SOUS CHEF ROLE:

Cactus Holding Corporation is a MD-based start-up that is building a food+tech platform to accelerate the launching and scaling of plant-based restaurant brands, and provide greater access to ‘crave-worthy’ plant-based brands to consumers. The junior sous chef would work hands-on to help develop and shape all of the plant-based culinary elements of the start-up (plant-based menu innovation, recipe development, supplier / vendor selection, cooking, deliveries, etc.)… from the roots up (pun intended!)!  This role directly reports to the Chief Culinary Strategist.

The Junior Sous must be an effective leader in aspects of designing, preparing and cooking #crave-worthy plant-based interpretations of the world’s cuisines. The Junior Sous will partner with key stakeholders - one who will integrate efforts and lead culinary teams that strive for performance excellence.

• Operations - to ensure menus are created in such a way that leads to a consistency in execution and delivery
• Quality - to ensure Cactus' culinary standards are met or exceeded across all culinary operations (recipe development, cooking, cleaning, deliveries, etc.). Writing product specifications
• Presentations to various partners and stakeholders to provide relevant and timely insights and intelligence, enabling partners to enhance their processes and brand equity
• Communication - effective, clear, transparent communication with internal and external stakeholders

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Plant-based Culinary Arts program strongly preferred, not required
• 2+ years of management experience in a food service environment
• Must have successfully completed food safety training compliant in State of Maryland
• Passionate about the environment and helping people/companies reduce environmental impact
• Highly motivated for personal growth and advancement (beyond the kitchen)
• Demonstrate excellent team communication and interpersonal skills
• Knowledge of various cooking methods, ingredients, and procedures
• Management skills
• Familiarity with industry’s best practices
• Leadership
• Creativity
• Hand-eye coordination
• Time-management skills
• Decision making
• Handles pressure
• Deals with uncertainty

SOUS CHEF RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Empathizes with members of the team to lead from a place of trust
• Plant-based menu designing, recipe development, sourcing, food costing, operations
• Cook food to order; Produce high quality plates both design and taste wise
• Oversee food preparation, checking that all kitchen staff are performing their duties
• Ensure that the kitchen operates in a timely way that meets our quality standards 
• Monitor equipment quality and schedule repairs as needed
• Determine how much food and supplies need to be ordered 
• Incorporate plant-based culinary trends, a plant-forward sustainable approach, and social responsibility vision into aspects of Cactus Culinary Standards and Manuals
• Comply with and enforce sanitation regulations and safety standards 
• Ensure that the new concepts are viable for consumer testing and launch
• Support the development of new plant-based prototype menu concepts
• Support negotiations with suppliers, vendors, partners
• Recruit a culinary team
• Support validation of new products
• Support Cactus' culinary teams in planning, preparation, and execution of menus and recipes
• Support meetings with stakeholders and/or representing Cactus in the industry
• Support and/or enable effective communications with management team, media press, and potential investors
• Maintain a positive and professional approach with coworkers and customers

DESIRED SKILLS:

• Intellectual curiosity
• Creativity
• Out-of-the-box thinking
• Food Policy (understanding of food systems)

• Emerging Trends in F&B industry
• Plant-based supply chain