R&D Chef Manager: Culinary Innovation & Scale-Up

Socket.dev; Berkeley (IL); On-site; USD 75,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Whitsons Culinary Group in Berkeley, IL is seeking an R&D Chef Manager to lead culinary product development and translate vision into scalable, production-ready recipes. You will manage samples, tastings, and cross-functional collaboration to turn concepts into manufactured products.

The role requires 5–10 years of culinary experience, a culinary degree, and expertise in large-scale production and regulatory compliance.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years of progressive culinary or restaurant experience.
• Culinary degree from an accredited culinary program.
• Experience in food manufacturing and culinary R&D/product development preferred.
• Knowledge of HACCP, FSMA, SQF, USDA/FDA labeling requirements.
• ServSafe or equivalent certification required; HACCP a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead culinary product development from bench-top to production-ready recipes.
• Develop new meals for Education, Residential/Senior, Shelters, Food Service, Retail, transportation.
• Execute customer sample requests, tastings, and product presentations.
• Provide on-site operational support and scale recipes for production.
• Collaborate with Sales, QA, Procurement, and Production to move concepts to launch.
• Maintain documentation and cost recipes to meet target food cost and margin.
• Ensure compliance with food safety and regulatory requirements.

Skills

Culinary expertise

Communication

Project coordination

Cross-functional collaboration

Quality and safety awareness

Education

Culinary degree

Tools

Recipe scaling

Food manufacturing experience

Job description

Whitsons Culinary Group in Berkeley, IL is seeking an R&D Chef Manager to lead culinary product development and translate vision into scalable, production-ready recipes. You will manage samples, tastings, and cross-functional collaboration to turn concepts into manufactured products.

The role requires 5–10 years of culinary experience, a culinary degree, and expertise in large-scale production and regulatory compliance.