Product Development Chef

Symrise AG; Mississauga; On-site; CAD 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

RRSP matching program

Medical, dental and vision coverage

Ample time off

Career growth opportunities

Friendly company culture

Company events

Job summary

Giraffe Foods Inc. is seeking a Product Development Chef to collaborate with R&D, Sales, and Marketing to create culinary-inspired presentations and gold-standard recipes. You will oversee the Culinary Innovation Center and support commercialization of new products.

You will lead cross-functional teams, validate customer requirements, prepare prototypes, and ensure compliance with food safety parameters while driving innovation and market-ready offerings.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in commercial kitchens / food service.
• 3-5 years of chef-level experience in high-end restaurants is preferred.
• Culinologist experience is an advantage.
• Expertise in sauces, dips, and dressings.
• High level understanding of ingredients and formula portfolios.
• Willingness to travel internationally ~20% to the U.S.
• Must be able to taste and smell all flavors.

Responsibilities

• Lead internal sessions and customer presentations; determine visit intent and scale.
• Research trends with Marketing; identify new ingredients and flavor trends.
• Build a gold-standard sauce library and maintain the Innovation Center.
• Lead end-to-end new product development projects with cross-functional teams.
• Ensure product safety and guide commercialization and first production activities.

Skills

Culinary arts

Food science

Leadership

Travel international

Sensory analysis

Education

Culinary Arts Degree

Bachelor's in Food Science & Technology

Tools

Genesis

Excel

Job description

Symrise is a global supplier of fragrances and flavors, cosmetic active ingredients as well as functional ingredients. Its customers include perfume, cosmetics, food and beverage manufacturers, the pharmaceutical industry and producers of dietary supplements and pet food.

With sales of around €5.0 billion in the 2025 financial year, the company is one of the world's leading providers. The Group, headquartered in Holzminden, Germany, has more than 100 locations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Asia, the USA and Latin America.

Giraffe Foods, part of the Symrise family of businesses, is the industry leader in custom, private label manufacturing of sauces, dips, salad dressings and drink concentrates. We are culinary-focused and customer-driven. We anticipate and respond to the ever-changing industry demands addressing on-trend dietary needs with world-class product development and customer service. Our commitment to our employees and to contributing to the food community in North America has strengthened over our twenty years of growth and expansion.

Our products can be found under Private Label in local and national groceries, multi-unit restaurant operations, and other food manufacturers across the US and Canada. We supply a vast range of chef-created sauces and dressings for meal kits, frozen meals, restaurant entrees and salads and salad kits. Though you may not know Giraffe Foods yet, you certainly know our customers and have most likely already enjoyed some of our delicious products without realizing it.

Proud to be chosen as Canada's Great Place to Work, Giraffe Foods boasts a strong leadership team and enjoys a mutually beneficial partnership with our global parent company Symrise, headquartered in Germany.

About the Role

Position Summary:

The Product Development Chef will work with the Giraffe R&D, Sales, and Marketing teams to develop and execute culinary inspired presentations, create gold standard recipes, oversee the operation/maintenance of the Culinary Innovation Center, and support the commercialization of new products.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead and facilitate the preparation and execution of internal working sessions and customer presentations by:
  • Identify intent of visit/session
  • Determine scale of impact of visit/session
  • Establish scale of culinary and product development investment
  • In collaboration with PD team, determine selection of products to showcase and menu application/build
  • Select menu and meal preparation/execution
• Research and Trend Analysis: working with Marketing team to stay updated on emerging food trends and consumer preferences.
  • Research and identify new ingredients and culinary/flavor trends (market landscape, journals, restaurants, etc.)
  • Gather information from broader Symrise teams on recent developments to share with Giraffe R&D team
  • Create ready-to-ship samples based on new flavor trends and blog material
  • Spearhead sauce development for "Sauce Scoop" marketing campaigns
• Build gold standard sauce library based on emerging trends and marketing data
• Oversee the maintenance, cleaning, and supplying of Culinary Innovation Center
• Maintain clear and effective communication with manager and colleagues
• Independently lead new product development projects with higher level of complexities including technical, commercial and customer requirements:
  • Clarify customer requirements through Sales with customer to ensure efficient development of product
  • Create prototype formulations and submit to customer for feedback. Revise as needed
  • Maintain multiple projects accurately and efficiently
  • Work with cross functional team members to ensure accurate information flow regarding products and scale up.
  • Utilize programs (Genesis, Excel) along with internal tools to generate nutritional and costing information
  • Participate in R&D and or Production meetings as required
  • Ensure product meets food safety parameters.
  • Set up products through commercialization process once approved by customer including the preparation of a pre-operational sample and specification development
  • Support first production of commercialized products (dependent on production schedule)
  • Set up any new and unique raw materials
  • Maintain clean and tidy work areas
  • Update lab notebook and backup electronic files with updated information
• Maintain strong partnership and collaborative spirit with internal sales partners
• Take ownership of projects and assume initiative to ensure business continuity and success
• Hours may vary as flexibility may be required for first production support
• Other duties as assigned by Manager

About You

Required Qualifications

• Culinary Arts Degree -or- Bachelor's degree in Food Science and Technology or a related field. 10+ years of experience in commercial kitchens / food service as Chef, Line Cook, etc. would be acceptable in lieu of degree.
• 3-5 years of experience in commercial kitchens / food service as Chef, Line Cook, etc. Chef, Line Cook, and/or Sous Chef experience at a high end restaurant is desired and will be prioritized.
• Culinologist experience is an advantage.
• Expertise in sauces, dips, and dressings.
• High level of understanding of ingredients and formula portfolios
• Highly motivated, flexible, and resourceful
• Leadership skill to ensure cross functional team alignments and timely delivery on related tasks and trainings
• Must be willing and able to travel internationally approximately 20% of the time to the U.S.
• Occupational Qualifier: Must be willing and able to taste and smell all types of flavors and food creations.

What We Offer

• A competitive compensation package
• An RRSP matching program
• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage, including an EAP program
• Ample time off throughout the year
• Growth opportunities for career advancement
• Friendly and welcoming company culture
• Fun Company Events

We thank everyone for their expression of interest-and are truly appreciative of the time individuals put into applying-but with the limitations of time only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Giraffe Foods Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to equal treatment of all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, pregnancy, age, disability/handicap, record of offences, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you require accommodation measures during any aspect of the recruitment process, we will work with you to address your needs. Information related to accommodation measures will be treated as confidential.

Pay Transparency Disclosure: The expected annual salary range for this position is CAD 60000.00 - CAD 75000.00. Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job-related factors permitted by law.