Occupation
Sous chef
A sous chef runs the kitchen alongside the head chef and takes charge of service when the head chef is off. The role is hands-on: cooking on a section, checking prep, and holding the team to the recipe and hygiene standard. It is the usual bridge between cooking on the line and running a kitchen.
Also known as: Second chef · Sous-chef · Deputy head chef
Occupation content
Part of Hospitality, travel and tourism
What the work involves
- Set and check prep lists for each section before service starts.
- Cook on a station and step onto whichever section is falling behind.
- Expedite orders on the pass and check plates for consistency and temperature.
- Train cooks on recipes, knife work, and station setup.
- Record temperatures, deliveries, and cleaning checks, and flag stock problems.
- Take charge of the kitchen and of ordering when the head chef is away.
How people commonly enter
- Promotion from line cook or chef de partie after building experience across kitchen sections.
- A cook or chef apprenticeship combining paid kitchen work with technical training.
- A culinary arts certificate or college diploma followed by kitchen experience.
Typical training: Apprenticeship
Licensing: Certification common, not usually required
Pathways: Apprenticeship route
Typical work context
Fast paced · Team based · Physically active · Shift work · High responsibility
Related interests
Realistic (hands-on) · Enterprising (leading) · Artistic (creative)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
- Planning and scheduling exercises
- Multitasking and monitoring
- Safety judgment
- Management and supervisory judgment
- Attention and concentration
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Hospitality, travel and tourism.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- Canada Job Bank — career planning and occupation search (chefs) · Canada
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- US BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Chefs and Head Cooks · United States
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- O*NET OnLine — occupation quick search: sous chef · International
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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Hospitality, travel and tourism in Canada, not a figure for Sous chef. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Hospitality, travel and tourism family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Hospitality, travel and tourism: education pathways
Some roles in Hospitality, travel and tourism may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Hospitality, travel and tourism: licensing
Find jobs
These are live, user-controlled searches on each source's own site for “ Sous chef”. Novus Learn does not fetch, store, or rank these results, and job availability never changes your exploration match score.
- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
- Search EURES · European Union / EEA
- Search Indeed · International (choose location on Indeed)