Sous Chef at Eden Life Inc.

Eden Life Inc is a tech-enabled service that puts your home's chores on autopilot. At Eden, our mission is to 10x the quality of life in Africa by automating chores so they never have to bother about them again. To do this, we start in our own community by creating an open, inclusive, and diverse organization. You are welcome at Eden for who you are, no matter where you come from or what you look like. Our services are for everyone, and so is our workplace.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Sous Chef

Location: Lagos
Report to: Homemade Business Unit Lead

Job Description

• As a key member of our culinary team, the Sous Chef is responsible for delivering exceptional food quality, taste, and consistency while ensuring smooth kitchen operations.
• This role blends culinary creativity with structured kitchen management, ensuring every plate served meets our standards and delights our guests.

Key Responsibilities
Food Quality & Taste:

• Ensure the quality, taste, and presentation of all meals before they leave the kitchen.
• Maintain zero-tolerance for substandard meals; ensure zero customer complaints through proactive quality control.
• Approve all dishes before they are passed to the Front of House (FOH) for service.

Menu Planning & Development:

• Collaborate with the Business Unit Lead to design seasonal menus that reflect market availability and customer preferences.
• Adjust menus to account for unforeseen ingredient shortages without compromising quality or consistency.
• Lead recipe development, testing, and documentation, ensuring recipes are scalable and cost-efficient.
• Conduct menu costing aligned with business targets and profitability goals.

Procurement & Inventory:

• Oversee and approve all food procurement with a focus on minimizing waste and ensuring freshness.
• Work closely with the Inventory Officer to forecast ingredient needs accurately.
• Implement and monitor FIFO (First In, First Out) systems to optimize ingredient usage and reduce spoilage.
• Support kitchen planning by tracking seasonal produce availability to influence procurement and menu updates.

Kitchen Operations & Process Improvement:

• Identify gaps in kitchen processes and create or refine systems that improve efficiency, quality, and consistency.
• Document and roll out updated kitchen processes to the team.
• Monitor daily food production levels to avoid overproduction and unnecessary costs.

Customer Experience & Feedback:

• Review customer feedback daily and implement systematic solutions to improve food and service.
• Create initiatives that directly address recurring complaints or quality concerns.

Team Leadership & Training:

• Supervise BOH (Back of House) and support FOH teams on plating, packing, and meal handling.
• Train kitchen staff on recipes, cooking techniques, portioning, plating standards, and hygiene protocols.
• Monitor team performance daily, ensuring adherence to kitchen processes and maintaining a healthy team culture.

Event Support & Coordination:

• Assist with menu planning, costing, staffing, and execution for special events and large-scale catering.
• Provide on-site supervision for events to ensure seamless food service.

Food Production Research & Reporting:

• Research and develop new food products to expand the menu offering.
• Maintain kitchen reports, including meal counts, procurement costs, waste levels, and team performance.
• Support kitchen capacity planning—monitoring team output, equipment utilization, and kitchen space needs.

Learning:

• Must be curious, and have a habit of independently researching and learning
• Be in the know about latest processes, ideas, techniques, in the industry
• Intentional about improving knowledge and skills of the team including new techniques
• Collaborate with Food Producer, the Homemade Business Unit Lead, Happiness Engineering, and Quality Assurance Officer to develop team learning & development plans

Team Management:

• Hold team accountable with clear and daily verbal and written feedback
• Lead Chefs, Demi Chef De Parties, and other kitchen staff
• Support and manage team and equipment resource planning (eg schedules, shifts, station assignments, etc)
• Always take growth projections into account and collaborate with the Homemade Business Unit Lead & Food Producer to plan appropriately
• Maintain culture in kitchen that's consistent with Eden's culture.

- "No jerk policy":

• Perform weekly 1:1s to maintain team pulse and support team members
• Support hiring and training of new team members
• Collaborate on and own aspects of onboarding new hires
• Manage direct reports appropriately to ensure growth and continued success.

Collaboration:

• Collaborate well with different teams (Marketing, Finance, Eden Operations, Product, Customer Success & Sales, and Engineering) in the company to achieve team goals
• Collaborate with the Facilities Manager and Operations Lead to ensure all equipment is well-maintained and always functional
• Collaborate with the Quality Assurance team to ensure execution, monitoring, and compliance with proper food handling, stellar hygiene and food safety practices
• Collaborate with the Inventory Manager to understand stock levels, projections, and track price of meals
• Collaborate with the Operations Lead to ensure Procurement is accurate and timely
• Work with Inventory, Eden Operations, Prep and QA teams to expand vendor pool, confirm new vendors as needed, and off board non performing/previous vendors.

Qualification and Experience

• Candidates should possess a Culinary Degrees in Food safety & handling, etc.
• At least 2 years relevant experience in similar role for large scale food production (at least 500 meals daily)
• Proven track record of stellar team leadership
• Strong culinary background with a passion for flavor, presentation, and food innovation.
• Experience in menu costing, recipe development, and kitchen operations.
• Knowledge of inventory management and procurement processes.
• Proven ability to lead and train kitchen teams effectively.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, ensuring consistent food quality and minimal waste.
• Ability to adapt quickly to seasonal ingredient availability and market fluctuations.

Other Requirements:

• Ability to work flexible hours, including weekends and holidays.
• Physical stamina to stand for extended periods and perform physically demanding tasks.
• Good level of computer literacy and programs
• Excellent knowledge of all sections/stations
• Ability to produce excellent high-quality food
• Good oral communication
• Team management skills: inspiring leadership
• High level of attention to detail
• Good level of numeracy
• Enthusiasm to develop your own skills and knowledge plus those around you
• Adaptability to change and willingness to embrace new ideas and processes
• Ability to work unsupervised and deliver quality work
• Positive and approachable manner
• Team player qualities.

Benefits and Perks

• N200,000 monthly (net)
• Great colleagues & an amazing work culture
• Oh, and a chance to 10x the quality of life of Nigerians!

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online