Sous Chef

You're the second-in-command of the kitchen — which means you do all the work of the head chef plus cover every station that falls apart. You develop menus, train cooks, run the line during service, and take the blame when things go wrong. When the exec chef is schmoozing at the bar, you're the one making sure 200 covers go out on time. It's a leadership role disguised as a cooking job, and the hours will make your friends forget what you look like.

What you'll actually do

• 01Run the line during service while mentally tracking every ticket, every timer, and every cook who's falling behind
• 02Taste every sauce, every special, every new dish — your palate is the last checkpoint before it hits the table
• 03Train new line cooks who think they're Gordon Ramsay after watching one season of Hell's Kitchen
• 04Cover any station that goes down — sauté, grill, pastry — because 'that's not my job' doesn't exist at your level
• 05Develop new menu items that are creative enough to impress and practical enough to execute during a 300-cover Friday
• 06Manage food costs by doing inventory counts that make your accountant friends' spreadsheets look like cave paintings
• 07Close the kitchen at midnight knowing you'll be back at 7 AM to do it all again

Career Path

Where this role sits in the bigger picture — and where it can take you.