Culinary Development Chef

COMPASS GROUP CANADA; Mississauga; Hybrid; CAD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Group benefits

RRSP contributions

Discretionary bonus programs

Job summary

Compass Group Canada seeks a Culinary Development Chef to lead national Culinary Innovation, turning priorities into practical outputs and scalable culinary programs.

You will organize briefs, test recipes, document results, and collaborate with sectors, Foodbuy, and operations to ensure solutions are actionable and cost-aware.

Qualifications

• Strong culinary background with foodservice experience.
• Experience developing and testing recipes.
• Ability to document processes and formats.

Responsibilities

• Organize and advance Culinary Innovation initiatives.
• Capture ingredients, weights, yields, methods, and notes.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement concepts.
• Develop launch tools and field-ready procedures.
• Support continuous improvement across programs.

Skills

Culinary development

Recipe testing

Documentation

Yield validation

Project coordination

Innovation support

Job description

The salary range for this position is $80,000 to $90,000. Final compensation will be determined based on relevant skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity. In addition to base salary, eligible employees may be entitled to other elements of total compensation, which may include group benefits, employer RRSP contributions, & discretionary bonus or incentive programs, where applicable to the role. We are committed to offering competitive compensation & comply with all applicable pay transparency legislation. Further details regarding our total rewards program will be shared by the Talent Acquisition team during the hiring process. Canadian work experience is not a requirement for this role. Please note that artificial intelligence–based tools may be used at certain stages of the recruitment & applicant screening process.

This is a posting for an existing vacancy.

The Culinary Development Chef supports the day-to-day development, coordination, testing, documentation, and execution of Culinary Innovation initiatives across Compass Group Canada. Reporting to and working closely with the Head of R&D Culinary Innovation, this role helps turn strategic priorities into practical culinary outputs that are creative, scalable, system-ready, operationally sound, and commercially relevant.

The role provides tactical and culinary support across the innovation lifecycle, including intake support, concept development, recipe testing, yield validation, documentation, product evaluation, launch tool development, and continuous improvement. It supports initiatives led by the Head of R&D Culinary Innovation and helps ensure work is organized, actionable, and aligned to business needs.

This role is designed for a strong culinary professional who brings practical kitchen experience, curiosity, structure, flexibility, and a service-oriented mindset into a growing national Culinary Innovation function. The position supports collaboration, reduces duplication, strengthens recipe and menu governance, and helps ensure culinary programs are developed with both creativity and operational discipline.

The broader Culinary Innovation model is built around national support areas including insight-led menu development, SKU and APL alignment, sector-responsive ideation, recipe and menu development, supplier innovation, equipment and operational testing, culinary systems readiness, field enablement, and Sales/SAG support.

Now, if you were to come on board as one of our Culinary Development Chef, we’d ask you to do the following for us:

Culinary Innovation Initiative Support:

Support Culinary Innovation initiatives by helping organize, develop, document, and move work forward in alignment with the department’s culinary framework and business priorities.

• Support the Head of R&D Culinary Innovation with tactical execution of national and sector-specific culinary priorities.
• Help organize initiative briefs, workplans, timelines, action items, and follow-up requirements.
• Contribute culinary thinking to concept development while ensuring ideas remain practical, scalable, and operationally relevant.
• Support the adaptation of culinary platforms across sectors based on business needs, guest demographics, and operational realities.
• Help create recipe platforms, and culinary playbooks that strengthen consistency across the department.

Recipe Development, Testing & Standardization:

Provide hands-on support to bring discipline and consistency to how recipes are developed, tested, documented, validated, and prepared for system entry.

• Support recipe ideation, bench testing, refinement, yield validation, and culinary troubleshooting.
• Accurately capture ingredients, weights, yields, methods, production notes, equipment requirements, allergen considerations, and operational instructions.
• Help ensure recipes are practical, scalable, APL-aware, and field-ready before advancing through the process.
• Maintain consistent recipe documentation, testing forms, tasting notes, and development templates.
• Support controlled testing environments and help reduce rework by validating recipes before pilot or launch stages.

Foodbuy & Supplier Innovation Support:

Support the connection between Culinary Innovation, Foodbuy, supplier partners, and business priorities by helping evaluate products and convert supplier opportunities into practical menu applications.

• Assist with product cuttings, supplier ideation sessions, sample coordination, testing plans, and culinary application development.
• Evaluate supplier products through a culinary, operational, quality, consistency, cost, and scalability lens.
• Document product performance, application ideas, recipe opportunities, and follow-up actions.
• Support APL-aligned recipe development and SKU-first menu thinking.
• Help translate supplier innovation into usable culinary applications that support sector and enterprise needs.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

Support strong collaboration by helping the Head of Culinary Innovation coordinate with the teams required to bring ideas to life and keep work moving with clarity and accountability.

• Work collaboratively with sector chefs, Culinary Systems, Marketing, Sales, SAG, Foodbuy, Operations, suppliers, and other stakeholders.
• Support meeting preparation, agendas, briefs, tasting notes, recap documents, action tracking, and stakeholder follow-up.
• Help ensure the right people are engaged at the right time without assuming ownership of initiatives outside the role’s support mandate.
• Turn conversations into clear next steps, owners, due dates, and practical outputs.
• Model collaboration as shared contribution, responsiveness, and service to the business.

Launch Tools & Field Enablement:

Support the development of clear tools and resources that help culinary programs move from development into adoption by operations, sales, and sector teams.

• Support launch kits, SOPs, production guides, training materials, culinary playbooks, and field-facing tools.
• Prepare programs for operational rollout by documenting recipes, methods, product lists, equipment needs, and execution notes.
• Capture field feedback, operator questions, issue logs, and improvement opportunities.
• Support post-launch refinements and continuous improvement activities.
• Help make programs easier for operators to understand, adopt, and execute consistently.

Think you have what it takes to be our Culinary Development Chef?We’re committed to hiring the best talent for the role. Here’s how we’ll know you’ll be successful in the role:

• Strong culinary background with practical foodservice experience and the ability to translate ideas into executable recipes, menus, and tools.
• Comfortable working in a support capacity within a new department, with the maturity to contribute ideas while aligning to direction from the Head of Culinary Innovation.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and disciplined in documentation, follow-up, recipe capture, testing notes, and project administration.
• Collaborative and service-minded, with the ability to support multiple stakeholders, sectors, and business priorities without losing focus on execution.
• Able to balance creativity with operational practicality, scalability, APL awareness, cost consideration, and field execution realities.
• Strong communicator who can prepare clear briefs, recaps, action lists, recipe notes, tasting summaries, and launch support materials.
• Curious about food trends, supplier innovation, consumer insights, and menu development, with the ability to help turn insight into useful culinary applications.
• Flexible, responsive, and comfortable working in a developing function where priorities may shift and structure is being built over time.