Development Chef (Part-Time)

Development Chef (Part-Time)

Reports to: Head of Innovation

Location: Bristol Innovation Centre

Benefits: Competitive basic salary + 20 days holiday (pro rata) + your birthday off + health care scheme + other company benefits

Hours: 21 hours per week (during office hours, occasional flexibility may be required)

Purpose of role:

FSC is a family business with more than 30 years of award-winning experience in creating,
rolling out and managing bespoke customer food-on-the-move solutions. Our
customers include a selection of blue-chip companies in various industries, such as Shell, Thornton’s and Dunelm. 

The Development Chef will be based at the Bristol Innovation Centre (BIC) and along with a small team of chefs, responsible for creating innovative recipes and products to meet our customer requirements in a challenging and fast-moving environment.

The role will involve:

Delivering new products & customer launches to market as part of an Agile scrum team, through:

•    Developing and creating new recipes, based on customer’s briefs and own knowledge of food trends
•    Investigating new food trends and competitor activity at a local, national and global levels
•    Sourcing ingredients from national and international suppliers, whilst understanding supplier capability
•    Building an understanding of customer’s brand values, nutritional requirements and product parameters 
•    Knowledgeably presenting products at product focus groups and customer tasting meetings
•    Having final product sign off from a quality perspective
•    Building knowledge of relevant legislation affecting customer, suppliers and projects
•    Undertaking product testing – including transit trials, shelf life and heating methods 
•    Working closely with the relevant people and teams to ensure internal systems are updated with correct information 
•    Attending and contributing to the daily stand-up meeting with scrum team members to discuss planned and completed work tasks, and assist team by removing blockers where possible 
•    Booking required resources for the team, including kitchen time
•    Working with a wide range of products including savoury pastry, sweet pastry, hot and cold eating sandwiches, salads, ready meals, prepared fruit, milk and fruit drinks, cakes, savoury and ethnic snacks
•    Ensuring food safety and hygiene are always maintained and all records are well documented and up to date
•    Pro-active ‘blue sky’ development with a view to meeting and exceeding expectations
•    Promoting a positive friendly ‘can do’ attitude within the department
•    Ensuring recipes are accurate, feasible and entered correctly into Recipe Professor
•    Stock control, liaising with suppliers and managing sample requests and ingredient feedback 
•    Performing any other duties and objectives as required from time to time in order to contribute effectively to the achievement of the business aims and objectives
•    Some travel to food exhibitions will be necessary
•    Attendance of corporate events and functions, as and when required

Qualifications (academic and work-related)

Essential

•    Education from a food-related college e.g., NVQ Level 2 in Professional Cookery

•   The right to work in the UK

Preferred

•    Food Hygiene qualifications
•    Food Safety Level 3

Experience

•    Previous experience as an NPD chef
•    Working in a manufacturing environment
•    Customer facing presentation skills are desirable
•    Good all-round global food knowledge 
•    Food photography experience is desirable 

Skills 

•    Keen interest in food and have the desire to investigate new food trends
•    Excellent organisational skills
•    Computer literate
•    Highly numerate
•    Good food presentation skills
•    A self-starter
•    Ability to work independently/part of a team
•    Relishes working in a fast-paced environment in a hands-on capacity
•    Enjoys frequent challenges, change and working in multiple locations 
•    Has a natural can-do attitude and attention to detail
•    Shows initiative
•    Ability to cost a recipe
•    Creative/Innovative personality 
•    Has ability to learn to use new software quickly
•    Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal 
•    If required to drive to suppliers/clients or between offices 
•    A valid UK driving licence is essential