Research Chef

Veggies Made Great; Piscataway Township (NJ); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Veggies Made Great is seeking a Research Chef to lead culinary-driven product development within our R&D team. You will blend culinary creativity with food science, ensure regulatory compliance, and translate trends into consumer-focused products.

You will manage multiple projects, collaborate with Marketing, QA and Operations, and mentor junior staff. Travel for plant trials and industry events is expected, with a strong emphasis on quality and speed to market.

Qualifications

• Culinary degree from an accredited institution.
• BS in Food Science preferred but not required.
• 10+ years of culinary experience with at least 5 years in product development in the food manufacturing industry.
• Experience developing products for large scale manufacturing and a strong understanding of food science and ingredient functionality.
• Experience with sensory evaluation and product demonstrations at trade shows.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficient in Excel, Word, Office and Genesis.
• Excellent communication, documentation and presentation skills.
• Willingness to travel for plant trials, trade shows or industry events.
• Bi-lingual (English/Spanish) language skills a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead culinary inspired innovation projects from bench top formulation to commercialization.
• Develop gold standard restaurant quality products as references for commercialization.
• Deliver chef inspired recipes, internal specs, documentation, and labeling to meet regulatory guidelines.
• Conduct professional food demonstrations for internal teams and external customers.
• Maintain organized documentation of formulations and projects.
• Support sensory evaluations and shelf-life studies as needed.
• Attend production trials and first production runs to support projects.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to improve R&D knowledge and operational efficiency.
• Translate trends into consumer insights with sales, marketing and restaurant input.
• Lead/mentor junior team members and ensure SQF standards in lab and production.

Skills

Culinary expertise

Product development

Food science

Project management

Cross-functional teamwork

Bi-lingual English/Spanish

Education

Culinary degree

BS in Food Science

Tools

Excel

Word

Office

Genesis

Job description

Description

Scope: The Research Chef will help shape the future of the R&D department at New Classic Cooking by leading culinary driven product development projects. This role integrates culinary creativity with food science, operational feasibility and business strategy to create delicious tasting products. This role is a key member of the company and will work cross functionally with Marketing, QA and Operations to translate culinary trends into consumer needs.

Responsibilities:

• Lead culinary inspired innovation projects from bench top formulation and development through to commercialization. This may include the technical development for both new product platforms, line extensions and renovations to current product portfolio.
• Develop gold standard restaurant quality products to be used as a reference for commercialized products.
• Deliver chef inspired recipes, internal specifications, documentation, and labeling to meet regulatory guidelines and quality and food safety requirements.
• Conduct professional food demonstrations/culinary sessions when needed for both internal teams and external customers.
• Maintain organized documentation of formulations and projects.
• Support sensory evaluations and shelf-life studies as needed.
• Attend production trials (both internal and co-manufactured) and first production runs on projects and lend support as needed.Enhance our technical body of knowledge by working with internal and external resources to ensure we produce the highest quality products; this includes ingredients as well supplier research as well as competitive benchmarking.
• Participate/Lead innovation sessions and ongoing work to build and strengthen pipelines.
• Translate food trends to an understanding of the voice of our consumer with insights from sales, marketing and the restaurant industry.
• Work cross functionally with Purchasing, Operations, QA, Marketing and Regulatory to better understand how R&D can improve operational efficiencies.
• Collaborate with QA and create/organize required R&D documentation for SQF initiatives as needed.
• Perform operational tasks and other projects and activities as needed.
• Attend industry trade shows and ingredient summits to support R&D knowledge and excellence.
• Ability to manage/train junior members of the team.
• Follow SQF guidelines and Food Safety Standards when working in the lab and the production environment.

Requirements

Requirements:

• Culinary degree from an accredited institution
• BS in Food Science preferred but not required.
• 10+ years of culinary experience with at least 5 years in product development in the food manufacturing industry. (experience in bakery, frozen, snacks, sauces, prepared meals)
• Experience developing products for large scale manufacturing and a strong understanding of food science and ingredient functionality.
• Experience with sensory evaluation and product demonstrations at trade shows.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Proficient in software (Excel, Word, Office, Genesis).
• Excellent communication, documentation and presentation skills.
• Ability to travel for plant trials, trade shows or industry events.
• Bi-lingual (English/Spanish) language skills a plus.

Teamwork Aptitude:

• Adapt to change and work in a team-based environment.
• Must be flexible with working schedule: weekends, holidays, shift change (when covering plant trials and first production runs)
• Possess leadership mentality to train new team members as needed.