Sous Chef Commissary

12-Month Contract

Position Summary

Summerhill Market is seeking an experienced culinary operations professional to lead a strategic initiative focused on recipe management, production standardization, food costing, nutrition compliance, labour optimization, and operational data integrity within our Guac platform. This is not a traditional project management role. We are looking for an individual with deep experience in high-volume food production who understands the realities of running a busy commissary and prepared foods operation. The successful candidate will combine culinary expertise, production knowledge, operational discipline, and project leadership skills to ensure our recipes, processes, labour standards, nutrition information, and costing data accurately reflect how our business operates. The Project Lead will work closely with Culinary, Production, Operations, Quality Assurance, Finance, and IT teams to validate and optimize approximately 350 prepared food items while establishing sustainable processes and standards for the future.

Key Responsibilities

Recipe & Production Validation

• Review, validate, and standardize approximately 350 recipes and production items.
• Ensure recipes accurately reflect production methods, yields, ingredient usage, labour requirements, and quality standards.
• Document receiving, preparation, cooking, cooling, packaging, and finishing processes.
• Develop and maintain standardized recipe books and production documentation.
• Validate that recipes can be consistently executed in a high-volume production environment.

Culinary Operations & Workflow Analysis

• Spend significant time on the production floor observing and understanding kitchen workflows.
• Evaluate production sequencing, labour allocation, and process efficiency.
• Identify bottlenecks, inconsistencies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Ensure production processes align with quality, food safety, labour, and operational objectives.
• Partner with culinary and production teams to implement best practices.

Guac System Management

• Lead the migration and validation of recipe and production information from existing systems into Guac.
• Ensure all recipe, costing, labour, and nutrition information is accurate and maintained.
• Support implementation of production standards and reporting tools within Guac.
• Maximize utilization of recipe management, nutrition, costing, labour, and production functionality.

Costing, Nutrition & Compliance

• Validate recipe costing, yields, and ingredient specifications.
• Ensure nutrition information and product labels are accurate and compliant.
• Support nutritional analysis and coordination with external laboratory services as required.
• Develop processes that maintain data accuracy and regulatory compliance.

Labour & Operational Efficiency

• Assess labour standards and production requirements.
• Evaluate labour utilization and productivity opportunities.
• Ensure recipes and production standards reflect realistic labour requirements.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives focused on efficiency, consistency, and scalability.

Project Leadership

• Develop and manage project timelines, priorities, and milestones.
• Coordinate stakeholders across multiple departments.
• Provide regular updates and recommendations to leadership.
• Drive accountability and ensure project objectives are achieved.

Qualifications

Required Experience

• 10+ years of experience in culinary operations, commissary production, food manufacturing, or high-volume prepared foods environments.
• Experience as a Chef, Sous Chef, Production Chef, Culinary Operations Manager, or similar leadership role.
• Strong understanding of large-batch food production and manufacturing principles.
• Proven experience developing, executing, and standardizing recipes in a commercial production environment.
• Strong understanding of food costing, labour planning, yields, and inventory management.
• Experience managing projects or operational improvement initiatives.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• Experience with recipe management or food production software platforms.
• Knowledge of nutrition analysis and food labeling regulations.
• Food safety program experience.
• Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, or Operational Excellence experience.
• Experience within prepared foods, commissary, grocery retail, or specialty food manufacturing environments.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate understands the complete journey of a recipe from receiving ingredients through production and ultimately to the customer. They have a deep understanding of:

• Kitchen workflow and production sequencing
• High-volume batch production
• Food quality and consistency standards
• Food safety and regulatory compliance
• Labour planning and workforce utilization
• Yield management and waste reduction
• Production efficiency and scalability
• Recipe development and standardization
• Costing and margin management

This individual is highly detail-oriented and naturally questions processes, recipes, labour assumptions, yields, and costing data to ensure information is accurate and meaningful. They are comfortable rolling up their sleeves, spending time on the production floor, working alongside culinary teams, and translating operational realities into sustainable systems and processes.

Success Measures

At the conclusion of the project, success will include:

• Standardization and validation of all priority recipes and production items.
• Accurate recipe costing, labour standards, and nutrition information within Guac.
• Improved food label accuracy and compliance.
• Clearly documented production standards and procedures.
• Enhanced operational efficiency and consistency.
• Sustainable governance processes for ongoing recipe and data management.

Location

Summerhill Market Commissary

Term

Full-Time, 12-Month Contract with the possibility of extension and potential permanent employment.

Why Join Us?

This role represents a unique opportunity to shape the future of Summerhill Market's culinary operations by building the foundation for accurate, scalable, and efficient production systems that support our commitment to quality, innovation, and operational excellence.