NPD Pastry Chef

Summary

An opportunity for a talented Pastry Chef to make a career move into NPD (New Product Development).

Job Description

Our client is a division of a highly reputable chilled food manufacturer; an established leader in developing and producing chilled products for a number of categories. This site specialises in chilled dessert, manufacturing for a number of retail clients including Tesco & Waitrose and many more. Over the years the site has grown and evolved significantly to cope with the increase in business. There are a number of Pastry Chefs on site who have come from respected hospitality backgrounds and have transferred their culinary skills to develop products for retail sale, so they will be able to support any Chef new to this arena.

Innovation is constantly at the forefront of this NPD Department, looking at existing ranges and working on developing new products 6-12 months in advance.

As an NPD Chef in this division you will work alongside a team of NPD Pastry Chefs and report to a Senior NPD Pastry Chef who will train and nurture you until you have a good grasp on the demands of the role of Development Chef working from customer briefs, completing benchmark analysis of competitor products, making samples for internal tasting sessions and also for retailer submission. You will need to work in an organised and methodical manner with a constant eye for detail following specifications.

The hours of work will differ considerably from that of a conventional kitchen - goodbye to split shifts and there will be limited weekend work.

This role will suit a Pastry Chef who has a number of years working in Pastry sections of high quality kitchens; minimum 2-3 years, unless you can demonstrate that your skill level is high and that you have fast tracked your knowledge. You will need to have well honed and diverse pastry skills and used to working with a wide range of ingredients, and able to recognise provenance and seasonality of ingredients and produce, and of course be up to date with current trends from restaurant and retail perspectives.

Not only do you need to be a talented Pastry Chef you will need to be comfortable working as part of a team; sharing and learning from each other.

New Product Development Chef roles are highly sought after and this is a 'plum' role for a Pastry Chef looking for a first move into Pastry NPD. Send a comprehensive cv that clearly highlights your role and accountabilities and styles of food you have delivered. Tell us what gives you the point of difference that will ensure we introduce you to our client.

Ref JBM8143