Emilia\'s Crafted Pasta | Food and Drink Development Manager

Position: Food & Drink Development Manager (Italian Pasta Restaurants)

Salary: £42,000 – £50,000 PA (depending on experience) + annual bonus (depending on performance)

Location: Central London

Hours: 45 hours per week (full time)

1) Do you believe that fresh, honest, 100% fresh, natural food with soul-warming homely hospitality should be affordable for everyone?

2) Do you believe London and the UK needs more independent restaurants that genuinely care about their guests and teams?

3) Do you want to come on an incredible journey with us to help us build the Emilia’s Crafted Pasta brand further?

3) Do you love Italian pasta & culture?

If so, I might want to meet you.

Over the last 8 years, we’ve been on an incredible journey to build the brand for pasta for the next generation. We’ve managed to grow the brand & company continuously despite everything the world has thrown our way. We currently have 4 restaurants, with a 5th set to open in 2025 and our family is now over 100 people & we’re growing every year!

We have so much exciting stuff going on that I’m now looking for a F&B Development Manager to help me on my journey to build an incredible pasta brand. Every day I wake up excited, happy and inspired to grow and nurture the Emilia’s family, making our food taste and feel delicious as well as creating memorable experiences for our guests. I work every day on my vision to build an amazing company, but I can’t do it alone, I need help.

I need someone who is self-motivated, creative, hands on, well-organised, business savvy, commercially smart & not shy to get stuck in to take our food & beverage offering to the next level. Ideally you will good experience working both as a chef and as a development manager in another restaurant or group, which will help you to thrive in this role. You should have a hands-on approach to your work and also have a good understanding of the current trends in the restaurant market, understand what it takes to stand out in a crowded market as well as be proficient in COGs, financials, commercial negotiations, supplier management, food safety, hygiene, H&S, COSHH & HACCP.

You will be working on a range of food & drink projects & initiatives at any one time that will include:

· Managing everything related to developing & implementing new recipes/dishes/products for our restaurant menus

· Preparing costings, fact sheets & full analysis on new product development items

· Building strong relationships with our suppliers & improving our supply chain

· Finding new suppliers and negotiating commercial agreements

· Improving our COGs and managing our supply chain from A to Z

· Training our operations chef & kitchen management teams to ensure good quality control across our restaurants

· Working with our kitchen management teams to brainstorm new ideas & improve current systems/processes/operations

· Managing and improving our wastage & sustainability credentials across our group.

· Amongst other things…

Your work will cover a broad spectrum of areas/divisions relating to food & beverage development/management and you must have a natural curiosity to all aspects of a food business 😊

You will be the first person in our central office F&B team, so you’ll have to enjoy & thrive from leading on all projects and initiatives

You must have a love for Italian pasta & culture, warm homely hospitality as well as fresh food made with 100% natural ingredients.

There is no office, so you’ll be working hybrid from our restaurant’s kitchens and from home. You’ll have flexibility and freedom with your schedule, but I need someone who will be dedicated to Emilia’s. You’ll likely need to work 3 days per week in Central London and 2 days per week from home, though this will vary week to week.

I believe in our teams having a good work/life balance with a happy life inside and outside of work, but there will be times when work is required on weekends and other weird and wonderful times. After all hospitality is a 7 days a week business & it\’s important that our onsite teams feel us supporting them.

You will be compensated fairly and should the company (and your division) perform above expectations, you will be additionally compensated with an annual bonus.

I am very busy managing all areas of the business, which means I won’t be able to hold your hand constantly throughout the day. I will need you to work independently (and with our management team) most of the time and I will commit to being there to support, guide and mentor you through whatever obstacles we may encounter, so that you can become the best version of yourself.

You will need to be fairly experienced & proficient in food & drink product development/management and experienced in the how restaurant kitchens are run, but most importantly you must have a love for Italian pasta & be hands-on in your work!

In a nutshell – I need a right-hand man or woman to manage and develop all our food & drink across Emilia’s … I need someone who wants to come on this incredible journey with us 🙂

If you’re interested, please apply both directly via LinkedIN and email me at andrew@emiliaspasta.com with your CV, a short covering letter/paragraph explaining why you are suitable for this position and a presentation with projects that you have worked on in the past that you are particularly proud of.

I look forward to seeing your application!

Andrew Macleod (Founder & CEO of Emilia’s)