Development Kitchen Chef

Position Title: Development Chef Position Type: Regular - Full-Time Development Chef. At McCain, we're feeding the world: from French fries to Smiles, we contribute to the important role food plays in people's lives. That's why we're dedicated to ensuring our core values-Family, Authentic, Trusted, and Quality-shine through every day. We believe that we can work together, along with our business and community partners, to bring sustainable growth and positive change today, tomorrow, and for generations to come. Your Life - we're here to help you fulfil your potential, flourish, and thrive in work and life. Your Impact - we want you to make a meaningful, lasting impact for you, for your colleagues, and for the business. The Development Chef is at the heart of delivering McCain's culinary vision, bringing food innovation to life through strong customer partnerships and chef-to-chef collaboration. More than product development, this role is about inspiring customers, understanding their operational needs, and creating commercially successful, scalable menu solutions that make a real impact. Combining hands-on culinary expertise with strategic customer engagement, the Development Chef builds trusted relationships, influences menu decisions, and showcases McCain as the value-adding supplier of choice. By understanding their needs and leveraging data and consumer insights, we drive mutual success. Through ambition, curiosity, and smart risks, we can accomplish goals, refine processes, and innovate to scale success. Inclusion is about listening first, showing humility, and working together. Drive customer retention, win-back, and growth opportunities by providing hands-on culinary expertise, technical guidance, and tailored operational support. Create and maintain high-quality technical documentation, including specifications, SOPs, and trial reports, ensuring consistency and excellence across projects. Help shape compelling commercial stories through product benchmarking, performance testing, and competitive analysis that showcase McCain's added value. Technical Skills & Knowledge Proven expertise in product formulation and recipe development, particularly within frozen potato-based products. Strong understanding of ingredient functionality, including potatoes, oils, stabilisers, anti-caking agents, and functional additives. Advanced understanding of food safety and quality systems, including HACCP and global regulatory standards such as FDA and EFSA. Solid knowledge of compliance requirements, including HFSS regulations and allergen management. Experience optimising manufacturing processes across freezing, packaging, storage, and distribution. Strong technical capability in industrial cooking methods, including blanching, frying, and freezing. Skilled at understanding customer kitchen operations, equipment, and constraints, translating them into practical menu and product solutions. Commercially minded, with the ability to connect culinary and technical expertise to key business drivers such as yield, margin, labour efficiency, and menu profitability. This role is a homebased role with extensive travel, but our head office (Customer Experience Centre) is on the outskirts of Scarborough - 1.5 hours away from Leeds City Centre, and about an hour from York. We have lots of colleagues who travel to and from our Experience Centre (even if it is just for a good coffee!) and because hybrid really does mean hybrid at McCain, they get the opportunity to collaborate with their colleagues when they're in the office, and balance that with working from home to ensure they get a good life-work balance. A generous Car Allowance An achievable yearly bonus based on personal performance. An excellent pension where we will pay double what you do, up to a maximum of 12% of your pay Flexible holidays - where you can buy & sell up to 5 days holiday per year Optional health cash plan Cycle to work scheme 'Chips In' Volunteering Day Off - to make a positive impact to the competitiveness, resilience, and long-term development of McCain communities across the globe And of course, being part of a Global business there are great opportunities to shine/thrive should you wish to relocate in the future. We have an ambitious 5-year growth plan that presents development & progression opportunities for those who seek it out. We are McCain: this statement is about our power collectively and our importance individually-your impact is a significant part of the business. Here, you have the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive while being yourself. McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family-owned company, we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with McCain's Global Privacy Policy and Global Employee Privacy Policy, as applicable. Sales Division: GB Commercial Foodservice McCain Foods (G.