What Does a Sous Chef Do? Role, Rank, and Where the Job Sits in the Kitchen

A sous chef is the second in command in a professional kitchen, directly below the head or executive chef. The title comes from the French for "under-chef." A sous chef supervises the cooks, runs the line during service, manages ordering and receiving, and stands in for the chef when the chef is away. Many employers also expect a food protection manager certification.

The job is easy to misread from the outside. People picture a senior cook with a nicer title. In practice, the sous chef is the person who makes the kitchen function from hour to hour. The head chef sets the menu, the budget and the direction. The sous chef turns that into a prepped, staffed, safe service every single night. This guide covers what the role involves, where it sits in the kitchen hierarchy, the food safety duties that come with it, and what it pays.

What does a sous chef actually do?

The work divides into four parts, and the mix depends on the size of the kitchen.

Running the line. During service, the sous chef is often the one calling tickets, expediting plates and fixing problems in real time. If a station falls behind, they step in or move people. If a dish is wrong, they catch it before it leaves the pass.

Supervising people. Sous chefs schedule cooks, train new hires, and handle the daily friction that comes with a fast, hot, understaffed kitchen. In many restaurants the sous chef is the main person who teaches line cooks and prep cooks how things are done.

Managing product. That means ordering from suppliers, checking deliveries against the order, rotating stock, and keeping waste down. A sous chef who orders badly costs the restaurant money every week.

Covering for the chef. When the executive chef takes a day off, attends a supplier meeting or works on a new menu, the sous chef runs the kitchen. Larger operations may have several sous chefs, each covering a different shift or section.

Smaller kitchens blur these lines. In a 40-seat restaurant the sous chef may also work a station, write the prep list and close the kitchen. In a hotel or large catering operation the role is more about management and less about cooking.

Where does a sous chef sit in the kitchen hierarchy?

Professional kitchens borrow a rank structure from the French brigade system. Titles vary by restaurant, but the order is usually similar.

A small restaurant may have only a chef and a sous chef above the cooks. A big hotel may have an executive chef, an executive sous chef and several junior sous chefs. The question "is a sous chef a high position?" has a simple answer: it is the first true management rung in the kitchen, and in many restaurants it is the second-highest role overall.

How is a sous chef different from a line cook?

A line cook owns a station and executes recipes. A sous chef owns the whole line and the people on it. The difference is scope and accountability.

If a line cook makes a mistake, it affects one plate. If a sous chef makes a mistake, such as approving a bad delivery or failing to catch a station that is holding food at the wrong temperature, it can affect the entire service. That is why the role carries more pay, more hours and more food safety responsibility. The line cook job description covers what the step below involves.

What food safety duties does a sous chef have?

This is the part most job descriptions skip, and it is where the role matters most for anyone studying for ServSafe.

Under the FDA Food Code, the person in charge is the individual present at a food establishment who is responsible for operations at the time. When the head chef is not in the building, the sous chef is usually that person. The Food Code expects the person in charge to be able to demonstrate knowledge of food safety, to make sure employees are trained, and to make sure rules on hygiene and illness are followed.

In practical terms, the sous chef is accountable for:

• Receiving. Checking temperatures and condition on delivery and rejecting product that fails. The receiving deliveries hub explains the checks.
• Holding and cooling. Making sure hot and cold food stays out of unsafe conditions, and that cooling is done on schedule. See the hot and cold holding and cooling and reheating hubs.
• Illness and exclusion. Deciding what happens when a cook reports vomiting, diarrhea or a fever, which the reporting illness and exclusion hub covers.
• Training. Making sure new cooks learn the rules before they handle food, which is the focus of the staff training hub.
• Inspections. Being ready to walk an inspector through the kitchen. The regulatory inspections hub explains what inspectors look for.

None of that is optional, and none of it is covered by knowing how to cook. A sous chef who is excellent on the line but weak on food safety is a liability, because the person in charge is the one the health department talks to.

Does a sous chef need a food manager certification?

There is no single national rule. The FDA Food Code recommends that the person in charge hold a certified food protection manager credential, and many states and counties adopt that requirement in some form. In those places, the requirement often applies to whoever is on duty, which means the sous chef as well as the head chef.

Even where the law does not demand it, many employers ask for it. A ServSafe Manager certification on a resume tells a hiring chef that you understand temperature control, cross-contamination, cleaning and sanitizing, and inspection standards. Our guide to the Certified Food Protection Manager credential explains what the credential is and which exams count.

The ServSafe Manager exam has 90 questions, of which 80 are scored and 10 are unscored pilot questions. It passes at 70%, which means at least 56 of the 80 scored questions. The Food Handler exam is a separate, shorter credential that passes at 75%. For pricing and current exam options, check servsafe.com, because those change from time to time. If you are deciding between the two credentials, see Manager or Handler Course?.

What does a sous chef get paid?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a separate wage figure for sous chefs. The closest category is Chefs and Head Cooks. According to O*NET OnLine, which reports Bureau of Labor Statistics data, workers in that category earned a median of $62,470 a year, or $30.03 an hour, in 2025. The 10th percentile was about $37,900 and the 90th percentile about $98,560.

Treat that as a reference point rather than a promise. Sous chefs typically earn less than the executive chef who sits in the same category, and many are paid salary rather than hourly, with long weeks built in. Job boards and salary sites publish their own sous chef figures, but those are largely self-reported by users, so use them as a rough guide only. Region, restaurant type and hours all move the number more than the national median does.

How do you become a sous chef?

Most sous chefs work their way up rather than through a single qualifying exam. A common path looks like this:

1. Start in the kitchen. Dishwasher, prep cook or line cook. The prep cook role is a common first step.
2. Master a station, then several. Sous chefs need to be able to cover any position.
3. Move into a lead role. Lead line cook or station chef, where you start training others.
4. Add a manager-level food safety credential. This is the step people skip and later regret.
5. Step up to sous chef. Usually when the current one leaves or the restaurant grows.

Culinary school can speed up the early part, but it is not required, and employers weigh experience and reliability heavily. If you want the longer view, see how to become a chef. The step above sous chef in many restaurants is the kitchen manager, and the kitchen manager job description shows how that role differs.

What this means for you

If you are a cook aiming for sous chef: get your food safety knowledge to manager level before you need it. The person in charge answers to the health inspector, and being able to say you are certified separates you from other strong cooks.

If you are hiring a sous chef: write the job posting around leadership and accountability, not only cooking. State whether a food protection manager certification is required or must be earned within a set time, and confirm what your local health department requires.

If you are already a sous chef: treat food safety as part of the job, not a chore the chef hands you. Build receiving checks, temperature logs and training into your routine, because that is what protects the kitchen when something goes wrong.

Frequently asked questions

What are the duties and responsibilities of a sous chef?

A sous chef supervises cooks, runs the line during service, orders and receives product, schedules staff and trains new hires. They also cover for the head chef when the chef is absent. In most kitchens they carry the person-in-charge duties, including temperature control, hygiene enforcement and inspection readiness.

Is a sous chef a high position?

Yes. A sous chef is the first management level in a professional kitchen and, in many restaurants, the second-highest role after the head or executive chef. Larger operations add titles above it, such as chef de cuisine, but the sous chef is still the person who runs daily service and supervises the cooks.

How much does a sous chef make?

There is no separate government figure for sous chefs. O*NET OnLine reports a median of $62,470 a year for Chefs and Head Cooks in 2025, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Sous chef pay varies by region and restaurant, and salary site figures are mostly self-reported, so treat them as rough guides.

What is the difference between a line cook and a sous chef?

A line cook owns one station and executes dishes during service. A sous chef oversees the entire line, supervises the cooks, handles ordering and receiving, and steps in for the chef. The sous chef carries more accountability, including most of the food safety duties the Food Code assigns to the person in charge.

Does a sous chef need a ServSafe certification?

It depends on your state and county, but many require a certified food protection manager on site, and the sous chef often fills that role when the chef is away. Even where it is not required by law, many employers prefer or require a ServSafe Manager certification for sous chefs.

Do you need culinary school to become a sous chef?

No. Culinary school can help, but most sous chefs work their way up from prep, line and station roles. Employers value reliability, speed and leadership, and a manager-level food safety credential, over a degree. The path is typically several years of kitchen experience before a first sous chef position.

Heading toward a kitchen leadership role? The ServSafe Manager track covers everything the manager exam tests, and the practice test shows where you stand.

Sources

• FDA Food Code 2022, including the person in charge's duties and the recommendation for certified food protection managers
• FDA: FDA Food Code overview, how states and localities adopt the Food Code
• CDC: Food Safety, foodborne illness and the practices that prevent it
• FoodSafety.gov: Keep Food Safe, temperature control and safe handling basics
• ServSafe Manager, the manager-level credential, with current options and pricing
• O*NET OnLine: Chefs and Head Cooks wages, Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data