Development Chef

Role Responsibility

Key responsibilities:

NFD, EFD and Ingredient Projects

• Ensure all recipes are developed in accordance with our food brand value
• Engage the food, commercial, marketing, procurement and technical teams with new ingredient, recipe, and process ideas to consistently deliver delicious and exciting food experiences
• Attend and present at internal food tastings, engaging attendees with the food story on new and existing recipes, including Charlie Bigham, CEO, Head of Food, Brand team and the Food team
• Drive the discovery stage of NFD & EFD projects through identifying an action plan for areas to explore. Build presentations to summarise findings for presentation at internal food tastings to initiate the food story.
• Deliver the discovery and development phases of NFD & EFD projects to the project timelines.
• Responsible for identifying development benchmarks and building the plan for tastings against our food concepts to ensure we are always developing best in class food.
• Prepare and deliver inspirational food presentations demonstrating the food story, providing key information about our recipes both internally and for our customers to inspire through food.
• Work with the food, procurement and technical teams on sourcing high-quality new raw materials that ensure improvement and consistency in Production Kitchen in accordance, agreeing specification and quality parameters in line with Bigham’s food values.
• Engage stakeholder teams on QCPs and Quality attributes at every stage of development, agreeing quality parameters to ensure high-quality recipes are delivered for launch.
• Ensure all recipes and methods are accurately recorded and costed on P74, meeting all required targets, and tracked throughout the development process.
• Complete all required development validations alongside the concept team, throughout the development journey to ensure that dishes will fulfil our high quality standards and meet consumer expectations.
• Attend and participate in feasibility, development tastings, trial & launch tastings, concept handover and dish launch meetings providing samples of ingredients, components and finished recipes where required.
• Support the process team by attending trials, upholding dish quality and supporting with challenges in the scale-up process. Provide training to the process and site teams where required.
• Ensure kitchen samples are made to benchmark against each trial, pre production and the launch hyper care process at 4, 8 and 12 weeks post-launch and ad-hoc where required to resolve dish quality issues.
• Support ingredient projects that fall outside of NFD & EFD Projects to the agreed timelines, from quality improvements to supply challenges. Uphold our dish quality standards by ensuring consumer experience and food quality remains a key decision driver. 

Documentation and Procedures

• Follow all NFD Procedures throughout the development process to ensure BRC always audit ready.
• Identify and embed documentation processes/paperwork improvements to drive efficiency.
• Produce and deliver accurate paperwork and documents at all stages of development.
• Ensure accurate and timely system updates on P74.

Support for the Production Kitchen

• Take a proactive role in quality improvement across the production kitchen supporting problem solving for day-to-day challenges in collaboration with the Process Technologists and the Production Team.
• Attend taste panel & positive release meetings to drive and uphold the quality standards of our dishes.
• Support Quality Consistency Panels for London dishes with kitchen made food standards to benchmark against production dishes.
• Proactively stay up to date with the UK & Global food trends and communicate this through development projects and to the wider business.

Build Food Culture through Projects

• Drive ‘Real Food Passion’ & culture through projects by planning food trawls, food tastings, food trend review meetings, supplier/chef training days.
• Support in building food culture in our business by developing and leading the implementation of food-centric activities that surprise and delight our teams.

Kitchen Management

• Maintain a clean, tidy, organised and safe kitchen environment in accordance with company hygiene and food-safety procedures.
• Ensure ingredients and products are correctly stored, labelled, date-coded and rotated in accordance with food-safety and traceability procedures.
• Carry out all duties in accordance with site procedures to maintain BRC compliance, promptly reporting issues for resolution.
• Support the Kitchen Assistant with the maintenance of kitchen equipment records and schedules, reporting faults or maintenance requirements to the appropriate person.
• Clean and sanitise kitchen equipment, appliances, work surfaces and storage areas to the required standards and schedules. Support the Kitchen Assistant where required with these tasks.
• Complete and accurately record all required start-up checks within the agreed timescales. Support the Kitchen Assistant where required with these tasks.

The Ideal Candidate

Qualifications and Experience:

• A genuine love for Food
• Previous culinary training or experience
• Previous food development role in FMCG preferred

Qualifications and Experience:

• A genuine love for Food
• Previous culinary training or experience
• Previous food development role in FMCG preferred

Key Attributes:          

• Passionate about delicious food
• Positive ‘Can Do’ attitude
• Enthusiastic
• Full of drive & energy
• Enjoys being part of a team
• Creative and Innovative

Package Description

We are looking for development chef to develop and deliver delicious recipes, always championing and driving our quality food culture across the business