Role Profile: Development Chef
This role is designed for a highly creative culinary professional rather than a traditional food scientist.
The ideal candidate approaches product development with a chef’s mindset—driven by flavour, ingredients, and imagination. Technical knowledge supports the work, but creativity, curiosity and a deep understanding of food are the true priorities.
The successful candidate will have a natural grasp of:
- Ingredient origins and functionality
- Flavour creation, pairing and balance
- Culinary techniques and processes
- Global cuisines and emerging food trends
This is a role for someone who thinks like a chef first, innovator second, and scientist third.
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Innovation Focus
This position sits at the very front end of the innovation pipeline. It is about imagining the future of food, not refining what already exists.
Key responsibilities include:
- Blue‑sky thinking
- Creating completely new concepts
- Translating consumer trends into product ideas
- Developing solutions for future consumer needs
- Crafting exciting product experiences before formal development begins
This is not a recipe‑tweaking role—it is a concept‑generation role.
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Collaboration & Working Environment
The Development Chef will work closely with:
- Senior culinary leadership
- Flavour specialists
- Consumer insight teams
- Innovation leadership
The role requires strong collaboration across multiple functions to transform culinary ideas into commercially viable products.
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Candidate Background
The hiring manager is open‑minded about where candidates come from. Strong fits include:
- Development Chef
- Innovation Chef
- Pastry Chef / Senior Pastry Chef
- Sous Chef
- Head Pastry Chef
- Executive Pastry Chef
- Foodservice chefs with strong creative development experience
Candidates preferably from the FMCG sector is preferred are welcome, provided they bring exceptional creativity, culinary skill and the right mindset.
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Personality & Mindset
The ideal candidate will be:
- Naturally creative
- Passionate about food
- Curious about global cuisines and trends
- Comfortable experimenting and pushing boundaries
- Strong at communicating ideas
- Collaborative and open to cross‑functional teamwork
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Additional Details
- Based in High Wycombe
- Some travel required, including potential international travel
- Global exposure across multiple markets and cultures
- Sponsorship cannot be offered for this role
- Salary flexibility available for outstanding candidates
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Relevant Experience
The ideal background blends bakery/pastry expertise with exposure to chocolate and confectionery from food manufacturing
Experience mix:
- ~60% Bakery / Pastry
- ~40% Chocolate / Confectionery
They do not expect equal mastery across both areas, but strong bakery/pastry foundations are essential.
Relevant experience includes:
- Bakery
- Patisserie
- Chocolate
- Premium desserts
- Sweet baked goods
I suspect due to the role type and the number of applications we will not be able to contact all candidates for feedback , only those selected for the shortlist
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