Head of Food Innovation

CORElevate; West Drayton; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A food brand incubator is seeking a Head of Food to lead its culinary innovation efforts. This senior position involves owning the full food journey from concept to production, ensuring menus are commercially viable and scalable. The ideal candidate will have over 3 years’ experience in food development and a strong understanding of food operations. The role offers the opportunity to influence the food strategy and make a significant impact in a fast-growing environment with a mix of onsite and remote work.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in food development or culinary innovation.
• Experience with scalable food formats and commercial kitchens.
• Ability to manage multiple projects effectively.

Responsibilities

• Own the full food journey from idea to menu development.
• Lead menu innovation and seasonal updates.
• Ensure consistent production across multiple kitchens.
• Use data to guide decisions on food offerings.

Skills

Food development

NPD (New Product Development)

Culinary innovation

Food operations

Commercial mindset

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Job description

Head of Food

North West London (4 days onsite, 1 day WFH)

60,000 – £70,000 DOE + bonus

The business

They are a fast scaling food brand incubator building restaurant quality, delivery first food brands across the UK. Operating through a growing network of partner kitchens on platforms such as Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat, everything is designed for scale with smart menus, tight systems and food that travels well.

All food innovation happens under one roof with a development kitchen, testing kitchen, central production and HQ, allowing ideas to move quickly from concept to launch.

As the business continues to grow, they are now looking for a Head of Food to bring ownership, structure and pace to the food pipeline. This is not a purely creative chef role, but a commercial food innovation leadership position within a data led, high growth business.

Why join?

• Real ownership: this role shapes the food strategy
• Speed and impact: ideas turn into live menus fast
• Founder exposure: direct influence on the business
• Growth journey: help build the next generation of food brands

The role

This is a seniorímp hands on position with real influence.

You will own the full food journey from early ideas through to scalable, production ready menus rolled out across multiple kitchens.

You will work closely with operations, production, data and onboarding to make sure every dish is:

• Commercially viable
• Easy to Nidify
• Consistent at scale
• Built for delivery

You will owe decisions, processes and standards.

What you will be responsible for

• Building and evolving multiple delivery first food brands
• Leading menu innovation and seasonal refreshes
• Owning the developmentоят testing kitchens
• Turning chef-led ideas into scalable, CPU‑friendly products
• Ensuring strong margins, consistency and operational fit
• Working closely with production to ensure smooth execution
• Using data to guide decisions: what to build, fix, improve or stop
• Creating clear specs, recipes, costings and documentation
• Bringing structure, clarity and pace to food development

What they are looking for

• 3 NAND+ years in food development, NPD, culinary innovation or food operations
• Strong experience with delivery, QSR or scalable food formats
• Solid understanding of commercial kitchens and food production
• A balance of creativity and discipline
• Commercial mindset – you care about margins, waste and performance
• Comfortable working closely with founders
• Organised, decisive and clear in your communication
• Happy working at pace with multiple projects live at once

Working pattern

• 4 days per week onsite (kitchens are key)
• 1 day per week working from home