Sous Chef

Accor is seeking a Sous Chef for the SLS Dubai Hotel and Residences, a luxury 5-star property that sits in Downtown Dubai as part of Ennismore under the Accor umbrella. This onsite, full-time role is ideal for someone who enjoys steering a high-end kitchen and collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to deliver exceptional guest experiences. The SLS Dubai is a striking landmark with a vast mix of hospitality spaces, including hotel rooms, apartments and branded residences spread across 75 floors, designed by Paul Bishop. It’s a place for culinary professionals who care about precision, presentation and guest delight.

In this role, you’ll step in when the Chef de Cuisine isn’t on duty, taking ownership of kitchen operations and keeping the kitchen running smoothly. You’ll support staffing decisions and training, respond to guest feedback, and help manage the department’s paperwork and budgets. You’ll participate in meetings when required by the Executive Chef and supervise the agreed standard of food service during your shift, while maintaining strong relationships with other departments and staff.

You’ll also be a hands-on leader, ensuring food preparation and presentation meet the established standards, and that all daily logs, temperatures and required paperwork align with company and government guidelines. Regularly you’ll review stock levels and mis en place, coordinate with suppliers, and take charge of ordering to keep the kitchen well supplied. The role emphasizes safety, hygiene and personal appearance, with a focus on reducing waste, controlling costs, and keeping the kitchen running in a cohesive, professional manner.

Running the kitchen during a shift

During your shift you would oversee the smooth production and service of meals, working with other departments and restaurant staff to ensure everything is ready before service begins. You’ll supervise training for new department members and make sure the kitchen operates in a hygienic, productive way, with accurate food controls and correct temperatures logged consistently. You’ll play a key part in maintaining the quality of mise en place and stock, and you’ll inform the Head Chef or Senior Sous Chef of shortages in a timely way.

Part of the day involves keeping the kitchen compliant with health and safety standards and industry regulations, and contributing to the ongoing development of the team. You’ll monitor timekeeping and attendance, while ensuring that a high standard of personal appearance and hygiene is maintained. The role also requires keeping a careful eye on wastage and pilferage, and helping to ensure that food costs stay within budgeted targets as set by the kitchen leadership.

The capabilities that count

• Experience in a guest-facing role within an upscale or lifestyle hotel, roughly one to two years.
• Comfort using computers and point-of-sale systems to access and record work information.
• A warm, gracious, and professional demeanor when interacting with guests and colleagues.
• Ability to multitask and maintain a high level of detail in a busy kitchen environment.
• Strong English communication skills, both spoken and written.
• Capacity to work independently and with others to keep the team moving smoothly.

Nice-to-haves for the pass

• Experience handling food costs and inventory control within a kitchen setting.
• Familiarity with kitchen health and safety standards and sanitation practices.
• Experience using kitchen management tools or systems similar to Oasys.

Advice for applicants

Lead your resume with your hands-on kitchen leadership in an upscale hotel setting, spotlighting how you supervised service, trained staff and contributed to safety and quality outcomes.

When you demonstrate the must-have skills, back them up with concrete results, whether it’s reducing waste, tightening stock control, or improving service timing. If you can show percentages or dollar savings tied to your decisions, include them alongside brief anecdotes from past roles.

Be ready to discuss how you would run a kitchen in the absence of the Executive Chef, including your approach to daily operations, staff coaching, handling guest feedback and coordinating with other departments to protect service quality.

Ask a practical question about the role, such as how the kitchen tracks food cost targets today and how Oasys is integrated into the daily workflow to support that management effort.