Assistant Development Chef

Assistant Development Chef

Location:

Leicester | Job Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Food Attraction Ltd is a Leicester-based food manufacturer with over 25 years of history producing exceptional food for some of the UK's biggest names, from major retailers and quick service restaurants to airlines and train operators. We're the team behind Jake & Nayns', a brand that pioneered the filled naan as a grab-and-go product and continues to push boundaries on the high street.

We don't follow food trends, we set them. And that philosophy runs through everything we do, from our development kitchen to the factory floor.

We're growing fast, our range is expanding, and we're looking for the right person to grow with us.

This is a hands‑on, creative role right at the heart of what we do. Working closely with our NPD Development Chef, you'll be involved from the first spark of an idea through to full‑scale production, developing new products, refining recipes, running factory trials and training the team that brings it all to life.

You’ll work across our development kitchen and cook room, sitting within the production area itself, which means you're never far from the reality of what you're creating. If you thrive in a fast‑moving environment, have genuine passion for food, and want to see your ideas on shelves in Tesco, Asda, or Boots, this is the role for you.

• Working with the NPD Chef to develop new products in response to customer briefs and your own ideas
• Researching ingredients, cuisines, and food trends across a wide range of culinary influences, we want someone genuinely curious about food
• Scaling recipes from development kitchen to bulk production and working through the process challenges that come with that
• Running and supporting factory trials alongside the Production and Technical Managers
• Presenting new products and ingredients confidently, both internally and at customer sites
• Spending real time on the shopfloor with the cooking team, ensuring quality and consistency are never compromised
• Supporting procurement by helping to source ingredients cost‑effectively and vetting new suppliers in line with technical requirements
• Participating in the daily taste panel, holding the line on quality
• Keeping the kitchen clean, organised, and running properly

Someone who's comfortable working across vegan, vegetarian, and meat‑based products and who takes tasting seriously as part of the job. You'll need to be confident and personable, able to present yourself well in front of customers, and comfortable working in both low care and high care environments.

Computer literacy is genuinely important here, you'll be working with our ERP system and using Excel regularly, so that needs to come naturally rather than being a stretch.

Above all, we want someone who cares about the food they make and takes pride in getting it right every time.

• Staff uniform provided
• Company events
• Company pension
• Free on‑site parking