Job Title: Sous Chef / Junior Sous Chef
Location: Washington, D.C. - Capital One Arena and Dupont Circle HQ
Reports To: Executive Chef / Culinary Leadership
Job Details
Ability Culinary (ABLTY) brings refined, performance-focused cooking to elite athletes across the NBA, NHL, and WNBA through a multi-location culinary system.
We run the kitchen at Capital One Arena for the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals - pregame and postgame team service, plus a range of hospitality programs serving athletic staff and executives. Our headquarters kitchen supports the arena with detailed mise and also produces for professional practice facilities, charter flights, and private clients.
Driven by a commitment to ingredient purity and physiological benefit, we uphold the highest standards for product integrity. We source wholesome, non-toxic ingredients, emphasizing organic, non-GMO, and sustainable selections. Our mission is to craft extraordinary food that fuels peak human performance, blending classic and modern culinary techniques with Michelin-level precision to celebrate pure flavors, never relying on artificial enhancements.
Join our culinary leadership team as a Sous Chef / Junior Sous, working in both our kitchen inside Capital One Arena and our headquarters kitchen in Dupont Circle. Where a Chef de Partie owns a station, you own the night. You will set the pace of production, run the pass through service, and answer for what leaves the building. You will direct our Chefs de Partie and production cooks, hold the line on specs and food safety, and partner with Chef Leadership on menus, ordering, scheduling, and cost. This is a hands-on leadership role with a clear path toward Chef de Cuisine as we expand.
Schedule
Shifts vary. Our calendar is set by the NBA and NHL home schedules, so hours move week to week: early mornings for prep and pack-outs, afternoons into late nights for game service, and stretches of steadier daytime production when both teams are on the road. As a Sous, you will help build those schedules and staff them, and you will be the one who covers the gap when the calendar moves.
Nights, weekends, and holidays are part of the job, including through the December and January stretch, which can be our busiest. Consecutive-day runs are common, and five-day stretches are routine during peak weeks.
Our volume follows the professional sports calendar. The arena season runs October through April and is our heaviest stretch; spring and summer shift toward baseball charters, corporate catering, and commissary production.
Start date: We’re targeting late September ahead of the arena season. Timing is flexible for the right candidate. Share your availability when you apply. Note that arena credentialing includes a background check, so applying early helps.
What you’ll do
- Run the pass through service: expedite, set the pace, check every plate, and keep multiple concurrent services moving in a single night
- Own daily production at HQ: build and drive the prep sheets, assign the work, and sequence braises, stocks, sauces, glazes, pastry, and protein fabrication so it lands on time
- Direct and develop the team: train Chefs de Partie and production cooks on technique, plating, and the reasoning behind our methods
- Step onto any station when the night calls for it and set the standard for pace, precision, and technique
- Own food safety and product integrity: HACCP, cold chain, temperature logs, labeling, and rotation, enforced rather than assumed
- Manage ordering, receiving, inventory, yields, waste, and food cost alongside Chef Leadership
- Hit allergen and dietary specs exactly, and build the checks that keep others from missing them. We feed athletes with real restrictions and the margin for error is zero
- Lead pack, label, and stage operations for transport between locations and for flights and road trips
- Contribute to R&D: test, refine, cost, and write specs for new dishes so any cook on the line can execute them
- Stand in for Chef Leadership in their absence and keep both kitchens moving
What we’re looking for
- 5-6+ years in professional kitchens, including at least one year leading (chef de partie, lead cook, or sous); you can run a service and a team at real volume without losing composure
- Strong fundamentals you can teach: knife work, protein cookery, sauces, seasoning, temperature and time discipline
- You think in systems: prep lists, par levels, workflow, and the small process fixes that save an hour a day
- Comfortable with high-mix, low-repeat menus; you can read, write, and execute an unfamiliar dish off a spec sheet
- ServSafe Manager certification, or willing to obtain one within 30 days
- Reliable transportation and the flexibility to report to either DC location
- Discretion. You’ll be around professional athletes, their families, and team ownership. What happens in the building stays in the building
- Able to pass a background check for arena credentialing
- Able to stand for long shifts and lift 50 lb
Nice to have: experience in sports, athlete, or performance nutrition kitchens; catering or off-premise production; sous vide and large-batch braising; bakery fundamentals; prior ownership of scheduling, ordering, or food cost.
Why work here
- Real cooking - whole proteins, house stocks, from-scratch pastry
- You’ll see the full range of the business: high-touch hospitality service one night, large-format production the next
- A team small enough that your work is visible and your growth isn’t theoretical
- Direct impact: you’ll see the results of your work in the performance of some of the best athletes in the world
- A clear trajectory. As we add locations, we need leaders who already know our systems
Compensation & The ABLTY Advantage
We are building an A-level team and believe in investing in our people.
- Competitive Salary: $65,000 - $80,000, commensurate with experience and skillset
- Performance-Based Bonus: A robust bonus structure tied to clear individual and company-wide performance metrics
- Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus a wellness stipend for gym memberships, fitness classes, or other wellness pursuits
- Retirement: 401(k) retirement plan
- Growth & Development: Direct mentorship from Chef Leadership and a clear path for advancement in a rapidly growing company
To apply: Send your resume and a short note on your availability. Arena credentialing includes a
background check, so applying early helps.
