Development Chef: Recipe Innovation & Scale-Up

Simmer; Slough; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Simmer, based in West London, is hiring a Development Chef to take new meals from idea through scaled production and launch. You’ll cook, test ingredients, taste and adjust to ensure dishes are ready to launch, balancing flavour, nutrition, cost and manufacturability.

You will lead development across multiple dishes, collaborating with Product Lead and manufacturers to refine recipes and scale output while maintaining high quality and consistency.

Qualifications

• Strong chef with excellent flavour instincts.
• Hands-on recipe development experience.
• Ability to take a dish from idea to repeatable, launch-ready.
• Balance flavour with nutrition, cost and operational reality.
• Capable of scaling recipes and working to deadlines.
• Curious, collaborative and low ego.
• Experience with scaled food manufacturing is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and test recipes in our development kitchen.
• Turn food ideas into dishes that work for Simmer and our customers.
• Iterate quickly through tastings, feedback and trials.
• Build nutrition and protein requirements into the development process.
• Understand ingredient and recipe costs and make sensible commercial decisions.
• Work with suppliers and manufacturing partners to understand constraints.
• Take recipes through factory trials and scaled production.
• Diagnose changes in flavour, texture, appearance or quality when recipes are scaled.
• Adapt recipes and processes to solve problems without compromising the dish.
• Improve existing meals as well as developing new ones.
• Keep up with ingredients, cuisines and trends that could improve Simmer's food.

Skills

Strong chef

Recipe development

Scale-up

Nutrition balance

Cost awareness

Collaboration

Job description

Simmer, based in West London, is hiring a Development Chef to take new meals from idea through scaled production and launch. You’ll cook, test ingredients, taste and adjust to ensure dishes are ready to launch, balancing flavour, nutrition, cost and manufacturability.

You will lead development across multiple dishes, collaborating with Product Lead and manufacturers to refine recipes and scale output while maintaining high quality and consistency.