Executive Sous Chef - Japanese Restaurant

The Executive Sous Chef is a key culinary leadership position responsible for supporting the Executive Chef in the overall management of the hotel's culinary operations. This position provides hands-on leadership across the hotel’s restaurants, banquet operations, bars, events, and other food production areas while ensuring consistent food quality, presentation, sanitation, cost control, and guest satisfaction.

This position will play an important role in developing menus, recipes, culinary standards, production systems, and the culinary team during the hotel's pre-opening and ongoing operations.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Culinary Operations

• Assist the Executive Chef with the daily operation and leadership of all culinary outlets. 
• Oversee food production for the hotel's restaurant, banquet functions, bars, events, and other culinary operations. 
• Ensure consistent execution of recipes, menu specifications, portion sizes, presentation, and quality standards. 
• Maintain high standards of food quality, freshness, flavor, temperature, and presentation. 
• Lead daily lineups, pre-shift meetings, production planning, and culinary briefings. 
• Ensure proper preparation, storage, labeling, and rotation of food products. 
• Serve as the culinary leader in the absence of the Executive Chef. 

Menu & Culinary Development

• Assist with menu development, recipe creation, testing, costing, and implementation. 
• Support the development of Japanese-inspired and locally influenced culinary offerings. 
• Help create menus that balance Japanese culinary traditions with Texas ingredients, flavors, and guest expectations. 
• Develop standardized recipes and production procedures. 
• Participate in menu engineering and analysis to support profitability. 
• Assist with seasonal menu changes, special events, promotions, and culinary experiences. 

Banquets & Events

• Oversee culinary execution for weddings, meetings, conferences, social events, and other banquet functions. 
• Review banquet event orders and coordinate production requirements with the culinary team. 
• Ensure food is prepared and presented according to established banquet standards.
• Coordinate timing and execution between culinary, banquet, and service teams. 
• Assist with high-volume production planning for large events. 

Leadership & Team Development

• Supervise, coach, train, and develop cooks, culinary supervisors, and other culinary team members. 
• Establish clear expectations for performance, professionalism, teamwork, and food quality. 
• Assist with hiring, interviewing, onboarding, and training culinary employees. 
• Create and maintain effective training and development programs. 
• Monitor employee performance and provide timely coaching and feedback. 
• Promote teamwork, accountability, respect, and a positive workplace culture. 
• Reinforce Miyako's HEART values: Honor, Exceptional, Accountability, Respect, and Teamwork. 

Food Safety & Sanitation

• Maintain compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local food safety and sanitation requirements. 
• Ensure proper HACCP, food handling, temperature control, storage, cleaning, and sanitation procedures. 
• Maintain standards established by the hotel's food safety program. 
• Conduct regular kitchen inspections and correct deficiencies promptly. 
• Ensure all culinary employees follow proper personal hygiene and food safety practices. 
• Maintain a clean, organized, safe, and professional culinary environment. 

Financial & Cost Control

• Assist the Executive Chef with food cost management and departmental budgeting. 
• Monitor food usage, waste, spoilage, portion control, and production levels. 
• Assist with inventory counts and reconciliation. 
• Ensure proper receiving, storage, and rotation of products. 
• Work with Purchasing and receiving teams to ensure product quality and quantity. 
• Identify opportunities to reduce waste and improve operational efficiency without compromising quality. 
• Monitor labor utilization and assist with scheduling based on business levels. 

Pre-Opening Responsibilities

• Assist the Executive Chef with the development of culinary standards and operating procedures. 
• Participate in kitchen equipment testing, commissioning, and operational readiness. 
• Assist with kitchen setup, organization, smallwares, equipment, and culinary supplies. 
• Develop recipes, prep lists, production sheets, and par levels. 
• Assist with vendor product evaluations and tastings. 
• Participate in menu tastings and culinary presentations. 
• Assist with recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding the opening culinary team. 
• Develop and execute culinary training programs prior to opening. 
• Participate in mock services, soft openings, tastings, and operational rehearsals. 
• Help establish culinary culture and standards before the hotel opens. 

Leadership Expectations

The Executive Sous Chef is expected to:

• Lead by example and maintain a visible presence in the kitchen. 
• Demonstrate professionalism, composure, and sound judgment in a high-volume environment. 
• Foster a culture of accountability, respect, teamwork, and continuous improvement. 
• Communicate effectively with Culinary, F&B, Banquets, Purchasing, Engineering, Sales, and other hotel departments. 
• Maintain a guest-focused mindset and understand the connection between culinary execution and the overall guest experience. 
• Support a culture that is authentically Japanese while locally meaningful.
• Perform other duties as assigned by management. 

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of progressive culinary experience in a hotel, resort, upscale restaurant, or comparable high-volume operation; preferably within a Japanese environment.  
• Minimum 2 years of culinary supervisory or management experience. 
• Experience supervising multiple culinary stations or outlets.
• Strong knowledge of food preparation, cooking techniques, sanitation, and kitchen operations. 
• Experience with banquet and high-volume food production. 
• Strong leadership, communication, organization, and problem-solving skills. 
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, high-volume hospitality environment. 
• Ability to work flexible schedules, including evenings, weekends, holidays, and special events. 
• Must obtain and maintain a valid Texas Food Manager Certification.

Preferred Qualifications

• Luxury, upscale, or 4-star hotel experience. 
• Experience with hotel pre-openings. 
• Japanese culinary experience or strong familiarity with Japanese cuisine and techniques. 
• Experience with menu development and recipe costing. 
• Experience managing food cost and labor budgets. 
• Culinary degree or formal culinary training. 
• Experience working with multicultural culinary teams.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods. 
• Ability to frequently bend, reach, stoop, push, pull, and lift. 
• Ability to lift and carry food products, equipment, and supplies weighing up to approximately 50 pounds. 
• Ability to work in hot, cold, wet, and humid kitchen environments. 
• Ability to safely operate or work around commercial kitchen equipment. 
• Ability to communicate effectively in a busy and noisy kitchen environment.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Work Environment

This position operates in a fast-paced, high-volume, full-service hotel environment requiring strong leadership, flexibility, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple culinary priorities simultaneously. The Executive Sous Chef spends significant time in kitchen and food production areas and must be comfortable working around heat, steam, sharp equipment, commercial cooking equipment, and extended periods of standing and walking. The position requires availability to work varying schedules based on hotel occupancy, restaurant operations, banquet events, holidays, and business demands.