Culinary Development Chef

Who we are We are the leaders in the fresh prepared food manufacturing industry. We are fast developing a strong presence in the US as we continue to disrupt the eating habits of US consumers. We are passionate about the food we make and demand for our products is high. You may not know our Bakkavor name but our customers are some of the best known grocery chains across the globe. In total, we have 19,000 employees worldwide. Here in the US we are playing an instrumental part in driving change in fresh prepared foods to some of the major retailer chains and in the UK we are the market leader in all categories we serve. Our mission is:to develop and produce innovative, commercially successful, great-tasting food that offers choice, convenience and freshness to people around the world. Our values are: • Respect & Trust Each Other • Be Proud Of What We Do • Keep The Customer At The Heart Of What We Do • Get It Right, Keep It Right SUMMARY The Culinary Development Chef is responsible for increasing company sales through developing products that meet the needs of both our customers and the company. Ability to apply creative, scientific, and culinary techniques in product development, manufacturing technology, product quality, packaging and processing innovation. COMPETENCIES • Adaptability & Flexibility • Customer Focus • Initiative • Strong organizational and time management skills • Strong attention to detail and accuracy • Dependability • Job Knowledge ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: • Develop concepts and products to meet project briefs, and re-engineers existing products, to maintain and grow a creative catalogue for our customers. • Ability to present new products to customers as part of a customer-facing team. • To motivate and inspire the R&D team to a required level of culinary excellence. • Creates and supports the development of commercially viable products, whilst understanding customer requirements. • Maintains an awareness of market food trends and recommends product development ideas in line with those trends. • Present ideas clearly, accurately and persuasively to achieve the level of culinary excellence throughout the business. • Understand the wants and needs of both internal and external customers, with the ability to work with key stakeholders across all departments. • Tests products and assists in developing specific processing methods, participates in product scale-up and start-ups as necessary. • Overall awareness of comparative products from all major retailers/food service operations. • Confer with vendors, process engineers, flavor experts, packaging and marketing specialists to understand available technology and provide ideas, solutions, and alternatives to meet food safety, quality, costs and customer requirements. • Maintains concise documentation of formulas and work papers. Provides formulas and batching information for costing and material sourcing. • Ability to challenge current products and processes and improve and upgrade where necessary. Looks to reduce the cost of products through research. Maintains a high-quality focus, with a least-cost approach to product and process design. • Maintains appropriate communication within area of responsibility. Keeps the business informed as to plans and progress. • Team player who articulates clearly and can interact with customers on multiple categories. • Plans and organizes own workload to deliver concepts to an agreed quality and timescale. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY None QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE Culinary Degree from CIA or equivalent, with experience working in reputable restaurants, in a Sous Chef position or higher, or in an NPD role within the food industry for minimum of two years. Job Type: Full-time Pay: From $75,000.00 per year Benefits: • 401(k) • 401(k) matching • Dental insurance • Employee assistance program • Flexible spending account • Health insurance • Health savings account • Life insurance • Paid time off • Tuition reimbursement • Vision insurance Work Location: In person