Necessary & Sufficient Cafe Printers Row

Lead Cook / Kitchen Lead

necessary & sufficient coffee® | Printers Row, Chicago
Full-time | 35–45 hours/week | $20-22/hour

necessary & sufficient coffee® is a sustainability-driven, woman-owned Chicago café creating fresh, crave-able food with a farm-to-table sensibility.

We’re looking for a Lead Cook / Kitchen Lead who can be a steady, calm force in our small Printers Row kitchen: collaborative, creative, professional and rigorous about excellence.

This is a hands-on role for someone who loves to cook, wants room to create, and is ready to stretch and grow. You’ll work alongside and lead a small kitchen team, oversee daily prep and service, develop seasonal menu items, strengthen kitchen systems, and keep a sharp eye on food cost, quality and consistency.

You should be as comfortable with a spreadsheet as a chef’s knife.

What You’ll Do

• Lead daily kitchen prep, production and service

• Develop seasonal, craveable menu items

• Write, test and cost recipes

• Manage inventory, ordering, pars and waste

• Maintain food-cost and quality standards

• Train and support kitchen staff

• Build and maintain clear prep lists, recipes and kitchen systems

• Prepare and execute catering orders

• Maintain rigorous food-safety and cleanliness standards

• Help keep grab-and-go food stocked across our locations

Who We’re Looking For

You’re an experienced cook with strong fundamentals and a genuine love of food. You’re creative without being precious, organized without being rigid, and able to stay calm when things get busy.

You’re also someone who:

• Leads through consistency, professionalism and collaboration

• Has strong knife, prep and line-cooking skills

• Understands—or wants to become excellent at—food costing and kitchen math

• Notices details and follows through

• Takes ownership without needing to be the hero

• Works well in a low-ego, high-accountability environment

• Is curious and wants to continue building culinary and leadership skills

• Has or is willing to obtain manager's serve safe certification IL

Compensation + Benefits

$20-22/hour , plus catering tips and delivery pay.

Benefits include PTO, 401(k) with employer match, performance-based bonuses, transportation stipend, Employee Assistance Program, disability and life insurance, shift meals and drinks, and retail discounts.

A vehicle is required for weekly food, catering and supply deliveries between our Chicago locations.

Bring your creativity, professionalism and appetite for doing things well. We’ll bring the coffee.

More detail about necessary & sufficient cafe - Printers Row, please visit