Development Chef: Own Brand Innovation Lead

Booker Group plc; Northampton; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Colleague card discount (10%)

Tesco discount card (10–15% with Tesco

Tesco Mobile discount (10%)

Discounts on car/home insurance

Eye care discounts

Pension plan

Life Assurance

Health checks at Tesco Pharmacy

RAC breakdown discounts

Cycle to work scheme

Save As You Earn share scheme

Job summary

Booker Group plc is recruiting a Development Chef to join the team in Northampton. You will support the Own Brand food innovation programme, translating market insights into viable menu solutions while acting as a culinary ambassador for Booker Own Brand.

You will work with the Product development team across categories to drive quality and innovation, building strong relationships with internal teams and suppliers to shape future product priorities.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Development Chef within food manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of hospitality and foodservice problematics.
• Outstanding culinary skills and passion for food and drink innovation.
• Knowledge of UK foodservice, hospitality and consumer food trends.
• Commercial awareness balancing creativity, quality and cost.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills at all levels.
• Collaborative approach across functions and teams.

Responsibilities

• Inspire and guide product development using culinary expertise and market insight.
• Drive creation of compelling, insight-led menu solutions.
• Lead internal and external stakeholder engagement to showcase own brand concepts.
• Build relationships across product, supplier, marketing, sales and customer teams.
• Ensure quality and food safety across development and benchmarking processes.
• Manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-moving environment.
• Elevate brand exposure through cross-functional collaboration and campaigns.
• Support cross-functional teams to roll out successful product launches.

Skills

Culinary expertise

Food innovation

Hospitality knowledge

Stakeholder engagement

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Job description

Booker Group plc is recruiting a Development Chef to join the team in Northampton. You will support the Own Brand food innovation programme, translating market insights into viable menu solutions while acting as a culinary ambassador for Booker Own Brand.

You will work with the Product development team across categories to drive quality and innovation, building strong relationships with internal teams and suppliers to shape future product priorities.