R & D Chef - Continental Cuisine

Location: Vasanthanagar

Company Description  Dil Foods, through its Dil Brands portfolio, creates and operates virtual food brands designed to serve India’s everyday meal needs. The company partners with small and medium-sized restaurants, helping them improve asset and resource utilization by leveraging these virtual brands. This model enables partner kitchens to increase order volume and revenue without significant new investment. Dil Foods focuses on consistent quality, scalable operations, and data-driven menu development to meet evolving customer preferences.

Team members join an environment that values innovation in food, technology, and operations.

We are seeking an  experienced, innovative, process-driven and hands-on R&D Chef specializing in Continental Cuisine  to join our culinary team.
The ideal candidate should be a  graduate in Hotel Management  with strong expertise in Continental and Western cuisines and a passion for  food innovation, product development and process standardization .
The role requires a chef who can combine culinary creativity with a structured R&D approach to develop  commercially viable, scalable and consistent products  suitable for centralized food production. The candidate will be responsible for developing products that retain their taste, texture and quality after  blast freezing, storage and regeneration at the restaurant partner level .

Key Responsibilities  Lead  research and development initiatives for Continental cuisine , including the development of new recipes, menu items, sauces, gravies, marinades, accompaniments and food products.
Develop products within the  target food cost and product specifications  provided by the Brand Curation team while maintaining required taste and quality standards.
Develop and innovate across Continental/Western cuisine categories including  Italian, Mediterranean, European and other international food concepts , depending on business requirements.
Collaborate closely with  Brand Curation, Culinary, Production, Quality, Supply Chain and Marketing teams  to understand consumer trends, market requirements and new product opportunities.
Design and conduct structured  product trials and experiments  to refine recipes and ensure consistency in taste, texture, appearance, yield and overall product quality.
Develop recipes that can be successfully  scaled from kitchen trials to bulk/industrial production  without compromising the desired product characteristics.
Create and document  standardized recipes, SOPs, cooking processes, portion specifications, yields and process parameters  to ensure consistency across batches.
Develop products suitable for  blast freezing and frozen/chilled storage , ensuring that taste, texture, colour and overall quality are maintained after regeneration.
Participate in  shelf-life studies and product evaluation at different storage intervals  in collaboration with the Quality team.
Design recipes and products keeping the  restaurant partner/end user  in mind, ensuring products can be easily regenerated and served with minimum culinary intervention and minimal scope for error.
Develop clear  regeneration and serving procedures  covering thawing, heating, cooking, finishing, plating and portioning wherever applicable.
Source, evaluate and recommend ingredients based on  quality, functionality, availability, consistency and cost .
Understand the functionality of key Continental cuisine ingredients such as  cheese, dairy products, herbs, sauces, emulsions, pasta, grains, vegetables, proteins, oils and seasonings  while developing scalable recipes.
Work closely with Production teams during  commercial trials, recipe handover and scale-up  to ensure smooth transition from R&D to regular manufacturing.
Troubleshoot product and process-related challenges during commercial production and recommend corrective improvements.
Conduct  sensory evaluations  and gather structured feedback from internal stakeholders and consumers to continuously improve products.
Stay updated on  food trends, emerging ingredients, food technologies, cooking techniques and evolving consumer preferences  within Continental and international cuisines.
Continuously explore opportunities for  product innovation, cost optimization, process simplification and quality improvement .
Requirements   Bachelor’s Degree/Diploma in Hotel Management or Culinary Arts  from a recognized institution.
5+ years of relevant culinary experience , with significant exposure to Continental cuisine and preferably…