Executive Sous Chef

Company Description

Gategourmet has served the airline industry for more than 70 years and is the world’s largest independent provider of airline catering and logistics. The company prepares tens of thousands of nutritious passenger meals and snacks daily and reliably services more than 2 million flights a year in “last mile” operations across the globe.

As the core business of gategroup, gategourmet supports the onboard experience through catering, hospitality, provisioning, logistics, and onboard solutions. With about 27,000 team members in more than 30 countries, gategourmet works with over 250 carriers and tailors its services to each airline’s guests, service offerings, and regions. Applicants join a large, dynamic organization focused on quality, safety, and efficiency in passenger dining worldwide.

Role Description<

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The Executive Sous Chef is a full-time, on-site role based in the San Francisco Bay Area, supporting high-volume airline catering operations. This role assists the Executive Chef in planning, developing, and executing menus that meet airline specifications, brand standards, and nutritional guidelines. Day-to-day responsibilities include supervising kitchen staff, coordinating production schedules, and ensuring that recipes and presentation standards are consistently followed.

The Executive Sous Chef monitors food quality, safety, and hygiene, oversees inventory and ordering for key ingredients, and helps control food and labor costs. The role also involves training and mentoring culinary team members, collaborating with operations and logistics teams, and supporting continuous improvement in efficiency and guest satisfaction.

Qualifications

• Strong culinary skills, including high-volume food production, plating, and presentation in a professional kitchen environment.
• Experience in menu planning, recipe development, and adapting dishes to meet customer, brand, and regulatory requirements.
• Knowledge of food safety, sanitation standards (e.g., HACCP), and compliance with local health regulations.
• Team leadership abilities, including supervising, coaching, and scheduling kitchen staff in a fast-paced setting.
• Operational and organizational skills, such as inventory management, cost control, and coordination with logistics or production teams.
• Effective communication and collaboration skills to work with cross-functional stakeholders and diverse teams.
• Prior experience as a Sous Chef or similar leadership role; airline catering or large-scale hospitality experience is an advantage.
• Culinary degree or formal culinary training preferred, or equivalent professional experience.
• Ability to work on-site in the San Francisco Bay Area, including flexible hours, weekends, and holidays as needed.