Development Chef â Sushi Specialist

The Wonderfield Group; Acton; On-site; GBP 48,000 - 51,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Apprentice program

Wellbeing support

Annual discretionary bonus

Life assurance

Income protection

Group pension

Private medical plan

Retail & gym discounts

50% dining discount

Sustainability initiatives

Trips to Japan

Job summary

Taiko Acton is seeking a Sushi-focused Development Chef to push flavour boundaries and develop standout sushi products. You will work with NPD, Commercial, Marketing and Operations to bring new ideas to life at scale, with a Monday-to-Friday pattern.

You should be an Experienced Sushi Chef with expert palate, capable of presenting to customers and scaling concepts to production, and you will contribute to sushi ranges across sustainability and cost considerations.

Qualifications

• Experienced Sushi Chef with strong technical expertise.
• Deep understanding of flavour balance, seasoning and sushi composition.
• Passionate about innovation and flavour development.
• Confident presenting to customers and scaling concepts to production.

Responsibilities

• Create innovative Sushi concepts with a strong focus on flavour development and differentiation.
• Translate customer briefs into unique, trend-led Sushi products.
• Experiment with fusion flavours, global influences, and new ingredient pairings.
• Deliver impactful customer presentations, telling the story behind your flavour concepts.
• Develop recipes that balance flavour, cost, and scalability.
• Prepare samples for tastings, food shows, and key customer meetings.
• Conduct flavour benchmarking and competitor analysis.
• Support factory scale-up, maintaining flavour integrity in production.
• Continuously refine and elevate existing Sushi ranges.

Skills

Sushi Chef

Flavour development

Cross-functional collaboration

Presentation to customers

Job description

NPD - Taiko Acton- BONSAI

Contract: Full Time

Salary: £48,000 - £51,500

Contracted Hours: 40

Established in 1997 as the first manufacturer of sushi for the UK supermarket industry, Taiko has evolved into the most innovative manufacturer of Sushi, Food To Go, Prepared Meals and Snacking products in the UK, supplying Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury’s to name a few. Over the past 25 years Taiko has launched more first to market Sushi and Food to Go products than any other sushi manufacturer in the UK.

We’re looking for a Sushi-focused Development Chef with a passion for flavour, innovation, and customer-led development.

This role is all about pushing boundaries—developing standout Sushi products with exciting flavour profiles, blending authenticity with modern, trend-led influences. You’ll work cross-functionally with NPD, Commercial, Marketing, and Operations teams to bring new ideas to life at scale.

Working pattern: Monday to Friday – giving you consistency while still working in a fast-paced, creative environment.

About You

Experienced Sushi Chef (essential) with strong technical expertise

Deep understanding of flavour balance, seasoning, and Sushi composition

Passionate about innovation and pushing flavour boundaries

Confident presenting to customers and bringing ideas to life

Commercially aware with the ability to scale concepts into production

Hands-on, organised, and thrives in a creative, fast-paced environment

Key Responsibilities

Create innovative Sushi concepts with a strong focus on flavour development and differentiation

Translate customer briefs into unique, trend-led Sushi products

Experiment with fusion flavours, global influences, and new ingredient pairings

Deliver impactful customer presentations, telling the story behind your flavour concepts

Develop recipes that balance flavour, cost, and scalability

Prepare samples for tastings, food shows, and key customer meetings

Conduct flavour benchmarking and competitor analysis

Support factory scale-up, maintaining flavour integrity in production

Continuously refine and elevate existing Sushi ranges

We're Proud To Offer

• Opportunity to grow your career alongside with us with available apprentice program
• Brilliant support services designed to enhance your physical, mental and financial wellbeing.
• Annual discretionary bonus subject to business and overall performance
• Discretionary Life Assurance
• Discretionary Income Protection
• Group Personal Pension
• Private Medical Cash Plan
• Bespoke reward platform including access to retail, cinema & gym discounts.
• 50% off your food every time you dine with us for you and 3 friends.
• Contribute towards our award-winning sustainability initiatives that delivers progress against 9 UN sustainability goals. We're committed to responsibly sourcing and all our seafood, therefore we only use source sustainable fish. All our packaging is recyclable and 80% of our packaging is already made from recycled plastic.
• Annual Awards ceremony celebrating our success and offering winning Managers free trips to Japan.

About Us

Come roll with us

and be pa