Meal Kit Recipe Developer

Silvertree Brands; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 420,000 - 540,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discounts across Silvertree portfolio

Job summary

Silvertree Brands is seeking a Recipe Developer for UCOOK to create and test up to 32 meal kit recipes weekly, collaborating with Procurement, Operations, Marketing and Tech/Data teams to ensure brand-aligned offerings.

The role requires culinary qualifications, plus experience in multiple categories (vegan, vegetarian, low carb) and strong Excel skills to manage data and recipe costings.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification in Culinary
• Diploma or degree in Food technology advantageous
• Recipe development experience is advantageous
• Experience across vegan, vegetarian, low carb categories
• Understanding of an operational food facility and food safety
• Strong Excel/Google Sheets skills

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, and perfect up to 32 meal kit recipes weekly
• Collaborate with Procurement, Operations, Marketing, and Tech/Data teams
• Conduct cooking tests and document results with quality control
• Manage recipe cards, ingredient lists, and images for UCOOK
• Support photoshoots and marketing initiatives
• Uphold food safety and maintain kitchen standards

Skills

Creativity

Time management

Attention to detail

Cross-functional teamwork

Food safety

Education

Culinary qualification

Food technology degree

Tools

Power BI

Acumatica

Excel/Google Sheets

Job description

ABOUT US

Silvertree Brands builds disruptive purpose-driven consumer and digital brands. Our power brands include UCOOK, Faithful to Nature, PetHeaven and SKOON. We focus on building amazing customer experiences that are “Good for you, good for the planet.” We trust our employees with full accountability and autonomy from day one. This unique entrepreneurial and performance-driven culture enables us to achieve executional excellence.

At UCOOK we create 32 new meal kit recipes (dinners and lunch) for our customers to choose from each week, and we deliver fresh, locally-sourced and ethical pre-portioned ingredients to their door. Additionally we deliver frozen meals, desserts, market items, and we have a UCOOK Store which has a variety of fresh deli meals and grab and go products that are manufactured daily.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Recipe Developer is responsible for creating, testing, and perfecting innovative, high-quality recipes that align with UCOOKs brand, customer expectations, and operational capabilities. As a key member of the UCOOK Food Team, this role contributes to the development, testing, and finalisation of up to 32 Meal Kit recipes each week. The successful candidate will have a thorough understanding of the Meal Kit categories and the ability to develop recipes within these frameworks. They must work effectively as part of a team while adhering to a structured weekly schedule. This position offers a dynamic balance of creativity and administration, requiring a candidate with a passion for food, a flair for flavour, and strong attention to detail in executing supporting tasks.

The Recipe Developer will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including Procurement, Operations, Marketing, and Tech/ Data.

1.Recipe Development & Innovation

• Research, ideate, and develop new recipes that reflect current food trends, customer preferences, and brand positioning
• Sourcing of new ingredients and ingredients.
• Internal development of products to be used in Mealkits, made in our own production kitchen.
• Adapt global flavors, seasonal ingredients, dietary requirements, and category standards into accessible, exciting recipes that are delicious, easy to follow and innovative
• Ensure recipes are balanced with creativity, taste, and category requirements
• Cost recipes accurately
• Write recipes clearly adhering to standard methods
• Review customer feedback to continuously enhance dish quality and overall menu appeal on a weekly basis

2.Cooking

• Conduct testing and approve dish flavour, texture, methods, cooking times, and portion sizes
• Record testing feedback, update documentation, and ensuring all feedback is actioned
• Maintain quality control standards within the test kitchen
• Maintain a clean and organised kitchen environment
• Demonstrate respect for ingredients — minimising waste, storing items correctly, and handling ingredients with care
• Conduct quality assessments of ingredients before and during recipe testing to ensure freshness, consistency, and compliance with specifications

3.Administration

• Conducting a variety of internal Food Team documentation adhering to weekly schedules
• Work on UCOOK software platforms (i.e Power BI, server-side software, Acumatica)
• Manage ingredient substitutions in collaboration with Procurement and Operations teams
• Complete and manage documentation and processes for external brand partnerships and collaborations (e.g., wine pairings with local farms, Discovery campaigns)
• Management of dish uploading on UCOOK backend - ensuring recipe data, ingredient lists, methods, and images are correct
• Manage the creation, proofing, and delivery of recipe cards, reviewing for accuracy, clarity, and brand consistency
• Mitigate recipe card errors proactively through systematic checking and close collaboration
• Provide support to Customer Service in investigating and responding to customer complaints
• Support photoshoots and marketing initiatives — including assisted planning, cooking, and demonstrating cooking activities
• Bi-annual nutritional document and specification review and update

4.Continuous Improvement

• Review performance data and customer feedback to continuously enhance existing recipes
• Maintain high quality control standards in all recipe development activities
• Uphold food safety standards within the test kitchen
• Recipe card improvements with meticulous attention to detail and detail-oriented culinary proofreader

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

• Tertiary qualification in Culinary
• Diploma or degree in Food technology advantageous
• Recipe development experience is advantageous
• Experience in developing recipes across multiple categories (i.e. vegan, vegetarian, low carb)
• Understanding of an operational food facility, packing, etc is advantageous
• Understanding of Food safety
• Strong Excel/Google sheet skills

Functional skills:

• Good cook with a passion for food and an understanding of food and flavours
• Time management
• Strong oral and written communication
• Attention to detail
• Proficient in cross-functional team work
• Creative and innovative
• Understanding of global flavours, specific cuisines and precise dish formats

Soft skills:

• Collaborative team player
• Dynamic and flexible
• Strong problem solver
• Builds strong relationships
• Passionate about food and customer experience
• Ability to motivate self and others
• Proactive, shows initiative, and driven
• Finger on the pulse of current trends within the Food Industry
• Accountability

BENEFITS

• Discounts across the Silvertree portfolio group

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• Own transportation