Kitchen Supervisor

Role & responsibilities

1. Menu Planning & Culinary Excellence

• Collaborate on menu planning and seasonal updates with the Head/Executive Chef to keep offerings fresh, innovative, and aligned with semi-fine dining expectations.
• Assist in recipe development, testing new dishes, and establishing clear, standardized plating guides for the kitchen team.
• Monitor food presentation and plating strictly, ensuring every dish leaving the pass matches upscale aesthetic standards.
• Conduct regular quality and taste checks on stocks, sauces, and prep work before service begins.

2. Catering & Event Coordination

• Lead catering operations, managing logistics from initial prep timelines to final event execution for private parties, banquets, and off-site events.
• Coordinate event-specific menus, calculating precise ingredient volumes and scaling recipes accurately based on guest counts.
• Liaise with front-of-house (FOH) and event coordinators to synchronize food service timing with guest itineraries.
• Supervise the safe packing, transport, and station setup of food, equipment, and serving tools for off-site events.

3. Operations & Shift Management

• Oversee daily prep schedules and line setups, ensuring all stations are organized and mise en place is complete.
• Expedite the line during peak hours, managing order tickets to ensure efficient, timed pacing between courses.
• Step in to cook, finish dishes, or support high-pressure stations as required during volume surges.

4. Staff Leadership & Scheduling

• Supervise, mentor, and train prep and line cooks on advanced culinary techniques and upscale presentation.
• Create fair, cost-efficient weekly labor schedules, managing shift rotations and break windows.
• Enforce a professional, respectful, and highly collaborative kitchen culture.

5. Inventory, Vendor Relations & Cost Control

• Manage inventory levels, tracking premium and specialty ingredients to ensure zero shortages without over-ordering.
• Work with suppliers to verify the quality of incoming seafood, meats, and produce, rejecting items that fall short of quality standards.
• Implement strict First-In, First-Out (FIFO) inventory practices to minimize wastage and control food cost percentages.

6. Food Safety & Compliance

• Maintain flawless kitchen sanitation and strict compliance with regional health codes, walk-in organization, and temperature logs.
• Train team members on safe chemical handling, workplace safety, and allergen cross-contamination prevention.

Preferred candidate profile

• Experience: 3 to 5 years in a high-volume, scratch-cooking kitchen (ideally upscale casual or semi-fine dining), with at least 12 years in a leadership, junior sous chef, or shift-lead role.
• Catering Knowledge: Proven experience handling banquet execution, buffet setups, or off-site catering logistics.
• Education/Certifications: A degree or diploma in Culinary Arts is highly preferred.
• Technical Skills: Strong understanding of fine-dining techniques, basic menu costing mathematics, and familiarity with digital inventory/POS systems.