Chef at Upfield

On the 2nd July 2018 Unilever completed the sale of the Spreads Business and it is now under the new ownership of KKR as “Upfield”, therefore any successful applicants will be employed by “Upfield” not Unilever.

The role

We need a culinary superstar to develop, test & showcase our products and ingredients.

We’re looking for someone with experience cooking professionally – this doesn’t necessarily mean fancy Michelin, but we are looking for high level culinary chops. You’ll bring the skills, creativity and knowledge of food which can inspire and educate our team and our customers. You’ll earn their trust because of this extensive and valuable experience.

This is a role for someone with passion not only for being in the kitchen, but also for communicating culinary knowledge. You’ll be just as comfortable leading a workshop with professional chefs - as you are leading a product demonstration to a retail buying team – or a training session with our own team.

Developing & Testing

This role will require extensive culinary testing of current & new products. You will be taster and tester in chief of all things culinary in our business! You’ll participate in the development of cutting edge innovation, and as a global organization, you’ll interact and exchange ideas with Upfield Chefs from around the world. You will also be responsible for maintaining the market leading taste and performance of our current portfolio. We are serious about product quality, so frequent benchmarking and performance assessments will be high on the agenda.

Showcasing & Training

You will be the face of our market leading culinary content – including recipe videos and product showcases. We produce a lot of content, so you’ll need to bring the ideas and ability to create fantastic applications for our portfolio - from great cakes, to stunning inspiration for dinners both in and out of home. Experience of contemporary food styling is a must!

You’ll have the opportunity to work alongside some of the most exciting food businesses in the world - our customers. These include major supermarkets, global food service leaders and high street household names. You’ll be responsible for working together with their development teams to create magic with our portfolio. You’ll also take charge in keeping our full team at the cutting edge of all things culinary. We’re serious about knowing our products inside and out, and you will be responsible for making sure were the best in the business in terms of culinary knowledge and training.

In short, this is a career defining role for someone with serious food chops who wants to drive the culinary agenda of a progressive and entrepreneurial organization.

Main accountabilities

• Structure, coordinate and deliver a culinary training programme for our organization
• Be the culinary expert in our full retail and food service portfolio
• Support our customer development teams with culinary showcases for our customers
• Be a core member of all innovation projects in Kenya.
• Support (and deliver) compelling culinary content for all our advertising – which will include appearing in social media videos and tutorials.
• Support our technical teams in the testing of product functionality and claims.

Key interfaces

• Retail and Food Service Marketing teams
• The Upfield technical and nutritional team
• Customer Development teams – and our customers.
• The international community of Upfield Chefs

Key skills & experience

• Professional calibre culinary skills. This will likely mean experience cooking at high level in professional kitchens, or market leading experience in food development and presentation.
• Experience leading culinary training sessions with qualified cooks & chefs
• Experience in recipe development and food showcases to major retailers
• Experience in plant based cooking is desirable
• Highly developed skills in sweet and savory baking
• Contemporary food styling experience
• Kitchen management experience (because you get your own kitchen in our brand new Upfield Kenya office).