Sous Chef

The shipboard Sous Chef plays a crucial role in supporting the culinary leadership and daily operations of our culinary programming. This position assists in overseeing kitchen operations, ensuring exceptional quality and innovative dining experiences that reflect Four Seasons' commitment to excellence. 

The Sous Chef's primary responsibility is to help deliver outstanding food quality and service while supporting the development of the culinary team through mentorship and collaboration. Working closely with the Chef de Cuisine and other culinary leaders is essential to implement innovative culinary concepts, manage food preparation, and uphold the highest standards of service and hygiene. 

DESIRED SKILLS

Team Support and Development: 

Assist in inspiring and leading a diverse culinary team, ensuring effective communication and alignment with Four Seasons' brand standards. 

Participate in training programs to enhance culinary skills and uphold high performance standards. 

Guest Experience Focus: 

Help ensure all dining experiences meet guest expectations by providing attentive service and personalized touches. 

Support strategies to enhance the overall dining experience, addressing feedback and resolving issues as they arise. 

Operational Support : 

Aid in managing daily culinary operations, ensuring coordination between kitchen and service staff for prompt and consistent food service. 

Maintain kitchen operations adhering to cleanliness, efficiency, and safety standards. 

Menu and Concept Execution: 

Collaborate with the culinary team to prepare innovative menus that reflect current trends and cater to diverse dietary preferences. 

Assist in reviewing and updating menu offerings based on guest feedback and seasonal ingredients. 

Quality Assurance : 

Uphold high standards of food quality and presentation, ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations. 

Conduct regular checks to maintain hygiene standards and address any potential issues. 

Team Collaboration: 

Work collaboratively with other departments to ensure seamless integration of food and beverage services within the overall yacht operations. 

Participate in team meetings to align culinary strategies with broader yacht objectives. 

A Culinary Arts Degree or relevant certifications is preferred, but not mandatory. Advanced certifications in food safety or related areas are considered a plus. 

Minimum of 3-5 years in food and beverage operations, with at least 1-2 years in a supervisory culinary role. Experience in luxury hospitality or yacht/cruise line operations is preferred.

Strong communication skills and proficiency in English are essential. Familiarity with food and beverage operational systems is a must.

Experience in a Michelin Star restaurant or hotel is advantageous. 

Willingness to live and work onboard the Yacht for extended periods, with travel to various international

Assist in overseeing culinary operations, ensuring smooth coordination between kitchen and service staff for high-quality service.

Maintain consistent food quality adhering to Four Seasons' brand standards. 

Adopt and implement the Four Seasons standards of luxury service, which include attentiveness, generosity, and genuine heart hospitality.

Emphasize the importance of intuitive, customized service, ensuring our guests feel special. 

Foster a service culture that emphasizes personalized attention, ensuring that each Yacht guest feels valued and recognized.

Utilize guest preferences and past interactions to tailor dining experiences and enhance satisfaction. 

Continuously train crew to engage with guests proactively, offering personalized recommendations and accommodating specific requests, thus creating memorable and individualized dining experiences.

Embrace the principle of intuitive service, where team members are trained to anticipate and respond to guest needs before, they are expressed.

This includes recognizing cues and preferences and addressing them in advance to enhance overall satisfaction. 

Monitor guest feedback and review survey results to assess satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. 

Glitch Recovery-address and resolve guest complaints or issues promptly, ensuring a positive and memorable experience. 

Ensure all culinary and stewarding crew are thoroughly trained in maritime safety procedures and SOLAS regulations, including emergency response protocols and evacuation procedures. 

Conduct regular safety drills and training sessions to keep crew updated on safety practices and ensure readiness in case of emergencies. 

In partnership with the Yacht's marine team, comply and reinforce emergency procedures for food and beverage areas, including actions to take during drills and real-life emergencies. 

Ensure that all food and beverage service and galley areas are equipped with necessary safety equipment, including fire extinguishers, first aid kits, crew PPE, and emergency lighting. 

Partner with Inventory team to conduct quality inspections for provisions and supplies delivered to the Yacht "spot checks."

Collaborate with the procurement and logistics teams to verify that all food and beverage items are received in best condition, addressing any discrepancies or issues at once. 

Ensure that all provisioning processes are followed, from unloading to storage and preparation, adhering to best practices for food safety and hygiene, mitigating any risks related to contamination or spoilage. 

Ensure meticulous attention to detail in every aspect of the dining experience, from the presentation and execution of dishes to the ambiance of the dining rooms.

This includes maintaining impeccable cleanliness and organizing settings to reflect Four Seasons' standards. 

Regularly review and refine service procedures to ensure that every detail contributes to a seamless dining experience. 

Math Ability-able to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals. 

Reasoning Ability-ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral or in diagram form.

Ability to deal with problem involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. 

Work Environment & Physical Demands: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions for this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. 

While performing the duties of this job the employee is regularly required to stand, use hands to finger, handle or feel; Reach with hands and arms; Talk, hear and smell. 

The employee must be able to lift or move up to 55 pounds (25 kilograms) without assistance, to bend, climb, perform repetitive motion and repetitively heavy lift. 

Vision requirements: 

Ability to adjust focus, depth perception, peripheral vision, distance vision and close vision and to be able to otherwise perform the essential functions of the

job in a manner that does not present danger to the employee or others or without a reasonable accommodation.