A Sous Chef hands on and actively involved in the day-to-day running of the kitchen. Sous chefs fill in as leaders for the head chef, and get involved in preparing food like station chefs when needed.
— New Gastropub Concept, Westside LA A modern gastropub on the Westside is looking for a sous chef with creative ambition. The concept blends Eastern European soul food with California market-driven ingredients, house fermentation, and a late-night bar food program. A respected consulting chef is building the menu and systems over the next month. You'd work alongside them from day one — learning the concept, absorbing the techniques, and preparing to own the creative direction of the kitchen after the handoff. This isn't a job where you execute someone else's menu forever. This is a six-month path to chef de cuisine for the right person. What you'd walk into: A 180-seat restaurant with two patios, two bars, and a full liquor license A new menu concept being developed by a consulting chef with serious LA credentials An experienced kitchen manager who runs the line and manages operations — you won't be doing schedules and inventory, you'll be creating Ownership with 25+ years of restaurant experience who understands food and respects the kitchen A fermentation program, a farmers market account, and a no-seed-oil kitchen What you'd do: Work alongside the consulting chef during menu development — learn every dish, every technique, every system After the handoff, own the creative direction — seasonal specials, monthly rotating menus, new dishes, farmers market sourcing Build and maintain the fermentation program — sauerkraut, pickles, kvass, fermented hot sauce, house mustard Develop the late-night bar food menu — smash burgers, street food, bar snacks from a patio food cart Source ingredients from the Santa Monica Farmers Market and local vendors Maintain recipe cards, plating standards, and food cost targets for every dish Train and lead line cooks who are experienced but not classically trained — you teach by doing, not by yelling Hit 26-28% blended food cost without cutting corners — you think in dollars per plate, not just flavor What we're looking for: 2-4 years on the line at restaurants you're proud of — farm-to-table, gastropub, ethnic, anything with soul You have ideas. Lots of them. And you've been waiting for a kitchen that wants to hear them Farmers market sourcing is second nature — you know what's in season and you build around it Fermentation knowledge or genuine obsession — if you make hot sauce or pickles at home, tell us about it You can run a station on a busy Friday and still plate food that looks great You're organized — your prep lists are tight, your walk-in is clean, your mise is set before service You can communicate with a kitchen team that speaks primarily Spanish You don't need the title right now — you need the opportunity What we offer: $55,000-62,000 to start A clear path to chef de cuisine within six months based on performance Real creative ownership — your specials go on the menu, your ferments go on the table, your ideas shape the concept A consulting chef who will teach you everything they know during the first month A concept that doesn't exist anywhere else — your name on something genuinely original No seed oils. No shortcuts. No corporate BS. A kitchen that does things from scratch because that's the only way worth doing them No recruiters.
