Sous Chef at Eden Life Inc

Job Description

• As a key member of our culinary team, the Sous Chef is responsible for delivering exceptional food quality, taste, and consistency while ensuring smooth kitchen operations.
• This role blends culinary creativity with structured kitchen management, ensuring every plate served meets our standards and delights our guests.

Key Responsibilities
Food Quality & Taste:

• Ensure the quality, taste, and presentation of all meals before they leave the kitchen.
• Maintain zero-tolerance for substandard meals; ensure zero customer complaints through proactive quality control.
• Approve all dishes before they are passed to the Front of House (FOH) for service.

Menu Planning & Development:

• Collaborate with the Business Unit Lead to design seasonal menus that reflect market availability and customer preferences.
• Adjust menus to account for unforeseen ingredient shortages without compromising quality or consistency.
• Lead recipe development, testing, and documentation, ensuring recipes are scalable and cost-efficient.
• Conduct menu costing aligned with business targets and profitability goals.

Procurement & Inventory:

• Oversee and approve all food procurement with a focus on minimizing waste and ensuring freshness.
• Work closely with the Inventory Officer to forecast ingredient needs accurately.
• Implement and monitor FIFO (First In, First Out) systems to optimize ingredient usage and reduce spoilage.
• Support kitchen planning by tracking seasonal produce availability to influence procurement and menu updates.

Kitchen Operations & Process Improvement:

• Identify gaps in kitchen processes and create or refine systems that improve efficiency, quality, and consistency.
• Document and roll out updated kitchen processes to the team.
• Monitor daily food production levels to avoid overproduction and unnecessary costs.

Customer Experience & Feedback:

• Review customer feedback daily and implement systematic solutions to improve food and service.
• Create initiatives that directly address recurring complaints or quality concerns.

Team Leadership & Training:

• Supervise BOH (Back of House) and support FOH teams on plating, packing, and meal handling.
• Train kitchen staff on recipes, cooking techniques, portioning, plating standards, and hygiene protocols.
• Monitor team performance daily, ensuring adherence to kitchen processes and maintaining a healthy team culture.

Event Support & Coordination:

• Assist with menu planning, costing, staffing, and execution for special events and large-scale catering.
• Provide on-site supervision for events to ensure seamless food service.

Food Production Research & Reporting:

• Research and develop new food products to expand the menu offering.
• Maintain kitchen reports, including meal counts, procurement costs, waste levels, and team performance.
• Support kitchen capacity planning—monitoring team output, equipment utilization, and kitchen space needs.

Learning:

• Must be curious, and have a habit of independently researching and learning
• Be in the know about latest processes, ideas, techniques, in the industry
• Intentional about improving knowledge and skills of the team including new techniques
• Collaborate with Food Producer, the Homemade Business Unit Lead, Happiness Engineering, and Quality Assurance Officer to develop team learning & development plans

Team Management:

• Hold team accountable with clear and daily verbal and written feedback
• Lead Chefs, Demi Chef De Parties, and other kitchen staff
• Support and manage team and equipment resource planning (eg schedules, shifts, station assignments, etc)
• Always take growth projections into account and collaborate with the Homemade Business Unit Lead & Food Producer to plan appropriately
• Maintain culture in kitchen that's consistent with Eden's culture.

- "No jerk policy":

• Perform weekly 1:1s to maintain team pulse and support team members
• Support hiring and training of new team members
• Collaborate on and own aspects of onboarding new hires
• Manage direct reports appropriately to ensure growth and continued success.

Collaboration:

• Collaborate well with different teams (Marketing, Finance, Eden Operations, Product, Customer Success & Sales, and Engineering) in the company to achieve team goals
• Collaborate with the Facilities Manager and Operations Lead to ensure all equipment is well-maintained and always functional
• Collaborate with the Quality Assurance team to ensure execution, monitoring, and compliance with proper food handling, stellar hygiene and food safety practices
• Collaborate with the Inventory Manager to understand stock levels, projections, and track price of meals
• Collaborate with the Operations Lead to ensure Procurement is accurate and timely
• Work with Inventory, Eden Operations, Prep and QA teams to expand vendor pool, confirm new vendors as needed, and off board non performing/previous vendors.

Qualification and Experience

• Candidates should possess a Culinary Degrees in Food safety & handling, etc.
• At least 2 years relevant experience in similar role for large scale food production (at least 500 meals daily)
• Proven track record of stellar team leadership
• Strong culinary background with a passion for flavor, presentation, and food innovation.
• Experience in menu costing, recipe development, and kitchen operations.
• Knowledge of inventory management and procurement processes.
• Proven ability to lead and train kitchen teams effectively.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, ensuring consistent food quality and minimal waste.
• Ability to adapt quickly to seasonal ingredient availability and market fluctuations.

Other Requirements:

• Ability to work flexible hours, including weekends and holidays.
• Physical stamina to stand for extended periods and perform physically demanding tasks.
• Good level of computer literacy and programs
• Excellent knowledge of all sections/stations
• Ability to produce excellent high-quality food
• Good oral communication
• Team management skills: inspiring leadership
• High level of attention to detail
• Good level of numeracy
• Enthusiasm to develop your own skills and knowledge plus those around you
• Adaptability to change and willingness to embrace new ideas and processes
• Ability to work unsupervised and deliver quality work
• Positive and approachable manner
• Team player qualities.

Benefits and Perks

• N200,000 monthly (net)
• Great colleagues & an amazing work culture
• Oh, and a chance to 10x the quality of life of Nigerians!.