Field Sous Chef

Proudly serving Sororities and Fraternities, Upper Crust Food Service is known for freshness, quality, variety, and excellent customer service. Upper Crust Food Service began with a vision to solve a problem that many Fraternity and Sorority houses face.  That problem is a lack of consistency and professionalism in the kitchen.  With a focus on great food and personal service, we’ve remained true to our roots. Today, the chefs of Upper Crust Food Service prepare tens of thousands of meals weekly for students across the country.

Position Summary

permanent Chef base

The Field Sous Chef is a campus-wide culinary role that provides agile daily coverage across every house on a qualifying

campus and serves as the on-campus bench for permanent Chef openings. Rather than holding a single house assignment,

the Field Sous Chef rotates across the campus portfolio — covering chef absences, supporting high-volume service and

special events, and building working familiarity with every house's team, clients, and kitchen. That familiarity positions them

as the leading internal candidate when a permanent Chef vacancy opens. Promotion is triggered by a vacancy, not a tenure

clock; upon promotion, the Field Sous Chef moves into a permanent house with full menu ownership and a dedicated team.

Key Responsibilities

• Daily coverage & service execution — Take daily assignments from the Area Manager or Ops Coordinator and arrive

ready to lead service. When covering an absent Chef, execute the house's planned menu to the standard its clients

expect, managing prep coordination, station setup, food safety compliance, and day-of logistics with the front-of-house

team.

• Cross-house rotation — Rotate across all houses on campus, building relationships with each team and learning each

kitchen's equipment, inventory systems, vendors, and service cadence. Document insights across houses to inform

campus-wide best practices.

• Prep, events & onboarding support — On coverage-light days, provide pre-service prep at high-volume houses, support

new-house onboarding, and execute special events (philanthropies, recruitment events, formal dinners).

• Development & promotion readiness — Complete structured shadow time with senior chefs, participate in semi-annual

development reviews with the Area Manager, and build a portfolio of menu concepts, costed recipes, and service plans

in preparation for independent menu ownership.

Qualifications • Required — Culinary degree or equivalent professional kitchen experience; 3+ years in a professional kitchen with at least 1 year at the Sous Chef level; demonstrated ability to execute another chef's menu to standard; strong food safety knowledge (ServSafe certification or ability to obtain within 60 days); flexibility to work across multiple kitchens on short notice, including early mornings, evenings, and occasional weekends; strong interpersonal skills and the ability to integrate quickly into established teams. • Preferred — High-volume residential, hospitality, or institutional food service experience; menu design, recipe costing, and inventory management; exposure to dietary accommodation programs (allergen management, religious and lifestyle diets). • Physical requirements — Ability to stand for extended periods in a commercial kitchen, lift up to 50 lbs, and travel reliably between houses on the assigned campus. What Makes This Role Different This is not a backup position or a temporary assignment — it is a structured entry point into the Upper Crust culinary team at our highest-density campuses, deliberately designed as the pipeline to permanent Chef roles. The tradeoff is clear: in the float role, daily variety, broad campus exposure, and structured development toward Chef readiness; upon promotion, the stability of a single house, full menu ownership, and a dedicated team.