Sous Chef Job Description: Template, Salary Data & Role Guide
By Billy Giordano, Co-Founder, StaffedUp
Former restaurant operator. Built StaffedUp after losing a line cook the night before a Saturday rush — and discovering that a $400/month Indeed campaign produced exactly zero hires in three months. That’s why this template exists.
Last updated: September 2026
A solid sous chef job description starts with knowing what the role actually is: the kitchen’s second-in-command, ranking directly below the head or executive chef. The sous chef runs the line, manages the kitchen team during service, holds quality standards, and steps in for the head chef when needed. At an independent full-service restaurant, a sous chef typically earns $48,000–$65,000 per year; hotel and multi-unit operations run higher. This page gives you a copy-ready template, BLS OEWS May 2025 salary benchmarks, and a plain-language answer to whether you need a sous chef or a kitchen manager.
What Is a Sous Chef? (The Role in Plain Language)
A sous chef is the second-in-command in a professional kitchen, operating directly below the head or executive chef: not a senior line cook, not a kitchen supervisor — the person who runs the room when the head chef is occupied, unavailable, or off-premise. What separates a good sous chef from a good line cook isn’t technical skill alone — it’s holding the room under pressure.
Scale matters, and most templates ignore it. At a kitchen running four or fewer cooks, the head chef typically absorbs the sous chef function; the position makes sense when the team is large enough that the head chef genuinely cannot manage service quality and kitchen leadership at once. If your head chef is on the line every night, a strong lead line cook with shift-supervisor authority may be the better next hire — lower cost, lower risk. See how this role fits the full kitchen staff hierarchy before you post.
Sous Chef Job Description Template — Copy, Paste, Customize
Copy it, edit the bracketed fields, and post it. The notes below address what operators most commonly get wrong.
[YOUR RESTAURANT NAME] — Sous Chef About Us: We're a 60-seat full-service neighborhood restaurant running 6 cooks across lunch and dinner, five days a week. We're known for scratch cooking and a collaborative kitchen. [Edit to reflect your concept.] The Role: We're looking for an experienced sous chef to be the day-to-day operational lead in our kitchen. You'll work directly under [the head chef / executive chef / chef-owner], run the line during service, manage the team, and hold our food quality and consistency standards. This is a hands-on role — you'll cook every shift. Responsibilities: • Run the line and call the pass during service • Supervise and support line cooks and prep staff each shift • Maintain food quality and presentation standards on every plate • Assist with prep lists, par levels, and minimizing waste • Help develop and execute seasonal menu changes • Train new kitchen hires and coach the team • Handle opening/closing procedures and ensure health, safety, and sanitation standards every shift • Cover the head chef's responsibilities when they are off-premise What You Need: Required: • 2–3 years in a high-volume kitchen, with 1+ year in a lead role • Ability to run a line independently and manage a team under pressure • Current food handler certification [ServSafe or equivalent — check your state and county requirements] • Availability for evenings, weekends, holidays [adjust to your schedule] Preferred: • Culinary training or degree (not required — we hire on skill) • Experience with [your POS, recipe costing software, or tool] • Familiarity with [your cuisine, e.g., scratch Southern, seasonal American] Compensation: • $[XX,000]–$[XX,000] per year, based on experience • Full-time, [X] shifts per week, averaging [X] hours • [Benefits if applicable: health, PTO, meals, parking] To Apply: [Link to your StaffedUp posting]
Three decisions operators fumble in this template:
Pay range: “Competitive compensation” is a filter — experienced sous chefs skip postings that won’t state a number. Post a range; a wide range beats nothing. Across StaffedUp postings, JDs with a salary range and shift expectations consistently pull more complete, qualified applications.
Required vs. preferred on the degree: many of the best sous chefs came up without one. If you list it as required when you mean “experienced,” you’re cutting your pool before anyone applies.
Certifications: food handler and manager requirements vary by state and county — check your local health department before listing them as required. For the full posting build, see how to write a job description that attracts the right candidates.
Want this auto-filled with your restaurant’s concept and brand voice? Run it through the free StaffedUp Job Description Generator — under a minute.
Sous Chef Duties and Responsibilities: What the Job Looks Like on the Line
The template gives you the bullet list; this is the floor reality that helps you screen. Before service, the sous chef reviews prep, identifies what’s short, and briefs the team on stations and specials. During service, they call the pass, manage ticket flow, and step onto a station when a cook is in the weeds — at an independent where the head chef also owns the business, often running service alone four nights a week. After service, closing procedures, tomorrow’s prep list, honest feedback. The quality hardest to screen for on paper — and the most important — is composure under fire. Write your JD to signal this is a leadership position, not a promotion from line cook.
Qualifications and Skills: What to Actually Require
A realistic bar for most independent full-service restaurants: 2–3 years in a professional kitchen, with at least 1 year in a lead capacity. The skills that matter in practice are harder to list:
- Composure: can they give real-time coaching to a line cook without losing the ticket?
- Consistency: do food standards hold when it’s slammed and they’re short-staffed?
- Communication: can they speak clearly across the kitchen–FOH divide without the head chef translating?
These don’t fit neatly into a qualifications bullet, but they’re what you’re actually screening for — see how to screen applicants before the interview. On the degree question, the BLS notes that chefs and head cooks typically need a high school diploma and work experience, with some attending culinary programs and others learning through kitchen experience or apprenticeships. Both paths produce excellent sous chefs; list a degree as “preferred” unless your concept requires it.
A couple of interview prompts that get at what the JD can’t: Tell me about the last time service went sideways — what did you do? How do you handle a line cook who’s consistently slow on plating? Employment-question legality varies by state — review applicable employment law or consult HR counsel before finalizing your process.
Sous Chef Salary 2026: What Operators Are Actually Paying
BLS OEWS May 2025 puts the national median for SOC 35-1011 (Chefs and Head Cooks) at $62,470 per year ($30.03/hour), ranging from $37,900 at the 10th percentile to $98,560 at the 90th. The caveat: SOC 35-1011 pools executive chefs, head chefs, sous chefs, and head cooks across restaurants, hotels, institutions, and catering, so sous chefs at independents typically sit below the midpoint. Treat it as an anchor, not a target.
| Concept Type | Typical Sous Chef Pay | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Independent full-service | $48,000–$65,000/yr | Tightest margins; depends on covers and concept |
| Casual / polished casual chain | $52,000–$68,000/yr | More defined structure; overtime varies |
| Fine dining / tasting menu | $58,000–$75,000+ | Higher pay, longer hours, exacting standards |
| Hotel / resort F&B | $60,000–$78,000+ | Structured benefits; banquet volume |
| Multi-unit / enterprise | $62,000–$80,000+ | May include bonuses; more admin load |
Ranges reflect current market conditions and vary by experience. StaffedUp operator context, anchored to the BLS OEWS May 2025 median of $62,470 (SOC 35-1011 — a pooled category; sous chefs at independents typically sit below the midpoint).
The hours reality matters. A sous chef working 50–55 hours a week at $55,000 earns roughly $19–$21 effective per hour — if you’re expecting that schedule, your posted range needs to reflect it. The BLS also projects employment of chefs and head cooks to grow 7% from 2024 to 2034, faster than average, so competition for experienced sous chefs will intensify.
Sous Chef vs. Kitchen Manager: Which Role Do You Actually Need?
This question should come before the posting, and few JD resources answer it directly. The honest breakdown:
| Factor | Sous Chef | Kitchen Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Culinary — food quality, technique, line execution | Operational — labor cost, inventory, compliance, scheduling |
| Cooks on shift? | Yes — daily, often every shift | Sometimes — depends on concept and team size |
| Menu involvement? | Yes — helps develop and execute | Limited to none — executes the existing menu |
| Best fit for… | Kitchens where food quality is the differentiator | Kitchens where efficiency and cost control are the priority |
The clean distinction: a sous chef is a culinary leader; a kitchen manager is an operational leader. At many independents, one person does both under a single title — so be honest in the posting about which half takes priority. When you need both and can’t afford both, create a hybrid role and say which responsibilities come first; candidates excellent at one are often just adequate at the other.
What Makes a Sous Chef Job Description Fail (And How to Fix It)
When we built StaffedUp, we reviewed hundreds of kitchen postings that couldn’t pull qualified applicants. The most common problem wasn’t the platform — it was a posting written for a hotel chain describing a job at a 70-seat neighborhood restaurant, and experienced candidates recognized the mismatch before they hit apply.
| The mistake | What it signals | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| “Competitive compensation,” no range | You don’t know the market, or won’t say | Post a range. A wide range beats nothing. |
| Hotel-brigade duties in an independent posting | You’ve never run a neighborhood kitchen | Edit for your scale. A 5-cook team needs no tournant. |
| No shift or schedule specifics | Candidates assume the worst | State the exact schedule. |
| Degree required for a working sous chef | Screening for credentials, not skill | Use “preferred” unless you mean it. |
| “Passion for food” as a qualification | It screens for nothing | Cut it. Every applicant claims it. |
Marisol V. of Seasonal Bar & Grill went from 60 applications down to 5 that actually wanted to work after switching to StaffedUp. The JD quality drove the right applicants in; screening did the rest.
Ready to Post? Build Your Sous Chef JD Faster
You now have a copy-ready template, a salary table, and a decision framework for sous chef versus kitchen manager. The next step is getting it in front of applicants who are available, within your radius, and completed the application. StaffedUp posts to major job boards from one place, and operators using it see 8x more applicants, 77% shorter time-to-hire, and 45% decreased turnover — StaffedUp platform data.
Post your sous chef role
Post your first job for $1. It goes live in under 3 minutes from your phone — no setup call, no demo, no contract, cancel in-app. A qualified applicant in your inbox within 24 hours, or you pay nothing — the charge reverses automatically. “Qualified” means meets your criteria, available for your hours, within your radius, and completed the application. After the first post, it’s $29/month for unlimited active listings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a sous chef do on a daily basis?
A sous chef runs the line and calls the pass during service, manages the kitchen team shift-to-shift, and steps in for the head chef when needed — prep review and a team briefing before service, ticket flow and coaching during, closing procedures and tomorrow’s prep list after.
What is the difference between a sous chef and a kitchen manager?
A sous chef is primarily a culinary leader — on the line, overseeing food quality. A kitchen manager is primarily an operational leader — labor cost, inventory, scheduling, compliance. At many independents, one person holds both under a combined title; the choice depends on which gap hurts your kitchen more.
How much does a sous chef make per year?
At an independent full-service restaurant, typically $48,000–$65,000 per year; hotel, resort, and multi-unit operations generally pay $60,000–$78,000 or higher. The BLS OEWS May 2025 national median for the broader Chefs and Head Cooks category (SOC 35-1011) is $62,470 ($30.03/hour) — sous chefs at independents typically sit below that midpoint.
What qualifications does a sous chef need?
Most operators look for 2–3 years in a professional kitchen, with at least 1 year in a supervisory or lead role. Demonstrated ability to run a line independently and manage a team under pressure matters more than formal credentials at most independents. Food handler certification is typically required, though requirements vary by state and county.
Does a sous chef need a culinary degree?
No — not at most restaurants. A degree signals structured training but doesn’t predict how someone performs on a Friday night when two cooks call out. The BLS notes chefs and head cooks typically need a high school diploma and work experience. List a degree as “preferred” unless your concept genuinely requires it.
What’s the best way to try StaffedUp for a sous chef opening?
Post your sous chef job for $1 at staffedup.com/hire. It goes live in under 3 minutes from your phone — no setup call, no demo, no contract. A qualified applicant in your inbox within 24 hours, or you pay nothing: the charge reverses automatically. After the first post, it’s $29/month for unlimited active listings.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — SOC 35-1011, Chefs and Head Cooks. National median $62,470/year ($30.03/hour); P10–P90 $37,900–$98,560. bls.gov/oes.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Chefs and Head Cooks. Projected growth 7%, 2024–2034. The OOH median ($60,990, May 2024) reflects an earlier release than the OEWS May 2025 median cited above; both are official BLS data from different collection periods. bls.gov/ooh.
- StaffedUp platform data: 8x more applicants, 77% shorter time-to-hire, 45% decreased turnover (internal aggregate).
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