Culinary Development Manager
Job Fit Check
Base Career helps you apply smarter for this job.
Key skills for this role
About the Role
Leads product innovation, commercialization, and culinary-led business development in a meat processing company. Combines product creation with commercial responsibility, developing new products, improving existing ones, and driving business across multiple channels.
Key Skills for This Role
Responsibilities
- Develop new products and improve existing ones for quality, consistency, cost, and commercial relevance
- Create and standardise recipes, formulations, specifications, and preparation methods
- Lead products from trial and costing through customer approval and commercial launch
- Identify new applications and value opportunities for existing products and inventory
- Develop business across foodservice, retail, distribution, export, and other channels
- Build relationships with chefs, business owners, and senior decision makers
- Translate customer requirements into tailored products, menu solutions, and commercial proposals
- Lead opportunities from product demonstration and trial through negotiation and closure
- Lead production trials, scale up, and implementation of new or improved products
- Improve yield, reduce waste, and optimise production costs and efficiency
- Standardise recipes and processes to ensure consistent quality and customer acceptance
- Work with production and quality teams to meet food safety and compliance requirements
Requirements
- Formal culinary qualification or equivalent professional experience
- At least 10 years of relevant experience in culinary development, food manufacturing, meat processing, or foodservice
- Strong experience in product development, recipe formulation, costing, and production trials
- Good knowledge of meat, poultry, and value added food products
- Proven customer facing and business development experience
- Strong understanding of food safety, quality systems, and production controls
- Existing UAE market relationships and a valid UAE driving licence would be advantageous
Full Job Posting
Role Overview
- JMM is seeking an experienced Culinary Development Manager to lead product innovation, commercialization, and culinary led business development.
- The role combines product creation with direct commercial responsibility.
- The successful candidate will develop and improve products, translate market and customer needs into scalable food solutions, enhance production efficiency and profitability, and convert opportunities across multiple market segments into sustainable revenue.
- This is a hands on role requiring strong culinary knowledge, food manufacturing experience, and the commercial ability to identify opportunities, build relationships, and take products from concept to commercial success.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop new products and improve existing ones for quality, consistency, cost, and commercial relevance.
- Create and standardise recipes, formulations, specifications, and preparation methods.
- Lead products from trial and costing through customer approval and commercial launch.
- Identify new applications and value opportunities for existing products and inventory.
- Develop business across foodservice, retail, distribution, export, and other channels.
- Build relationships with chefs, business owners, and senior decision makers.
- Translate customer requirements into tailored products, menu solutions, and commercial proposals.
- Lead opportunities from product demonstration and trial through negotiation and closure.
- Lead production trials, scale up, and implementation of new or improved products.
- Improve yield, reduce waste, and optimise production costs and efficiency.
- Standardise recipes and processes to ensure consistent quality and customer acceptance.
- Work with production and quality teams to meet food safety and compliance requirements.
Candidate Requirements
- Formal culinary qualification or equivalent professional experience.
- At least 10 years of relevant experience in culinary development, food manufacturing, meat processing, or foodservice.
- Strong experience in product development, recipe formulation, costing, and production trials.
- Good knowledge of meat, poultry, and value added food products.
- Proven customer facing and business development experience.
- Strong understanding of food safety, quality systems, and production controls.
- Existing UAE market relationships and a valid UAE driving licence would be advantageous.
Key Competencies
- Strong culinary and commercial judgement.
- Strategic, process driven, and detail oriented.
- Strong communication, presentation, and negotiation skills.
- Able to work effectively across production, sales, procurement, and quality teams.
- Hands on, organised, and results oriented.
- High integrity, accountability, and work ethic.
Apply for this job in 1 click
Skip the repetitive application forms
Install the Base Career Chrome Extension and autofill job applications across major job boards with your profile.
Trusted by over 500,000 job seekers on Base Career
More from this employer
More jobs at JMM Meat Processing
Private Chef - Kerala Cuisine
Dubai, UAE
A South Indian family in Dubai seeks an experienced live-in personal chef to prepare daily meals, focusing on South Indian cuisine, non-vegetarian dishes, and diabetic-friendly options. Requires strong knowledge of South
Personal Chef (Live-In)
Dubai, UAE
A South Indian family in Dubai seeks an experienced Live-In Personal Chef to prepare daily meals, including South Indian, non-vegetarian, and diabetic-friendly dishes. The role requires menu planning, kitchen management,
Culinary Development Manager
Dubai, UAE
JMM Meat Processing in Dubai seeks an experienced Culinary Development Manager to lead product innovation, commercialization, and culinary-led business development. The role combines product creation with commercial resp