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Culinary Development Lead
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Culinary Development Lead
Culinary Development Lead / Senior Chef
Location: Grimsby (UK) – Multi-Site Reports to: NPD Manager / Head of Culinary
Shape the Future of Food
Are you an experienced Development Chef or Senior Chef looking to shape the next generation of food products?
We’re looking for a passionate Culinary Development Lead / Senior Chef to join our Research, Development & Quality team. This is an exciting opportunity to combine culinary creativity with commercial product development, leading projects from concept through to successful launch across our chilled food portfolio.
You'll play a key role in creating innovative, customer-focused products, collaborating with Technical, Operations, Procurement, Commercial, and Manufacturing teams to bring exceptional food ideas to life.
If you're passionate about food, innovation, and delivering products that consumers love, we’d love to hear from you.
What You’ll Be Doing
As our Culinary Development Lead, you’ll:
- Lead culinary innovation from concept through to commercial launch.
- Develop inspiring recipes and food concepts for major retail and foodservice customers.
- Translate customer briefs into commercially successful products.
- Manage multiple development projects through the Stage & Gate process.
- Lead product tastings, benchmarking, and customer presentations.
- Drive recipe development while balancing flavour, quality, cost, and manufacturing capability.
- Work closely with Operations during factory trials and product launches.
- Partner with Procurement to source new ingredients.
- Stay ahead of food trends and emerging consumer insights.
- Build strong relationships with customers and internal stakeholders.
- Coach and support junior chefs and development team members.
- Champion continuous improvement and culinary excellence across the business.
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What We’re Looking For
We’re looking for someone who combines professional culinary expertise with commercial awareness.
Ideally, you’ll have:
- Professional Chef qualifications (e.g., NVQ Level 3, City & Guilds, or equivalent).
- Several years’ experience in Development Chef, Senior Chef, or Culinary Innovation roles.
- Experience developing chilled food products within manufacturing.
- A strong understanding of large-scale food production.
- Experience managing projects from concept to launch.
- Excellent presentation and communication skills.
- Strong organisational and project management abilities.
- Passion for food trends, flavours, and innovation.
- A collaborative approach with the confidence to influence cross-functional teams.
- Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel across sites and with customers.
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What You’ll Bring
You’ll be:
- Creative and commercially minded.
- Passionate about exceptional food.
- Curious about new ingredients and culinary trends.
- A natural collaborator.
- Calm under pressure.
- Hands-on and solutions-focused.
- Comfortable working in kitchens, factories, and customer environments.
Why Join Us?
You’ll have the opportunity to:
- Influence the future of our product portfolio.
- Work with some of the UK’s leading retailers and brands.
- Be part of an innovative and collaborative food business.
- Lead exciting customer development projects.
- Drive culinary excellence from kitchen to factory.
- Develop your career within a growing innovation team.
Ready to Create What’s Next?
If you’re an experienced Development Chef or Culinary Leader looking for your next challenge, we’d love to hear from you.
Application: Apply today and help us create food that consumers love.
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