SOUS CHEF - Boston Medical Center - Boston, MA

Job Summary

As the Sous Chef, you will play a key leadership role in supporting the daily operations of a large-scale healthcare culinary program within a 500+ bed acute care hospital. Working closely with the Executive Chef, you will oversee food production for inpatient dining, retail operations, and special events while ensuring exceptional food quality, patient satisfaction, food safety, and regulatory compliance.

This position supports a $3.5 million retail dining operation and the production of approximately 1,200 patient meals daily. The ideal candidate is a hands-on culinary leader who thrives in a fast-paced healthcare environment and is passionate about mentoring teams, driving innovation, and delivering outstanding hospitality.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with the Executive Chef to oversee daily culinary operations for patient dining, retail venues, and catering services.
• Supervise, train, and mentor a team of 4+ cooks, fostering a positive culture of accountability, professional growth, and operational excellence.
• Ensure the preparation, production, and presentation of high-quality meals that meet healthcare nutrition standards and patient satisfaction goals.
• Assist in menu planning, recipe development, and implementation of seasonal and patient-focused offerings.
• Support food cost management, inventory control, purchasing, and waste reduction initiatives.
• Maintain compliance with all food safety, sanitation, infection prevention, and regulatory standards, including HACCP and Joint Commission requirements.
• Execute catering and special event functions for hospital leadership, physicians, and community events.
• Collaborate with culinary and marketing teams to implement new dining concepts, retail promotions, and healthcare food service programs.
• Serve as a hands-on leader in the kitchen, supporting daily production and ensuring service excellence across all dining platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• Associate degree in Culinary Arts or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Progressive culinary leadership experience in healthcare, hospitals, senior living, higher education, or other high-volume food service environments.
• Experience supporting complex food service operations with multiple service points and high meal volumes.
• Knowledge of therapeutic diets, patient meal service, and healthcare food service best practices preferred.
• Experience with batch cooking, institutional food production, and large-scale menu execution.
• Strong understanding of food quality, sanitation, safety, cost controls, inventory management, and labor productivity.
• Demonstrated ability to train, coach, and develop culinary team members.
• Catering and special event experience preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Outlook, and food service management systems.
• ServSafe Certification preferred.
• Strong commitment to patient experience, customer satisfaction, and hospitality-driven service.