Associate R&D Chef

Home Chef • Chicago, IL

17h • Onsite

About The Position

The Associate R&D Chef supports the Tempo culinary team within Home Chef’s new product development department. The role assists with developing compound ingredient formulations and meals, cooking for meal research and development, preparing ingredients for sampling, checking production meals for accuracy, and supporting photography work.

This is an in-office position working in the R&D kitchen at the Old Post Office in downtown Chicago and in the production kitchen in Bedford Park, Illinois. The role includes managing ingredients and supplies, preparing and scaling recipes, cooking and assembling meals, testing and refining formulations and techniques, documenting products with photographs, and responding to feedback from culinary and cross-functional partners. It also supports weekly production meal checks, menu photo reviews, meal tasting, ingredient sampling, and project work. The position requires 0–10% travel.

Requirements

• Culinary background required.
• Strong understanding of food.
• High attention to detail and ability to adhere exactly to shopping lists and Home Chef cooking specifications.
• ServSafe certification or a strong understanding of sanitary practices.
• Ability to carry bags of groceries through an elevator daily; carts are available.
• Ability to taste and provide thorough feedback on every meal and ingredient sample test in the kitchen, including vegetarian, pork, chicken, steak, seafood, dairy, and added-sugar items.
• Completion of a two-year program such as an Associate degree; Culinary Arts degree specified.
• Must be able to work in the R&D kitchen in downtown Chicago and the production kitchen in Bedford Park.

Nice To Haves

• At least 1 year of consumer packaged goods experience preferred.
• At least 1 year of professional cooking experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain R&D and production-kitchen ingredients, including inventory, ordering stock, removing expired products, and transferring items between kitchens.
• Own inventory of ready-to-heat ingredients in the R&D kitchen, including locating, tracking, and storing items for near- and long-term use.
• Help Culinary Apprentices manage grocery shopping, including communicating with R&D kitchen personnel, preparing lists, shopping, putting groceries away, and sourcing last-minute items.
• Help order kitchen supplies, specialty ingredients, and kitchen equipment from suppliers, production facilities, and online sources.
• Serve as a resource for cross-functional teams.
• Prepare mise en place and execute meals or compound ingredients as assigned.
• Cook rough-draft bench-top formulations of compound ingredients and evaluate production viability, including flavor, nutrition, ease of execution, and performance over time.
• Assemble meals to specifications.
• Photograph meals and compound ingredients, edit the photos, and upload them to the appropriate folders for internal production and customer-facing use.
• Participate in meal and compound-ingredient feedback discussions and implement feedback with the manager to improve formulations and procedures.
• Refine ingredient quantities, recipe wording, and timing to support successful products.
• Scale recipes to full R&D batches for testing and refinement, and to full production batches for testing at the Bedford Park facility as needed.
• Scale non-cooking kitchen or assembly operations at the Bedford Park facility as needed.
• Follow food-safety rules in the R&D kitchen and sanitation, GMP, and food-safety rules in the production kitchen.
• Respond to feedback from R&D chefs, production chefs, and Product Team members to improve outputs and workflows.
• Test techniques and recipe changes to improve quality, yield, nutrition, and efficiency.
• Participate in setup and tasting for the new-ingredient sampling process.
• Execute key project work and drive workstreams when necessary.
• Participate in weekly and ad hoc production meal edit checks and ad hoc bulk meal and ingredient updates.
• Assess meal assembly photos on live menus for accuracy and reshoot photos as needed.
• Taste and provide feedback daily on meals developed by Tempo R&D chefs.
• Regularly attend and participate in required Tempo culinary and cross-functional team meetings.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation time.
• 401(k) program with match.
• Flexible spending accounts for qualified medical, dependent care, parking, or transit expenses.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree