Chef de Cuisine Job Description

n/soto, the upscale casual Japanese-California izakaya restaurant by Chef Niki Nakayama is seeking a Chef de Cuisine to join our team.  The ideal candidate will have a strong background in Japanese and California cuisines and exceptional team management skills.  

Duties and responsibilities

As Chef de Cuisine, your job responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Upholding the high quality standards of our Japanese izakaya style menu, with a focus on seasonality and keen understanding of how to blend Japanese and Californian ingredients and cooking techniques to create delicious seasonal dishes
• Working in collaboration with the Head Sushi Chef, GM, and chef/owners, and fellow team members to achieve the best possible balance of traditional Japanese and contemporary Japanese-Californian menu
• Responsible for hiring, training, managing, scheduling and disciplining all back of house staff 
• Responsible for building a kitchen culture of respect, teamwork and high morale and proactively cross training staff in order to ensure a smooth service and positive team culture at all times
• Lead by example with your high attention to detail, cleanliness, and willingness to help with any and all kitchen duties including, but not limited to prepping, cooking, breaking down work stations, cleaning, organizing walk-ins, deep cleaning equipment as needed
• Work on the kitchen line as necessary and expo efficiently
• Ordering inventory, managing vendor relationships, and negotiating costs
• Managing food costs and inventory to meet or exceed budgeted company goals.  You will be  responsible for creating and managing a detailed food cost management system and working with the GM to ensure that all menu items from the hot kitchen are priced optimally. 
• Proactively see potential issues related to all kitchen operations and work to solve problems before they arise by communicating effectively with other managers and implementing solutions that align with the overall business’s goals and objectives.
• Work closely with FOH management team to educate service staff about menu
• Communicate prior to service with FOH management team about menu changes, 86’d items, staff shortages, or anything else that will impact service
• Lead with a positive attitude at all times and see all challenges as opportunities to learn, solve and lead by example.
• Responsible for all kitchen related equipment maintenance and repair, including hood and grease trap cleaning service scheduling.
• Maintaining recipe books so that they are in good working order and up-to-date with any changes or new recipes that are being used. Ensuring all kitchen staff knows about any recipe changes and are trained on making new recipes properly.
• Hiring and on-boarding new staff with the help of the General Manager and Head Sushi Chef. This includes helping to create job ads, vet resumes and conduct stages. 
• Check in with new hires every day to ensure they are progressing properly and communicate with co-managers about opportunities for new hires and/or whether they feel like a good fit. 
• Must be comfortable having constructive and often challenging conversations with staff in order to maintain the consistency and quality of food and service
• Collaborating with the GM on special events to keep staff and guests engaged
• Maintain the highest of food safety standards and an “A” grade from the Health Dept at all times.
• Participate in any media/charity/PR events as requested by management

Requirements

• Dedicated leader who is committed to serving the team.
• Ability to work quickly and efficiently without compromising quality.
• Strong communication skills.
• Fundamental understanding of sanitation, cleanliness and personal hygiene.
• California Food Handler’s card .
• Regular, predictable and reliable attendance.
• Excellent attention to detail .
• Ability to effectively communicate with coworkers verbally.
• Ability to operate all equipment necessary to perform the job.

Benefits Include:

• Health Reimbursement Plan after 90days
• 401k Savings Program
• Paid Time off
• Bonus potentials

Physical Demands

• Requires moderate physical effort. Standing, carrying, bending, stretching, stooping, pulling and pushing, lifting weights up to 50 pounds.

The duties of this position may change from time to time. n/soto reserves the right to add or remove duties and responsibilities at the discretion of Ownership or its managers. This job description is intended to describe the general level of work being performed. It is not intended to be all-inclusive.

n/soto is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, gender (including gender identity or expression), pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, marital status, domestic violence, sexual violence or stalking victim status, ancestry, national origin, alienage or citizenship, age, disability, military or veteran status, genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristic, or other protected status.