Development Chef

Vincere; Smethwick; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary up to £50,000

Career development

Collaborative team

Benefits package

Job summary

Vincere is seeking a Development Chef to lead culinary development in the West Midlands. You will drive new product concepts from concept to launch, collaborating with NPD, Process, Commercial and Operations teams to meet consumer trends and customer expectations.

Join a growing food manufacturer and shape innovative products for major customers, with a focus on quality, cost control and technical compliance. This is a hands-on role with clear career development opportunities.

Qualifications

• Experienced Development Chef within food manufacturing, retail or foodservice.
• Strong understanding of the NPD process and factory environments.
• Creative with a genuine passion for food and innovation.
• Commercially aware with ability to balance creativity, quality and cost.

Responsibilities

• Create innovative product concepts aligned with market trends and customer briefs.
• Develop recipes and products from kitchen concept through to factory launch.
• Present concepts and product samples to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Support customer visits, product presentations and culinary workshops.
• Work closely with NPD and Process teams to ensure successful scale-up and implementation.
• Monitor food trends, ingredients and competitor activity to inspire new product development.
• Drive continuous improvement and renovation of existing products.
• Ensure all products meet quality, cost and technical requirements.

Skills

Development Chef experience

Job description

The Opportunity

We are seeking a passionate and commercially minded Development Chef to join a growing food manufacturing business in the West Midlands. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in creating innovative, high-quality products for leading retail, foodservice and hospitality customers.

Working closely with NPD, Process, Commercial and Operations teams, you will lead the culinary development of new and existing products from concept through to launch, ensuring they meet consumer trends, customer expectations and commercial objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Create innovative product concepts aligned with market trends and customer briefs.
• Develop recipes and products from kitchen concept through to factory launch.
• Present concepts and product samples to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Support customer visits, product presentations and culinary workshops.
• Work closely with NPD and Process teams to ensure successful scale-up and implementation.
• Monitor food trends, ingredients and competitor activity to inspire new product development.
• Drive continuous improvement and renovation of existing products.
• Ensure all products meet quality, cost and technical requirements.

About You

• Experienced Development Chef within food manufacturing, retail or foodservice.
• Strong understanding of the NPD process and factory environments.
• Creative with a genuine passion for food and innovation.
• Comfortable developing products across multiple categories.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills.
• Commercially aware with the ability to balance creativity, quality and cost.
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced customer-focused environment.

What's on Offer

• Salary up to £50,000
• Opportunity to shape innovative products for major customers.
• Collaborative and supportive team environment.
• Genuine career development opportunities.
• Competitive benefits package.