CULINARY DEVELOPMENT CHEF - FMCG Hybrid, ideally Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambs
Competitive basic, bonus, car allowance & range of benefits
Our client is a highly successful 100+ year European food group, producing market-leading ingredients sold across Grocery Retail, Foodservice and to Food Manufacturers. As a family business, they’ve grown into a global leader through continuous investment in agriculture, innovation, and a passion for delivering great-tasting products.
Recognised as a Great Place to WorkTM, this purpose-driven organisation is built on strong values, sustainability, and care — for people, the planet, and the food we enjoy.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a company where tradition meets innovation, and where your contribution can truly make a difference. As part of their continued investment for growth in the UK market, they are now looking to appoint a Culinary Development Chef reporting to the Channel Marketing Team, who has the potential to grow and develop within the company.
Working as part of the Channel Marketing Team, this is an exciting, extremely creative and pivotal role that will steer the future direction and sustainable growth of our client’s added-value product portfolio – driving innovation strategy to new heights.
As the company’s culinary ambassador, you will be responsible for identifying food trends on flavours and cooking occasions ahead of the curve and turning them into actionable concepts. Collaborating with internal colleagues within Development, Marketing, and Commercial teams in UK and France, you will spearhead NPD to bring new product formulations and innovation concepts to life.
You’ll translate consumer insights and competitor intelligence into inspiring culinary concepts suitable for our Industrial, Retail and Foodservice channels. Bringing viable, profitable ideas to market, you’ll develop, test and refine application recipes across multiple categories (e.g. chilled, ready meals, bakery, plant-based, etc.)
This is a really exciting role, with the platform to make a big difference by driving profitable sales growth and implementing high standards of commercially driven, innovative food solutions.
On the food solution development front, you have at least 3 years’ experience of working at Culinary Development Chef level, within either an added value food manufacturer, grocery retailer or major food distributor ie Brakes/Bidfood, a pub group, a hotel group or one of the leading high street QSR players.
You love working with suppliers and/or customers developing food solution ideas, taking food concepts to the next level and you are never happier than being ‘in the kitchen’, making the next food magic happen – this is what we want you to bring to the table within this exciting role.
We hope this opportunity has given you a clear picture of who we are: a global food producer with a well invested growing UK business. This is a strategically important role, and we are seeking a uniquely talented Commercial Culinary Chef to help shape its future. If this sounds like you, please forward your CV, along with your current benefits package details, quoting reference MS/2555 to mark@smithcarey.