Development & Applications Chef II

About Kerry

About the role

We are looking for a dynamic, highly motivated Chef to join our Retail Chef Team, supporting customers across the UK. Reporting to the Senior Executive Chef, RD&A, you will play a key role within Kerry's UK & Europe Research, Development & Applications (RD&A) team, collaborating closely with Commercial, Marketing, and RD&A colleagues to bring innovative food solutions to life.

This role focuses on developing exciting, trend-led food concepts across categories including meals, soups, sauces, meat, and plant-based applications. You will demonstrate how Kerry's Taste and Nutrition technologies can be combined to create consumer-preferred products that help customers accelerate innovation, improve quality, and deliver greater value.

Using your culinary expertise and passion for food, you will transform market insights, emerging trends, and customer needs into commercially relevant concepts that showcase Kerry's industry-leading ingredient portfolio and technology capabilities.

Key responsibilities

• Develop innovative food concepts inspired by consumer trends, market insights, customer needs, and Kerry's technology portfolio, including flavours, fermentation, stocks, dairy ingredients, nutrition solutions, marinades, and coatings.
• Partner with Commercial, Marketing, and RD&A teams to identify growth opportunities and deliver customer-focused innovation.
• Drive a structured concept-to-development process, working closely with technologists to ensure consistency, quality, and attention to detail.
• Implement and maintain robust quality and positive release processes across projects.
• Prepare and deliver engaging customer presentations and demonstrations that showcase Kerry's capabilities while aligning with customer objectives and commercial realities.
• Leverage culinary expertise to provide valuable food and market insights that influence innovation and business growth.
• Stay ahead of market, competitor, and consumer trends to identify future opportunities.
• Build strong relationships across Kerry's global culinary network, including the Kerry Craft Collective.
• Develop peer-to-peer relationships with retail customers and manufacturing partners to create value and strengthen collaboration.
• Maintain high standards of laboratory, kitchen, and customer-suite housekeeping, ensuring compliance with all health and safety requirements.
• Collaborate closely with Kerry technologists to execute customer briefs effectively and efficiently.

Qualifications and skills

• Formal culinary, food, or chef-related education.
• Hands-on professional chef experience.
• Ability to translate ingredient technologies into compelling finished food concepts.
• Strong presentation, communication, and storytelling skills.
• A creative and innovative mindset combined with commercial practicality.
• Proven ability to deliver high-quality outcomes against tight briefs and timelines.
• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to quality standards.
• Strong understanding of kitchen, laboratory, and food safety practices.
• Competent IT skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work independently and within cross-functional teams.
• Genuine passion for food preparation, evaluation, and culinary innovation.
• Naturally curious, inquisitive, and eager to challenge conventional thinking.