Research & Development Chef Job in Lake City 30260, Georgia US
The Director of Culinary Product Development (“RD Chef”)
provides the culinary leadership and technical expertise to deliver new
concepts, new thinking, and benchtop prototypes of new food products for
commercialization by the company. The R D Chef collaborates closely with
the company’s sales team, food scientists, manufacturing leadership, quality
assurance team and purchasing to create exciting new products to grow revenue.
The position reports to the Executive Chef and works closely with Sales, R
D and Operations to take his or her ideas from idea and concept through
recipe, benchtop and commercialization to plant-scale production. Our R D
Chef possesses an intense curiosity and creative approach to combinations of
flavors, textures and seasonings to inspire exceptional quality and innovative,
fun and exciting food products. By working with outside professionals in
flavor, culinary and technology, our R D Chef brings ideas and
ingredients from a wide range of experiences to the Company’s sales people, our
customers and our coworkers.
Principal Accountabilities
Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: a. Identify, develop and create new product concepts, new recipes, and recommend improvements to existing Company products consistent with marketing and customer strategies and operations capabilities. b. Work closely with the Company’s product development and production professionals to translate recipes, protocepts, and benchtop samples
to production scale products. c. Prepare recipes for product cuttings (new, internal quality assessment, etc.) for leadership staff and key customers to deliver potential new business opportunities. d. Participate in plant trials to assure production product is consistent with product development samples and customer expectations. e. Identify and explore unique ingredients and flavor systems that help improve existing as well as create new products with competitive advantage f. Collaborate with the Company’s sales and marketing professionals to attend customer meetings on an as needed basis. g. Create events to showcase/present/stage lunches for visitors to the Company’s Innovation Center and for RD events. h. Maintain overview of new ingredients available from suppliers to use and inspire cross category product development. Provides senior management with accurate and timely status reports.
Desired Skills Experience
Associate Degree in Culinary Arts desired, with expertise in
food manufacturing environments—frozen • Knowledge of food safety,
HACCP, and GMP’s are important. • Enjoys Hands-on/practical work and
experimenting with food.
Our ideal candidate will first and foremost be a collaborative team player with a blend
of “passion, creativity and unity and community”. The ability to inspire fun
and teamship, while exploring the boundaries of personal expression and
creativity are vital. He or she should have relevant experiences reflecting the
following professional food environments: • Experience working in a
manufacturing environment developing products for Club, Foodservice and Retail
partners. • Current experience working with Foodservice chefs, category chefs
or product application chefs to understand a) new innovations benchmark
developments, b) category trends and c) product trends • Convert chef “gold
standards” into working culinary prototypes using combination of industrial and
semi-commercialized ingredients; effectively hand over and communicate to food
scientists for further design and deploy activities • Own and oversee the
quality of RD product development ensuring it meets chef benchmarks by
supporting Production leadership during product process development •
Drive culinary and creativity within RD department through individual as
well as team training events and establishing strong links with RCA and
IFT professionals. • Knowledge of and experience working in food manufacturing
environments with oversight by FDA, USDA and third party independent food
safety and auditing agencies. • Drive customer understanding within RD
team to raise the bar in Club, grocery and foodservice channels • Maintain
overview of new ingredients available from suppliers that are applicable to
future developments within the Company’s area of capability—and beyond. •
Inspire and challenge the boundaries within RD, particularly from exposure
to and experience in frozen high quality gourmet food products • Provide culinary evaluation and sign off approvals to solve supply chain rigor and shipping requirements. • Provide culinary guidance to assist cross functional project teams to deliver projects to the Company’s customer sales teams. Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite.
Company Description
Kabobs, Inc. is a manufacturer of gourmet food in Lake City, Georgia. For over thirty five years, Kabobs has been dedicated to creating superior quality products and delivering unparallel service in the premium hors d’oeuvre market, every piece, every time. We serve both customers and the food service industry with equal pride, attention to detail, and consideration with our ever expanding line of products. Our success
is achieved through never being satisfied until our customers, and the people who enjoy our hors d’oeuvres, are. All of our efforts are geared toward producing the finest products available. Kabobs boasts a state of the art 60,000 square foot, USDA approved, facility in Lake City, Georgia, just south of Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport. For more information about Kabobs, Inc. visit us at www.kabobs.com EOE
Interested candidates should send your resume with salary requirements to careers@kabobs.com . EOE