Development Chef

Job Advert

Development Chef

We’re excited to offer an excellent opportunity for a Development Chef to join our dedicated NPD team in Middlesbrough.

At The Compleat Food Group, we’re proud to be a food business built on purpose and passion. Formed in 2021, we’re on a mission to create Food to Feel Good – great quality, tasty and affordable food that people love to eat. We’re home to some of the UK’s most exciting and loved food brands, including Wall’s Pastry, Pork Farms, Wrights, The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co.,

unearthed, Vadasz, Squeaky Bean, Palace Culture and Harvey & Brockless. Alongside our branded portfolio, we’re a leading supplier of delicious own‑label pastry, sweet bakery, party food, olives and antipasti, added‑value egg products, continental meats, dips and sauces and plant‑based food to the UK’s major retailers and across food service. With over 6,000 talented colleagues across 17 sites and an annual turnover of £1.3bn, we’re united by a shared ambition to shape the future of food for the better.

We are backed by European private equity firm PAI Partners.

Monday – Friday: 8am‑4pm

Middlesbrough (Regular travel to our Milton Keynes site will be required, up to a maximum of 4 times per month)

£30,000 per annum

The Development Chef works extremely closely with the wider NPD and Category teams to support the development and innovation plan s is done across a multiple customer base for the chilled savoury fried food category. The role involves developing products with a strong drive in innovation, making samples, keeping the kitchen clean and tidy, and writing and costing recipes. Working in a collaborative manner with the wider development team and other key stakeholders to deliver profitable growth to the Compleat Food Group and its customers.

• Effective delivery of the business strategy and customer category plans as directed by the Development Chef &/or Development Controller/ Manager.
• Support in the site’s concept NPD/EPD agenda to required cost and within agreed timescales.
• Strong involvement in customer briefs.
• Deliver innovative concepts that translate into profitable products meeting market requirements.
• Drive food values for both site and wider business – visually, verbally and in displays.
• Interpret varying customer briefs to deliver innovative concepts that meet customer requirements for product style, QUID, key attributes, legislation, customer guidelines and brand values.
• Work with relevant NPD managers to interpret the brief and split the work between chef and technologist.
• Present concepts internally to site teams and lead senior management presentations when required.
• Work with purchasing to source new ingredients, prices, minimum order quantity and raw material specifications.
• Collaborate with procurement teams to provide finance with all relevant information for costings.
• Interpret costings and amend products to be commercially viable.
• Gather all information required for customer presentations including theoretical nutritional, photographs, benchmarks, product descriptions.
• Present products to customers and support NPD Managers & Development Manager in meetings.
• Confidently talk about current and future products; display products well and appropriately.
• Build recipes on the Point 74 Recipe Professor system or site finance recipe build documents.
• Lead and support site feasibility sessions with expert guidance.
• Manage workload with the site kitchen planner and communicate workload to the wider business and culinary function.
• Interpret theoretical nutritional results against guidelines and respond appropriately.
• Complete relevant benchmarking documentation and presentations for food shows/shops visited.
• Support continuous improvements and identify cost savings in production and ingredient potential.
• Value engineer ingredients, packaging and processes where required.
• Assist suppliers to provide process and ingredient improvement.
• Play a key role in driving innovation for site and wider group.
• Challenge factory processes.
• Identify new trends and…