Culinary R&D Chef – Michelin-Quality Innovation (Hybrid)

Nestlé S.A.; Vaud; Hybrid; CHF 110,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options (hybrid)

Holiday entitlement beyond legal

Learning & development opportunities

Performance-based bonus

Healthcare contribution

Pension plan

Parental leave

Employee discounts

Job summary

Nestlé, a global leader in food and beverages, seeks a Culinary Specialist R&D Chef to elevate product development with high-level gastronomy and deep cuisine knowledge. You will collaborate with chefs, scientists and markets to drive innovative concepts and scalable solutions within the Craftsmanship community.

You’ll translate insights into compelling product stories, lead structured experiments and document outcomes, while inspiring a global network of culinary experts.

Qualifications

• Strong track record as a seasoned chef, including high-end restaurant environments such as Michelin-recognized establishments.
• Exceptional culinary craftsmanship and broad knowledge of classical and contemporary cuisine.
• Curiosity and scientific thinking applied to hypotheses, controlled trials, measurement and evidence-based learning.
• Ability to document recipes, methods, observations and results clearly and precisely.
• Collaborative mindset across culinary, scientific, technical and business teams in a global environment.
• Fluent English communication and strong interpersonal skills; additional languages are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Create restaurant-quality culinary benchmarks and prototypes with distinctive taste, texture, appearance and authenticity.
• Translate consumer insights and trends into original concepts with compelling product stories.
• Drive structured experimentation linking ingredients and processes to sensory outcomes.
• Adapt culinary ideas into feasible, scalable and reproducible product solutions while preserving intent.
• Inspire craftsmanship through tastings, demonstrations, workshops and knowledge sharing across a global culinary community.
• Build and leverage an external culinary network to bring techniques and innovation opportunities into Nestlé.

Skills

Seasoned chef

Culinary craftsmanship

Sensory judgement

Scientific thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

English communication

Job description

Nestlé, a global leader in food and beverages, seeks a Culinary Specialist R&D Chef to elevate product development with high-level gastronomy and deep cuisine knowledge. You will collaborate with chefs, scientists and markets to drive innovative concepts and scalable solutions within the Craftsmanship community.

You’ll translate insights into compelling product stories, lead structured experiments and document outcomes, while inspiring a global network of culinary experts.