Sous Chef of Catering and Production

The Community Foodbank of New Jersey champions healthier lifestyles and drives social and economic change. This role supports high-quality catering production, internal staff meals, emergency meal production, and mission-driven culinary programs, collaborating with cross-functional teams to develop menus, improve food quality, and strengthen production efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Assist the Executive Chef in planning, organizing, and overseeing all catering food production and execution.
• Lead the preparation, cooking, packaging, and presentation of food for on-site and off-site catering events while ensuring exceptional quality and consistency.
• Coordinate daily catering production schedules with the production kitchen to ensure efficient workflow and timely completion of all orders.
• Supervise kitchen staff, temporary employees, volunteers, and culinary trainees during catering production and event execution.
• Monitor food safety and sanitation practices to ensure compliance with ServSafe guidelines, local health department regulations, and organizational policies.
• Maintain inventory of catering-specific food, supplies, smallwares, and equipment; assist with ordering and receiving.
• Work collaboratively with the Catering Team, Production Team, and other departments to ensure successful event execution.
• Train, coach, and mentor culinary staff on production techniques, customer service, food presentation, and kitchen best practices.

Requirements

• Minimum of 8-10 years of verifiable industry experience as a Sous Chef, Kitchen Manager, or equivalent in a high-volume kitchen environment.
• Verified ServSafe Certification.
• AOS in Culinary Arts and BOS in Restaurant or Food Service Management from an accredited university preferred, or related industry experience.
• At least 5 years of related food service experience, including scratch cooking.
• Collaborative people leader with strong vision to deliver profitable business results.
• Ability to influence and inform strategic development for the function and business.
• Strong presentation skills with the ability to effectively convey ideas and solutions.
• Must be willing and able to carry bulk materials consistently, up to about 50 lbs.
• Demonstrated project management skills.
• Positive, professional communication style that supports strong interpersonal relationships with customers, the public, co-workers, and managers in alignment with CFBNJ's mission.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Wellness programs, generous sick/personal time off, and 14 paid holidays.
• Childcare resources and organization-wide engagement days for rest and reflection.
• Professional development through the Learning Lab, including workshops, online courses, and book resources.
• Tuition assistance and certificate reimbursement for job-related training.
• Peer-recognition platform (Bonusly) and employee resource groups.
• 401(k) program with a 4% company match after one year of service.

Pay

The salary range for this position is $63,982 - $86,583. The final rate may be influenced by factors such as the position's scope and responsibilities, work experience, training, job-related skills, internal equity, and market conditions.