Culinary Development Technician

Description

Job Summary:

The Taylor Farms Culinary Development Technician supports the development, testing, commercialization, launch, and execution of new food products and culinary programs. This role is highly hands-on and requires someone who can take an idea from early-stage development through testing, trial production, launch, and successful execution.

The ideal candidate combines strong culinary and food-processing knowledge with excellent organization and communication skills. This person must be comfortable working in a fast-paced innovation environment, managing multiple projects at different stages, and partnering closely with project managers, clients, suppliers, operations teams, and other cross-functional partners.

A key expectation of this position is the ability to set priorities, take initiative, stay motivated, and complete work with limited day-to-day supervision.

Essential Functions:

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities.

• Operational Administrative Support
• Merchandising Training & Support 
• Field Execution 

Core Functions:

Culinary Innovation & Product Development

• Support the development of new food products, recipes, menu concepts, and culinary programs.
• Translate concepts and client needs into practical, executable culinary solutions.
• Prepare samples for internal and client evaluations.
• Identify opportunities to improve flavor, quality, consistency, cost, preparation methods, and operational execution.
• Assist with ingredient selection, formulation adjustments, portioning, preparation procedures, and finished-product standards.

Culinary & Technical Knowledge

Candidates should possess a strong working knowledge of basic professional kitchen and food-processing practices, including:

• Professional kitchen organization and workflow
• Knife skills and basic culinary techniques/cooking methods - roasting, grilling, sautéing, frying, steaming, baking, braising, and reheating.
• Recipe and formula execution
• Ingredient functionality and basic food science
• Flavor development and sensory evaluation
• Product consistency and quality evaluation
• Basic food-processing and production methods – weights & measures 
• Commercial food equipment and smallwares
• Batch preparation and scaling recipes
• Packaging and finished-product handling
• Temperature control and proper cooling, holding, reheating, and storage procedures
• Cross-contamination prevention and allergen awareness
• Cleaning, sanitation, and safe equipment operation
• HACCP principles and general food-safety practices

Testing & Validation

• Plan and execute culinary testing, product evaluations, comparison testing, and preparation trials.
• Accurately follow recipes, formulas, specifications, and testing procedures.
• Document test results, observations, measurements, yields, preparation times, temperatures, and recommended adjustments.
• Conduct repeat testing to confirm product consistency and readiness for launch.
• Troubleshoot product, preparation, processing, or execution issues and recommend solutions.

Trial & Launch Execution

• Participate in on-site testing and launch activities when required.
• Identify execution challenges before full-scale implementation.
• Help establish clear preparation methods, procedures, specifications, and standards to ensure successful execution.
• Follow projects through launch rather than stopping at the development stage.
• Evaluate launch performance and help resolve issues that arise during implementation.

Project Management & Communication

• Maintain consistent communication with project managers regarding project status, timelines, testing needs, risks, and next steps.
• Communicate professionally and effectively with clients, vendors, suppliers, and cross-functional teams.
• Participate in project meetings, tastings, product reviews, and client presentations.
• Provide clear and timely updates on project progress.
• Immediately communicate potential delays, product concerns, execution risks, or resource needs.
• Maintain organized project notes, testing documentation, specifications, samples, and supporting information.

Requirements

Education and Experience:

• Food science background, or culinary experience preferred 
• Experience in culinary innovation, research and development, food manufacturing, restaurant operations, retail foodservice, commissary production, or a related field.
• Understanding basic commercial food production and processing.
• Ability to accurately execute recipes, formulas, and product specifications.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Ability to independently prioritize and complete assignments.
• Ability to receive feedback, make necessary adjustments, and quickly repeat testing.
• Strong attention to detail while maintaining the ability to work at the pace required by an innovation environment.
• Comfortable working on multiple projects and changing priorities when business needs require it.