Product Development Chef

ABOUT THE ROLE

Reporting directly to the Head Development Chef, you will work side-by-side in the kitchen throughout the entire menu lifecycle—from initial concept to final execution. This is a fast-paced role where you will master the product development process while driving key operational tasks and managing multiple moving parts. Crucially, you will also act as our on-site representative within the Operations team, serving as the vital bridge between your manager's creative recipe concepts and the final production reality on the fulfillment floor. This will be a varied role, and would require someone with strong attention to detail, excellent multi-tasking skills, great communication and a willingness to learn. This is an active role, requiring you to be on your feet for most of your shift.

In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £4.25 per hour. Expected salary - Salary up to £37,500 depending on experience. Contract type - This position is a Permanent contract. Working pattern - 40 hours per week. Location - Our Dishpatch base in North Greenwich, London.

Key responsibilities

• New Product Development (NPD): Participate in creative ideation sessions, assist with project timelines, create & develop recipes and prepare high-quality food samples for internal tastings, photo shoots, and marketing events.
• Test Box Process: Manage the end-to-end trialling process for new dish concepts.
• Kitchen & Stock Management: Oversee development kitchen stock control, counting & moving stock, labelling, and maintain a spotless, presentation-ready kitchen environment.
• Operational Handover: Create 100% accurate recipes, specifications, and handover documents for the Operations team, providing hands-on training where needed.
• On-Site Representation: Act as the primary face of the Food Product team within Operations—updating teams on launch schedules, collecting feedback, and resolving query items.
• Packaging & Delivery: Partner with Fulfillment to optimise dish packaging for quality and transit, and oversee special VIP delivery preparations.

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• Kitchen Experience: Minimum 2 years Chef de Partie (CDP) level experience in a professional kitchen environment. You should be confident in finding your way around the kitchen.
• A True Foodie: A deep, genuine passion for food innovation, ingredients, and current culinary trends.
• Agility & Multitasking: The ability to seamlessly switch gears from cooking to administrative tasks in a fast-moving scale-up environment.
• Sharp Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; you can write clear instructions and build great relationships across teams.
• Organization: Highly organized with excellent time-management skills and great attention to detail.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Prior experience in recipe testing or a New Product Development (NPD) environment.
• Prior experience in a high volume production environment.
• Experience working with a central recipe database, calculating yields, or writing technical food specifications.
• A basic understanding of food costing or the logistics of a food-tech/dark kitchen business model.

Important points to note: It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles. We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants. We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.