Sous Chef – Leadership Track (Growth to Executive Chef)

Iacofano's Catering & Events is a distinguished catering company renowned for delivering exceptional culinary experiences across multiple markets. Known for its commitment to quality, consistency, and outstanding service, Iacofano's has earned a prestigious reputation in the food service industry, particularly in catering and events. The company prides itself on fostering a dynamic culture that values leadership, innovation, and career growth. As it continues to expand, Iacofano's is dedicated to investing in its team, supporting employee development, and maintaining high standards of operational excellence.

Currently, Iacofano's Catering & Events is seeking a motivated and experienced Sous Chef to join their leadership track for their Charlotte operation. This is a full-time, hands-on leadership role that offers a competitive starting pay ranging from $24 to $28 per hour based on experience, along with comprehensive benefits that include a 401(k) with a company match, health, dental, and vision insurance, holiday pay at time and a half, free employee meals, and overtime opportunities. This position offers a consistent leadership role within a growing catering business and provides a clear career path to executive chef and multi-unit leadership roles.

The Sous Chef – Leadership Track role involves supporting daily kitchen operations by leading production teams, ensuring the highest standards in food quality, consistency, and presentation, and playing a pivotal role in training and developing kitchen staff at various levels. This role is critical not only to the day-to-day success of the Charlotte kitchen but also to the long-term growth of the company as it builds a bench of future leaders. The successful candidate will work closely with management to implement and maintain systems, processes, and operational standards that help sustain the company's growth and reputation.

This position primarily operates out of the Charlotte kitchen but includes occasional travel, typically once per quarter, to support other kitchen locations. Travel responsibilities involve assisting with training, team development, maintaining consistency across operations, and providing support during high-volume events or expansions. This opportunity is ideal for someone who aspires to grow into a chef role with significant leadership responsibilities but without the demands of full-time travel.

Key responsibilities include leading kitchen teams during all shifts, assisting with scheduling, prep planning, and production execution, supporting quality assurance and logistics coordination, and ensuring the kitchen environment is clean, organized, and efficient. Strong leadership and team development skills, high accountability, excellent communication abilities, and a capacity to thrive under pressure are prerequisites. Candidates must be detail-oriented, organized, and committed to continuous learning and growth in the culinary field.

The Iacofano’s Sous Chef role is distinguished by its focus on leadership development beyond typical kitchen management. Those hired will have the opportunity to contribute directly to the company’s expansion and success, gain experience building effective teams, and enhance operational systems. This position offers long-term career advancement potential, including progression toward executive chef positions and multi-unit management.