and local laws.\n\nSALARY & BENEFITS\nAnnual Salary Range: $62,000 - $72,000 per year\nClassification: Exempt; Salaried Position\nActual starting compensation will be determined based on factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience, qualifications, demonstrated skills, internal equity, and business needs.\nTeam benefits include:\nStructured training programs and pathways for professional growth.\nA 25% dining discount at participating concepts within the Lotus portfolio.\nAccrual of paid sick leave as mandated by Colorado state statutes.\nAccess to Colo