Job Description

Adjacent to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most-visited national park in the country, Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Spa in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, provides an amazing work environment with refreshing mountain breezes and spectacular views of the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains. As a member of the Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort team, you will meet and engage with guests who have arrived to enjoy all the Great Smoky Mountains have to offer and help them experience our world-class amenities such as the state-of-the-art Wild Bear Falls water park. As part of Westgate Resorts, recognized by U.S. News as one of the Best Companies to Work For, you’ll be joining a team committed to excellence and creating unforgettable vacation experiences and supporting your career growth where you are or at 60+ resorts across the company.

What You'll Do as a Sous Chef:

As a Sous Chef at Westgate Resorts Southern Comfort Restaurant you play a key leadership role in the resort’s culinary operations, food quality execution, team supervision, safety compliance, sanitation standards, and operational consistency across assigned outlets, kitchens, and service periods. This position is responsible for leading culinary Team Members, ensuring food is prepared and presented according to established standards, supporting menu execution, maintaining proper food handling procedures, and assisting with training, scheduling, inventory, ordering, and performance management. The Sous Chef serves as a working kitchen leader, balancing hands-on food production with supervisory and administrative responsibilities in a fast-paced, high-volume resort environment. You will demonstrate Westgate’s core values of Passion, Integrity, and Work Ethic in every interaction with guests and team members.

• Oversees the day-to-day culinary operations of assigned kitchens, outlets, banquet areas, or service periods to ensure efficient and consistent food production.
• Supervises, trains, coaches, and provides direction to Junior Sous Chefs, cooks, prep cooks, and other assigned culinary Team Members.
• Ensures food is prepared, cooked, portioned, plated, and presented according to established recipes, quality standards, portion guidelines, and brand expectations.
• Assists with menu planning, recipe execution, production planning, daily specials, banquet needs, and service preparation as directed by culinary leadership.
• Maintains compliance with food safety, sanitation, HACCP, health department, safety, security, labeling, storage, temperature, and cleanliness standards.
• Assists with inventory, ordering, receiving, product rotation, food cost control, waste reduction, and proper use of kitchen supplies and equipment.
• Maintains budgeted food cost and actively monitors labor costs, cost of goods, and other expenses.
• Responds to guest concerns, dietary requests, food quality issues, and service challenges in a professional and timely manner, escalating matters when necessary.
• Supports scheduling, staffing needs, interviewing, onboarding, performance feedback, corrective action, and performance appraisals in partnership with culinary leadership and Human Resources.
• Leads by example by maintaining professionalism, urgency, organization, cleanliness, teamwork, and adherence to company policies and department standards.
• Performs hands-on cooking, preparation, plating, carving, garnishing, and other culinary duties as needed to support business levels and operational needs.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

What You'll Bring:

• 5 years of culinary management experience in a similar role.
• Diploma from a certified Culinary Academy is preferred.
• Food Handlers Certification is required within 30 days of Hire, must be maintained in a current/valid status.
• High school diploma or general education degree GED.
• The Team Member must regularly lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
• Follow instructions without close supervision.
• Must be able to work weekends and holidays as needed.
• Required to pass a background screen, drug test, and prove eligibility to work in the United States.

If you love creating clean, welcoming spaces for guests and want to be part of a resort that values teamwork, growth, and great service. Apply today and start your Westgate adventure!

Additional Information

Why Westgate?

• Comprehensive Health Benefits – Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
• Paid Time Off – Vacation, Sick, and Personal Time to Recharge
• Paid Holidays
• 401(k) with Generous Company Match to Support Your Future
• Daily Pay – Access Your Earnings When You Need Them
• Family-Focused Benefits – Pregnancy, Parental Leave, and Adoption Assistance
• Wellness Programs to Support Your Well-Being
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Tuition Assistance to Help You Grow Your Career
• Military Leave
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – Support When You Need It Most
• Life, Disability, Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Insurance
• Pet Insurance for Your Furry Family Members
• Loyalty Program – Exclusive Discounts on Hotels, Cruises, Resorts, Restaurants, Entertainment, and More
• Low-Cost Gym Membership
• NEW! David A. Siegel Legacy Scholarship – Up to $40,000 for Team Members’ Dependents
• Career Growth and Advancement Opportunities
• Community Involvement – Give Back and Make an Impact

Westgate Resorts is an Equal Employment Opportunity employerAll qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other protected status under federal, state or local law. If you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to complete your application or any part of the recruiting process, please email WGAccommodations@wgresorts.com with the job title and the location of the position for which you are applying.

This job posting is intended to provide a general overview of the position and may not include every responsibility, duty, or qualification required. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.