Sous Chef jobs in South Bend, IN

Description

Are you a culinary professional with a passion for serving up flavorful selections while building and developing a dedicated team of cooks and kitchen staff? Are you eager to make a name for yourself in a rapidly-growing and exciting organization? Keep reading. We'd love to talk!

The Staymaker restaurant at Journeyman Distillery is seeking a culinary leader with proven success in high quality, fast-paced kitchen environments. The Sous Chef will be integral, not only in serving our valued guests, but also in championing our efforts to develop our next generation of culinary superstars. Our guests and fellow team alike enjoy our location, just over the Michigan/Indiana border and 10 minutes from Lake Michigan.

The Sous Chef will oversee the daily operations of the Journeyman Distillery, Staymaker, and catering kitchen, including staff productivity and food production, menu development, inventory and ordering of supplies, and cost control. The Sous Chef shall exemplify Journeyman's core values and the Culinary Team’s highest standards of quality, consistency, and joyful service to the guests.

At Journeyman Distillery, we believe hard work and dedication deserve to be rewarded. To that end, we provide a comprehensive benefits and incentives package.

Here’s a peek at what you will receive as a Journeyman employee:

• Outstanding Growth Opportunity!
• Paid Time Off 
• 401(k) with Employer Match
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, and Supplemental Insurance Options
• Free Monthly Bottle of Spirit (21 )
• Loyalty  Incentives (ask about our 5-Year Bottle Reward!)
• 25% Employee Discount
• Monthly Employee Tour with Owner/Founder, Bill Welter
• Annual Employee Putting Competition
• 3 Annual Employee Parties

All team members must uphold and embody Journeyman’s Core Values which represent the culture, attitude, and immediate priorities ensuring our cohesion and success.  

CORE VALUES 

GRIT 

• Having a positive attitude that no challenge is too great
• Understanding that goals worth pursuing are never easy; that perseverance, grit, and determination are essential to success
• There is no substitute for grit and putting in the time and effort. Good things will come from those efforts
• 10,000-hour rule. Malcom Gladwell: it takes 10,000 hours of intensive practice to be great

ALWAYS A JOURNEYMAN 

• Excellence is a lifelong pursuit and mastery is an illusion
• The joy is in the daily work and pursuit of excellence, not in the final destination 
• A focus on continual improvement and doing our best

1st CUSTOMER 

• Treating every customer with the mindset that they are the business’s 1st ever customer
• Treating customers with authenticity, kindness, warmth, care, friendliness; engaging, helpful and willing to offer a magical experience
• Clean facilities
• Being available to the customer and timely responses in any capacity
• This mindset extends to our vendors, suppliers, partners, and especially our fellow employees
• Never take the customer or employee for granted 
• 362 and 59:59 We are open to our customers 362 days a year and we set an unwavering standard of serving our customers up till the last closing second 59:59 and beyond if needed.  

AMBASSADOR 

• Taking pride and ownership in your work 
• Engagement and active participation in your work and company activities
• Being a positive force in the workplace; creating a culture of positivity 
• Extending common courtesy to self, employees, vendors, and guests 
• Being an evangelist and promoter of the company and brand 

PRINCIPAL DUTIES

• Maintain responsibility for the hiring, training, and proficiency of culinary employees, including performance reviews and formal development plans in the restaurant kitchen and catering departments.
• Monitor and train the culinary staff, sanitation and safety, as well as related production activities to ensure all procedures are completed to the department standards; rectify deficiencies with respective personnel.
• Participate fully in food preparation to consistently produce food that is of high quality in taste and presentation within established guidelines; work on line during service and assist wherever needed.
• Ensure that all items needed for menu preparation are in stock.
• Maintain purchase order system, ordering and receiving programs to ensure proper quality and price on all purchases.
• Ensure adherence to recipes, correct food preparation methods, portion control, and presentation of menu items.
• Inspect the cleanliness/mise en place of all kitchen areas (floor, stations, coolers, store room, dish washing, etc.) and immediately direct respective culinary staff to correct any deficiencies; Ensure that quality and details are being maintained.
• Ensure that culinary staff maintain and strictly abide by state sanitation/health regulations and Journeyman requirements.
• Maintain proper storage procedures as specified by Health Department and Journeyman requirements (wrap, label, and date).
• Ensure that applicable kitchen equipment is in proper working order prior to shift; Communicate any maintenance, repair, or upkeep issues to the Executive Chef and Head of Maintenance.
• Instruct culinary staff in the correct usage and care of all equipment in the kitchen operation, with a focus on safety.
• Minimize waste and maintain controls to attain forecasted food and labor costs.
• Foster and promote a cooperative working climate, maximizing productivity and employee morale.
• Evaluate all food products received to maintain quality specifications.
• Meet with Executive Chef to review schedules, assignments, anticipated business levels, changes, and other information pertinent to the job performance.
• Promote positive guest relations at all times.
• Conduct monthly inventories, cost controls, and requisitioning/ordering of supplies.

Requirements

Physical, Mental, and Visual Skills:

• Culinary Degree preferred and/or a minimum of 2-3 years culinary supervisory position in a reputable restaurant
• Up-to-date ServSafe certification, with a clear understanding and commitment to impeccable sanitation practices
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of proper cooking techniques, ingredients, and equipment; Ability to work all stations in kitchen
• Ability to perform moderate physical work; may be required to lift up to 70 pounds occasionally, up to 50 pounds frequently, and up to ten pounds constantly; Ability to perform such activities as bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, climbing, reaching, standing, walking, pushing, pulling, lifting, and grasping for up to five hours without sitting.

Required Work Habits:

• Must have reliable transportation.
• Work habits include regular attendance, teamwork, initiative, dependability, and promptness.
• Must be able to work most holidays and weekends, as these are the busiest times for Journeyman Distillery.

Educational, Development and Work-Related Experience:

• Thorough knowledge of food preparation, kitchen maintenance, sanitation, nutrition, and operation procedures as would normally be acquired through a high school education or equivalent, plus two to three years additional college-level course of study or culinary trades training or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge of general business administration practices as applied to food preparation and kitchen maintenance operational practices and procedures as would be acquired through three to six years of similar experience in progressively responsible positions. Prior supervisory experience preferred but not required.
• Experience managing seasonal business flow, developing creative seasonal offerings, seasonal menu engineering, and continual development of catering menu is a plus.
• Experience developing culinary staff members in areas of leadership, menu development, and creativity.

Working Conditions:

• Works primarily indoors in food preparation and a kitchen maintenance environment.
• Potential exposure to sharp and rapid equipment movement hazards, sharp utensils, extremely hot stoves, grills and food and dangerous chemicals/solvents if proper safety procedures are not followed.