What are the responsibilities and job description for the Sous Chef position at Le Petit Four, The Little Oven?
What is Le Petit Four Bakery:
Le Petit Four Bakery is a French family owned bakery, it started from a small garage in 2020 and now has 1 retail location in Wellesley MA, and a beautiful Factory / Production facility in the heart of Needham MA. Using carefully-sourced ingredients from France (Flour & Butter) and making everything from scratch, Le Petit Four is committed to producing the highest quality baked goods. Le Petit Four is also known for bridging the gap between bakery and drinks. People call Le Petit Four, a trip to Paris in Bakery box!
Full Job Description:
The Sous Chef will support daily operations in our high-volume bakery production facility. This role works closely with the Head Chef and Head of Operations to oversee food preparation, production scheduling, quality control, staff supervision, sanitation, and overall kitchen organization.
This position requires strong leadership skills, bakery or pastry production experience, and the ability to work in a fast-paced production environment while maintaining the highest standards of quality, consistency, cleanliness, and teamwork.
The Sous Chef will help lead the production team, train and mentor staff, support daily production goals, and ensure that all bakery items for our retail store, catering orders, and wholesale accounts are produced efficiently and to Le Petit Four's standards.
We are Looking for Someone Who Has:
- A strong passion for baking, pastry, and high-quality food production
- Experience leading or supervising a kitchen, bakery, or production team
- A desire to teach, mentor, and support team members
- Strong communication skills and a team-first attitude
- A keen eye for quality, freshness, organization, and cleanliness
- The ability to work in a fast-paced, high-volume environment
- Flexibility to work early mornings, weekends, and holidays as needed
- Strong knowledge of food safety, sanitation, and kitchen organization
- Commercial bakery, pastry, or production kitchen experience preferred
Primary Responsibilities:
- Help manage daily bakery production operations with the Head Chef
- Ensure production goals and deadlines are met for the store, catering orders, and wholesale accounts
- Supervise, train, mentor, and support bakers, prep cooks, pastry staff, and kitchen assistants
- Teach proper techniques, time management, kitchen etiquette, food safety, and quality standards
- Communicate expectations clearly and follow up with team members to improve performance and morale
- Support hiring, training, and building strong teamwork within the kitchen
- Ensure consistent product quality, taste, appearance, portioning, and presentation
- Make sure the team follows company procedures, sanitation rules, and production standards
- Monitor ingredient usage, inventory levels, waste, and product availability
- Help manage food and cooling room temperatures and proper storage procedures
- Coordinate production schedules with management, packaging, and other departments
- Support recipe development and production improvements for efficiency and consistency
- Ensure proper use, cleaning, and maintenance of bakery equipment
- Enforce workplace safety procedures and company policies
- Step into leadership responsibilities when the Head Chef is not present
- Follow quality control procedures and check the team's completed tasks
- Keep workstations, storage areas, and kitchen equipment clean, organized, and sanitized
- Assist with kitchen opening, closing, setup, breakdown, and other side duties
- Support staff scheduling, uniform standards, and kitchen organization
- Help manage production costs, waste control, and overall efficiency
- Other duties as assigned
Essential Functions / Working Conditions:
- Strong communication and leadership skills
- Ability to work in a fast-paced production environment
- Ability to stand for 8 hours per day
- Ability to lift, move, and carry 50 lbs
- Ability to bend, grasp, reach overhead, and work around bakery equipment
- Exposure to heat, flour dust, refrigeration, and industrial kitchen equipment
- ServSafe Certification is required
Perks and Benefits:
- Competitive salary: $80,000 Base Salary $5,000 Bonus and Catering Service Fee Pooling Bonus.
- Catering Service Fee Pooling: a percentage of catering sales is pooled and redistributed to back-of-house team members quarterly as a thank you.
- 50% employer contribution to health and dental insurance for full-time team members
- 1 week paid vacation time
- Paid sick time
- 25% employee discount in our stores
- Opportunities for advancement and professional development
- Exciting potential for growth as the company continues to expand
We are looking forward to meeting you and having you contribute to this great story.
Valerie, Romain, and Michel
Salary : $80,000