Career profile - Junior Sous Chef

Junior Sous Chef

Lisa is a Junior Sous Chef in the Link Kitchen and has been working at Eden since October 2002.

 

What does a Junior Sous Chef do?

As the Junior Sous Chef based in the Link Kitchen I oversee operations in the Zzub Zzub café, the Pasty outlet and the Mediterranean Restaurant. My job is to assist the Head Chef with the general management of everybody in the Link Kitchen and to be in charge of running the kitchen operations. I am also responsible for ensuring that all the orders and deliveries are correct, that the quality of the product we put out to sell is up to our standards and that the standard of food hygiene is up to the highest possible level.

I oversee everyone in the kitchen from the Senior Chef de Partie, to the Commis Chefs and Kitchen Porters. It is my responsibility to ensure that all these people are doing what they should be doing and have everything they need to do their jobs properly. I try to address any issues that the kitchen staff have, but if there are any issues I can’t deal with myself, I can pass them on to the Head Chef. It is great to have that support because it allows me to spend my time overseeing the kitchen and not get too over-involved in staff issues.

My role is very hands on and practical and when we are short staffed I roll up my sleeves and get involved with the food preparation and cooking. This is good because everyone in the kitchen can see me getting involved and not just hovering around telling them what to do. We have a great team and everybody is equally important, regardless of their position.

 

Do you enjoy your role?

I do! It can be really challenging at times, but it is a really good job. The thing I enjoy the most is the fact that every day is so different, depending on how much we sell and the things that we have to resolve within the team. You know you’ll never be bored and never get stuck in a rut of knowing exactly what is going to happen every day. Things are always changing here, the menus change, the site changes and the quantity of visitors is different every day. It’s a very interesting role and there are lots of things that I have learnt here.

I’ve been here for six or seven years and have worked in a couple of different catering departments. The Link is definitely my favourite place to work, because I like the lunchtime service and really enjoy interacting with people. I get to interact with the public a lot and even if it is just them asking for directions or asking about the food, it’s nice being able to have a chat with them.

 

What do you like most about working for Eden?

The surroundings here are fantastic! It’s completely different to working in a city restaurant with nothing else to look at but unhappy people going to work. I like to get out and about around site whenever I can and make sure I go for a wander through the biomes at least once a month. It’s really nice to get out and about and see different people. Visitors ask you questions all the time, for instance, if you are walking through the Link building they might stop you and ask where a certain plant is. You can’t say “I don’t know I spend my time in the kitchen”, so I like to get out there and make sure I have a little bit of knowledge.

 

Tell us a bit about your background prior to working at Eden…

Most of my working career has been in London, where I worked for seven and a half years. I mainly worked in fine dining restaurants and hotels, which is quite different to what I do here at Eden. There are things that I have learned here that I would never have learned in that working environment. I would generally spend my time working in close teams of 15 to 20 people in a 40 cover restaurant, where everybody does the same thing all day. It’s very different here and you get to see a lot of other people and what they do and generally get a lot more involved in the organisation, rather than being thrown a menu and being told to get on with it! I really enjoy that aspect of my job here at Eden.

 

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