Development Chef
Proud to deliver high quality products and develop a high-quality career
Salary: Competitive
Benefits: Annual Bonus Scheme, Private medical insurance and Stakeholder Pension Scheme
Location: Bourne, Lincolnshire
Ways of Working: Site based
Hours of work: 8:30am to 5:00pm - Monday to Friday
Contract Type: Permanent
Why join us?
We're constantly evolving, progressing and diversifying. And we want our people to do so too. For everyone to feel empowered, engaged and enabled. To create opportunities to move forward, climb higher and push for more.
About the role
An exciting opportunity has opened at our Bourne site for a passionate and creative Development Chef to join our team. This role offers the chance to work across a diverse range of retailers and product categories, bringing innovation and culinary flair to every project.
We're looking for someone who lives and breathes food - an enthusiastic chef with a genuine love for flavour, creativity, and product development.
If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and are eager to shape the future of food, we'd love to hear from you.
Role Accountabilities Business Communication : Builds strong internal relationships across key functions to support development activities.
Leadership : Manages and supports the team to deliver development projects to the highest standard.
Customer : Oversees hospitality for customer and high-profile visits; provides customer support as needed.
Culinary : Presents products confidently to internal and external stakeholders; demonstrates culinary expertise, passion, and flair; responds to feedback with appropriate action.
Product Innovation : Contributes to the customer pipeline through creative and commercially viable product and process ideation; translates food trends into relevant development; supports sector-led innovation.
Business Knowledge : Understands site capabilities and has awareness of broader Group operations.
Facilities : Ensures the Development kitchen operates at a consistently high standard.
Product Development Cycle : Delivers NPD and EPD to agreed quality and timelines; applies commercial insight to identify margin improvement opportunities.
About you
Ideally, you will have previous experience in a similar role within the food industry, preferably in an FMCG environment.
You will be a creative and passionate individual with a genuine love of food, able to demonstrate flair and finesse in your culinary approach.
Resilience and tenacity are key, along with a positive attitude and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
You will have excellent attention to detail and strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines effectively.
A natural team player, you'll be confident in engaging across the business and presenting to customers.
Alignment with our values is essential, as is a commitment to delivering high standards in every aspect of the role.
What you'll receive
As an equal opportunity employer, we're committed to providing a safe and rewarding environment for you to thrive in. This is why we work hard to deliver benefits and wellbeing offerings that are important to you.
You'll enjoy: Life Assurance (2.5 x salary)
Private medical insurance
Annual Bonus Scheme
25 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays as standard (may vary by role)
Staff Shop
Stakeholder Pension Scheme
Discount & cashback platform
Personal Accident Insurance
Free health check
Employee Assistance Programme
A range of voluntary benefits (holiday purchase scheme, additional life assurance, dental & hospital cash plans)
Salary sacrifice car lease scheme
Free independent mortgage advice
Discounted tutoring for children
Access to financial learning tools and affordable loans via your salary
Free car parking - Site dependant
Plus, a commitment to your wellbeing that includes emotional, physical and financial support services delivered by our fantastic team of wellbeing champions. 2
Proud to be Bakkavor
At Bakkavor, we are committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive, and we believe that diversity makes us stronger. We welcome and encourage applications from all backgrounds and ensure fair, transparent recruitment practices. Learn more about our commitment in our Inclusion and Diversity Policy ( Inclusion & Diversity Policy ).
Find out more and apply.
#LI-JM1
#CVL
TPBN1_UKTJ