Sous Chef in Santa Barbara, California at Acme Ventures LLC

Cook at the heart of Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone

The Lark is one of Santa Barbara’s most celebrated restaurants. Housed in a historic former fruit-packing warehouse and named for the Southern Pacific train that once carried travelers up and down the California coast, The Lark serves seasonal, family-style dishes inspired by the Central Coast’s farms, ranches, fishermen, and winemakers. The menu changes with the seasons, the room is always buzzing, and the food is made to be shared.

As our next Sous Chef, you’ll work side by side with Executive Chef Jason Paluska, who has led The Lark’s kitchen and shaped its ingredient-driven identity. This is a chance to learn from a respected chef, help develop specials and seasonal dishes, mentor a talented team, and grow your career within Acme Hospitality’s collection of award-winning restaurants and boutique hotels across California.

The Role

Reporting to the Executive Chef, the Sous Chef helps lead all back-of-house operations, including food quality, kitchen management, financial performance, and team development. You’ll set the tone every shift, work any station when needed, and partner with the front-of-house team to create an exceptional guest experience.

What You’ll Do

• Food quality: Uphold recipes and plating standards, taste constantly, and help create and cost daily specials.
• Kitchen operations: Oversee prep, line checks, ordering, receiving, inventory, and waste control, and keep the kitchen 100% health-department compliant.
• Financials: Help meet food cost and labor targets, review weekly ops statements, and approve vendor invoices.
• Team leadership: Help hire, schedule, train, and mentor BOH staff, and hold the team accountable in a fair and respectful way.
• Collaboration: Communicate with FOH managers about menu changes, specials, and shortages, and train FOH staff on new dishes.
• Community: Represent The Lark at special events and media appearances.

Why Acme Hospitality

Our core values are Deliver Excellence, Embrace Originality, Act with Integrity, and Celebrate Community. Above all, we’re committed to creating a workplace our team is proud to be part of.

Details: Full-time, non-exempt (hourly). Average shift 10-hour per day

Compensation: $25–$27/hour + participation in bonus incentive program

Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, + additonal fringe benefits.

What You Bring

• Previous sous chef or senior kitchen leadership experience in a high-volume, chef-driven restaurant
• A passion for seasonal cooking and a strong palate
• A leader who enjoys teaching and leads by example
• Strong organizational skills and a sharp eye for cleanliness and detail
• Composure under pressure and good judgment when challenges come up
• Humility, curiosity, and a drive to keep improving
• Familiarity with kitchen costing, inventory, and scheduling (Ctuit experience is a plus)