Executive Chef - NPD for High-Volume QSR

Talent Candey; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Talent Candey is seeking an Executive Chef for New Product Development to spearhead the creation and commercialization of innovative menu items from concept to rollout. You will work with Operations, Marketing, Procurement, and Supply Chain to ensure brand standards, profitability, and scalability across multi-site environments.

Ideal candidates possess 8+ years in culinary roles, including 3+ years in Senior/Executive positions, with proven NPD experience and strong food-cost expertise.

Qualifications

• Culinary Diploma or Degree from a recognized institution.
• Minimum 8 years' professional culinary experience.
• At least 3 years' experience in a Senior Chef or Executive Chef role.
• Proven New Product Development (NPD) experience.
• Experience in QSR, Fast Food, FMCG, multi-unit environments is advantageous.
• Demonstrated experience developing and scaling recipes for high-volume commercial kitchens.
• Experience developing SOPs and recipe specifications.
• Strong experience in food costing, yield analysis, and menu engineering.
• Experience conducting product trials, sensory evaluations, and consumer taste testing.
• Experience working with suppliers, manufacturers, and ingredient/flavor houses.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end development of new menu products from concept to rollout.
• Develop seasonal, limited-time and permanent menu products aligned with brand positioning and customer preferences.
• Conduct food trend analysis and benchmarking to identify opportunities.
• Convert concepts into scalable recipes for high-volume operations.
• Collaborate with Marketing to align launches with campaigns and calendars.
• Ensure recipes are reproducible across locations and units.
• Oversee SOP and recipe-card development and production testing.
• Work with Procurement and Supply Chain to source quality ingredients and manage costs.

Skills

Culinary expertise

Flavor profiling

Recipe development

Food safety (HACCP)

SOP documentation

Communication skills

Education

Culinary Diploma or Degree

Culinary school qualification or equivalent

Job description

Talent Candey is seeking an Executive Chef for New Product Development to spearhead the creation and commercialization of innovative menu items from concept to rollout. You will work with Operations, Marketing, Procurement, and Supply Chain to ensure brand standards, profitability, and scalability across multi-site environments.

Ideal candidates possess 8+ years in culinary roles, including 3+ years in Senior/Executive positions, with proven NPD experience and strong food-cost expertise.