The Ivy Collection is a group of 61 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, including The Ivy Brasseries, The Ivy Asia, Harry’s Restaurants, Brasserie of Light, and the original The Ivy, established in 1917. Our iconic restaurants are celebrated for exceptional food, outstanding service, and unforgettable moments.
We are now looking for a talented Pastry Development Chef to join our Food Development team and help shape the future of our dessert and bakery offering across the business. This role is based at our Development Kitchen in Acton and will work closely with Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain and Executive Chefs to deliver innovative, commercially successful products.
Key Responsibilities:
- Develop innovative dessert, bakery and pastry products across The Ivy Collection brands.
- Create recipes, specifications and production methods that can be consistently replicated across multiple sites.
- Work closely with suppliers, Procurement and Supply Chain teams to source ingredients and products that support menu innovation and cost control.
- Identify emerging trends, ingredients and techniques to enhance our pastry offering.
- Ensure all new products are operationally practical, scalable and commercially viable.
- Lead product tastings, trials and launches, providing recommendations and feedback.
- Create and maintain recipe cards, operational guides and product specifications.
- Support quarterly menu changes, seasonal launches and special occasion menus.
- Deliver training for Area Chefs, Head Chefs and kitchen teams to ensure successful implementation across the business.
- Collaborate with Marketing on seasonal campaigns, menu launches and food photography projects.
What we're looking for:
- Proven experience in a pastry development, pastry innovation or senior pastry chef role.
- Strong knowledge of pastry production, bakery techniques, ingredients and current market trends.
- Experience developing recipes and products for multi-site hospitality or retail environments.
- Commercial understanding of food cost, margins, scalability and operational delivery.
- Strong supplier management and product sourcing experience.
- Excellent organisational and project management skills.
- Passion for innovation, quality and continuous improvement.
- Confident communicator with the ability to influence and train teams across multiple locations.
Benefits & Rewards:
- 50% discount for you and up to 3 guests when dining in our restaurants.
- 30% discount across the wider group of restaurants.
- Competitive industry pay (based on salary & Tronc)
- Extra holiday allowance linked to length of service — up to 5 additional days after 5 years.
- Career development opportunities across one of the UK's leading hospitality groups.
