Traveling Sous Chef (Culinary Assistant Project Manager)

Traveling Sous Chef

Nationwide Travel | Data Center & Remote Culinary Operations | $20/Hour + Overtime

• $20/hour + overtime
• Weekly pay
• Nationwide travel
• Approximately 30 days on assignment / 14 days off
• 12-hour shifts while deployed
• Travel and lodging provided for qualifying assignments

Take Your Culinary Career Beyond the Traditional Kitchen

Sharp Spoon Network has been retained to recruit Traveling Sous Chefs for a nationally recognized company supporting large-scale culinary operations across the United States.

This is not a traditional restaurant Sous Chef position.

You'll travel to project locations around the country and work alongside culinary leadership to operate high-volume kitchens supporting data centers, disaster response operations, remote workforces, and other large-scale projects.

The environment can change from assignment to assignment. You'll need to be comfortable walking into unfamiliar kitchens, learning new operations quickly, working with new teams, and doing whatever is necessary to keep meal service running safely and efficiently.

If you're looking for the same kitchen and the same routine every day, this probably isn't the right opportunity.

If you're a hands-on culinary leader who adapts quickly, works well under pressure, and enjoys new environments, we want to talk with you.

What You'll Do

As a Traveling Sous Chef, you'll work alongside the culinary project leader to support daily kitchen operations and help ensure food quality, safety, efficiency, and team performance.

Responsibilities may include:

• Supporting daily high-volume kitchen operations
• Supervising and working alongside cooks and kitchen assistants
• Executing established menus, recipes, and production standards
• Supporting menu execution and adapting production to operational needs
• Assisting with inventory, ordering, portion control, and food cost management
• Supporting labor management and efficient staff deployment
• Training, coaching, and developing kitchen staff
• Maintaining food safety, sanitation, and HACCP standards
• Monitoring food quality, consistency, presentation, and production
• Helping organize prep and production to meet demanding meal schedules
• Troubleshooting operational issues in unfamiliar or remote environments
• Stepping into production positions whenever needed to keep the operation moving

This is a hands-on leadership position. You should be comfortable leading a team one minute and jumping onto a station the next.

Where You May Work

Assignments vary based on client needs and may include operations supporting:

• Data centers
• Disaster response and recovery
• Remote workforce operations
• Military support
• Large-scale corporate or special projects
• Other temporary or high-volume culinary operations

Assignments may occur anywhere in the United States.

Travel & Schedule

This opportunity is designed for culinary professionals who are genuinely comfortable with significant travel.

You should be prepared for:

• Nationwide travel
• Approximately 30 days on assignment followed by 14 days off
• 12-hour shifts while deployed
• Extended periods away from home
• Hotel accommodations on many assignments
• Camp-style or remote accommodations on some projects
• Company-paid travel for qualifying assignments

Assignments, locations, and schedules vary according to operational needs.

Minimum Qualifications

Candidates must have either:

• 5+ years of professional chef experience, such as Sous Chef, Executive Sous Chef, Executive Chef, Chef de Cuisine, Kitchen Manager with significant culinary responsibility, or similar roles

OR

• 10+ years of high-volume catering, banquet, concessions, institutional foodservice, contract dining, or large-scale culinary event experience

Qualified candidates should also have demonstrated experience with:

• Food cost control, inventory management, purchasing, portion control, or waste reduction
• Labor management, including scheduling, staffing, productivity, or labor cost control
• Menu execution, menu development, recipe development, or menu implementation
• Supervising and developing cooks and other kitchen staff
• High-volume food production
• Food safety and sanitation standards
• Hands-on culinary production

Candidates must also:

• Be willing to travel nationwide for extended assignments
• Have a valid driver's license and acceptable driving record
• Have reliable transportation
• Be authorized to work in the United States
• Be able to successfully complete required background screening
• Be able to successfully complete required drug screening

Experience That Translates Well

Relevant backgrounds may include:

• Hotels and resorts
• Large-scale restaurants
• Corporate dining
• University dining
• Healthcare foodservice
• Contract dining
• Military foodservice
• Catering and banquets
• Camps and remote operations
• Concessions
• Mobile kitchens
• Task force assignments
• Restaurant openings
• High-volume special events

Who Does Well in This Role

Strong candidates tend to be:

• Hands-on leaders
• Calm under pressure
• Comfortable entering unfamiliar operations
• Able to build credibility quickly with new teams
• Organized and operationally focused
• Strong communicators
• Willing to coach and develop others
• Comfortable taking direction while also exercising sound judgment
• Flexible when assignments or operational needs change
• Willing to jump into production whenever needed

Compensation & Benefits

• $20 per hour
• Overtime for qualifying hours worked
• Weekly pay
• Travel provided for qualifying assignments
• Lodging provided during deployments
• Company-provided equipment and resources as applicable to the assignment
• Opportunity for advancement into higher-level culinary leadership positions based on performance and business needs

Because deployment schedules and hours vary, annual earnings are not guaranteed and should not be represented as a fixed annual salary.

About the Opportunity

Sharp Spoon Network has been retained to recruit qualified candidates on behalf of our client.

Selected candidates will become employees of our client, not Sharp Spoon Network.

Final compensation, overtime eligibility, benefits, travel arrangements, schedules, assignments, and other employment terms are established by the client and confirmed during the hiring process.

Apply Today

If you're an experienced culinary professional who wants to take your skills beyond a traditional restaurant environment, we'd like to hear from you.

Apply today. Qualified candidates will be contacted by a Sharp Spoon Network recruiter for a brief initial conversation about your experience and the travel requirements of the position.