Chef Instructor, Savory (Sur La Table)

About the role

With over 58 stores and the largest avocational cooking program in the US, Sur La Table offers an unsurpassed selection of exclusive and premium-quality goods for the kitchen and table – and the culinary expertise and inspiration to go along with it. As a Chef Instructor, Savory at Sur La Table, you are the in-store expert and advocate for all things savory cooking.

Responsibilities

The Chef Instructor, Savory plays a key role in inspiring a love for cooking while driving sales of cookware, cutlery, and kitchen tools through hands-on savory classes and engaging culinary instruction.

• Represent Sur La Table’s brand and culture by creating memorable, educational experiences that inspire repeat visits and customer loyalty.
• Deliver exceptional in-store culinary experiences focused on savory cooking classes that reflect Sur La Table’s passion for food, teaching, and high standards, while following provided recipes and game plans to ensure consistency and quality.
• Communicate technical cooking concepts and savory techniques in a clear, encouraging, and approachable manner.
• Maintains expertise by staying current on products, actively engaging in available training, and independently seeking out additional resources.
• Drive sales by upholding kitchen standards, encouraging second class sign-ups through strong customer engagement, and promoting retail items used or featured in class.
• Deliver class revenue goals by ensuring high enrollment, positive reviews, and guest return rates.
• Assist in setting up and breakdown of classes including organizing mise en place, prepping ingredients, and cleaning workstations.
• Clean and sanitize dishes and equipment promptly to ensure smooth kitchen operations.
• Assist with restocking, organizing, and maintaining kitchen supplies and tools to support overall store readiness.
• Ensure compliance with food safety standards, local health codes, and sanitation regulations.
• Properly handle all tools, ingredients, and kitchen equipment to maintain a safe and efficient work environment.

Qualifications

The following qualifications are required for the position:

• Must be 21 years of age or older at the time of employment.
• A degree in culinary arts is preferred; however, candidates with extensive culinary experience and demonstrated technical proficiency will be considered in lieu of formal education.
• 1-2 years of kitchen operations experience.
• Valid Food Manager Certification.
• Excellent communication, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Passion for community engagement and providing exceptional customer experiences.

Skills

The following skills are required for the position:

• Ability to communicate verbally and work cooperatively with associates and customers.
• Ability to remain standing for up to 4 hours at a time.
• Ability to move about the store directing class participants while selling to customers and retrieving merchandise from stockroom or sales floor.
• Ability to accurately perceive and differentiate variations in intensity or quality of flavors or odors, or to identify specific tastes or scents using the tongue or nose.
• Ability to grab, reach, push, pull, bend, stoop, kneel and crouch to demonstrate, retrieve and/or replenish merchandise and/or cooking equipment.
• Ability to use hands to seize, hold, grasp, turn, or otherwise to chop, whisk, slice, stir, juice and/or demonstrate other techniques.
• Ability to lift and/or move merchandise weighing up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to ascend/descend ladders to retrieve and/or move merchandise.
• Ability to operate a computer, POS system, keyboards, merchandise scanners and mouse to accomplish work.

Schedule

Available to work between 12 and 16 hours per week, with a flexible schedule, including nights, weekends, and holidays. While this is the minimum availability, scheduled hours may differ based on business needs. Regular and predictable attendance with the flexibility to adjust class assignments based on demand.