R&D Chef I — Creative Meal Innovator

Home Chef; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Insurance

401k program

Paid holidays

Flexible spending accounts

Job summary

Home Chef is seeking an experienced Research and Development Chef I in Chicago. This role will conceive new recipes for the Home Chef menu, balancing nutrition, cost, and ingredients. It collaborates across departments and aims to maintain high-quality meals for the Tempo line.

You will test, evaluate, and refine recipes with the kitchen and recipe teams, lead tastings, and participate in weekly culinary meetings while traveling up to 10% as needed.

Qualifications

• Requires a two-year program such as an Associate degree.
• Culinary degree preferred.
• 10+ years experience in a kitchen or professional cooking environment.
• Self-starter and motivated to create meals for average home cooks.
• ServSafe or food handling certification preferred.
• Strong teamwork and collaboration.
• Willing to receive feedback and implement suggestions.
• Understanding of nutrition trends and food industry.

Responsibilities

• Conceive accessible, creative new recipes within cost, ingredients, caloric/nutritional, and time constraints.
• Collaborate with kitchen team to improve and test dishes and coordinate tastings.
• Incorporate daily feedback into recipes for accessibility and flavor.
• Work with the recipe development team to meet constraints and ensure testers' feedback is implemented.
• Coordinate with photography team to plate dishes for menu surveys.
• Maintain a minimum average rating of 4.00 across product lines.
• Average a minimum of 3 meals weekly through the Selection Committee process.
• Attend weekly culinary meetings and support cross-functional initiatives.

Skills

Teamwork

Self-motivation

Taste tester

Feedback receptiveness

Education

Associate degree

Culinary degree preferred

Tools

ServSafe certification

Job description

Home Chef is seeking an experienced Research and Development Chef I in Chicago. This role will conceive new recipes for the Home Chef menu, balancing nutrition, cost, and ingredients. It collaborates across departments and aims to maintain high-quality meals for the Tempo line.

You will test, evaluate, and refine recipes with the kitchen and recipe teams, lead tastings, and participate in weekly culinary meetings while traveling up to 10% as needed.