New Product Development Chef

Yeo Valley Farms (Production) Ltd; Blagdon; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days + bank holidays

Non-contributory pension scheme

Annual bonus (Employee Benefit Trust)

Life cover

Healthcare cash back plan

Cycle to work scheme

Product subsidies

Preferential partner rates

Learning and development opportunities

Job summary

Yeo Valley Farms (Production) Ltd is seeking a Development Chef for our Central Development Team in Blagdon. You will translate briefs into commercially viable products and apply culinary expertise to drive innovation from concept to launch.

You will work with Product Development, Technical & Quality, Procurement, Marketing and Supply Base teams to refine recipes, run trials, maintain brand standards, and ensure quality and safety throughout the development lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Strong culinary foundation across foodservice, manufacturing, or both.
• Good knowledge of ingredients, flavour pairing and recipe development.
• Understanding of scale-up from kitchen to factory and manufacturing constraints.
• Ability to translate food trends into viable product ideas.
• Solid understanding of food safety, quality standards and hygiene.
• Ability to follow briefs, document recipes and support trials.
• Desirable: Food-based degree.

Responsibilities

• Operate within defined product categories or projects, supporting innovation and renovation pipelines.
• Execute product development from approved concept through to kitchen samples, trials and launch readiness.
• Work with senior team guidance to align outputs with brand standards and commercial targets.
• Collaborate with Product Development / Process, Technical & Quality, Procurement & Supply Chain, Marketing / Brand teams.
• Develop and refine recipes in line with briefs, ensuring quality, consistency and feasibility.
• Support kitchen and factory trials, documenting learnings and driving iterative improvements.
• Work with cross-functional teams to ensure successful product delivery and maintain food safety.

Skills

Culinary foundation

Ingredients & flavor pairing

Scale-up processes

Food trends translation

Food safety & hygiene

Recipe documentation

Brief interpretation

Education

Food-based degree

Job description

So, what will I be doing?

At Yeo Valley, we're more than just an organic dairy company - we're a community rooted in the land, committed to sustainability, and passionate about producing quality food that nurtures people and planet. As a co-owned business, we invest in our people, encourage growth, and believe in doing things properly.

We have an exciting new opportunity for a Development Chef to join our growing Central Development Team.

In this role, you will support the development and delivery of high-quality, insight-led food concepts by translating briefs into commercially viable products. Working within cross-functional teams, you will contribute culinary expertise to drive product optimisation, quality, and consistency from concept through to launch.

Key Responsibilities:

• Operate within defined product categories or key projects, supporting delivery of innovation and renovation pipelines
• Be responsible for executing product development from approved concept through to kitchen samples, factory trials, and launch readiness
• To work with guidance from senior team members to ensure outputs align with brand standards, commercial targets, and consumer expectations
• Work closely with Product Development / Process teams, Technical & Quality teams, Procurement & Supply Base teams, and Marketing / Brand teams (supporting insight-led development)
• To develop and refine recipes in line with briefs, ensuring quality, consistency, and feasibility
• Support kitchen and factory trials, documenting learnings and driving iterative improvements
• Work collaboratively with cross-functional teams to ensure successful product delivery
• Maintain high standards of food safety and hygiene within development environments
• Contribute to idea generation sessions and build knowledge of emerging food trends
• Ensure all products meet brand expectations for taste, quality, and value

This is a full-time role, working 40 hours per week (Monday - Friday). The role is based at our Blagdon HQ offices and will require some multi-site travel.

Sounds interesting, what do I need?

Essential:

• Strong culinary foundation across either foodservice, manufacturing, or both.
• Good working knowledge of ingredients, flavour pairing, and recipe Development.
• Understanding of scale-up processes from kitchen to factory, including basic manufacturing constraints.
• Awareness of food trends and ability to translate them into relevant product ideas.
• Solid understanding of food safety, quality standards, and hygiene practices.
• Competent in following briefs, documenting recipes, and supporting trials.

Desirable:

• Food based degree

Why should I join the family?

We’re independent, British and proud to be making the highest quality yogurts, desserts and ice cream under the Yeo Valley brand and for many of the UK's major retailers. Operating from four dairies and two logistics centres in Somerset and Devon, we employ over 1700 staff and produce more than 25% of the UK’s packaged yogurt.

We’re sure you don’t need convincing, but there’s a whole host of benefits that we offer including:

• 25 days + bank holidays
• non-contributory pension scheme
• annual bonus (as part of the Employee Benefit Trust, based on company performance for the year)
• life cover
• healthcare cash back plan
• cycle to work scheme
• subsidised Yeo Valley products and services
• preferential rates with our partners
• learning and development opportunities; we’re committed to ensuring all of our employees have the chance to grow

Unfortunately, we’re not able to provide employment sponsorship to candidates at this moment in time.

Please note that Yeo Valley do not accept speculative agency applications; we will only accept applications from preferred suppliers that have been submitted to us via our recruitment portal at the point of instruction.