Chef - Product Development

Client of AW Connect

We are building a next-generation QSR Cloud Kitchen brand serving high-quality, consistent, and scalable food experiences across multiple locations and formats. We are looking for a Product Development Chef who can take ownership of menu innovation from concept to commercialization.

This role requires deep knowledge of regional and international cuisines, strong R&D ability, and the capability to convert recipes into standardized, scalable, and cost-efficient production systems, whether executed in-house, through central kitchens, or via outsourced supply-chain partners.

Key Responsibilities

1. Product Innovation & Development - Indian, Asian, Fast-food, or Fusion-focused cloud kitchens.

• Research, conceptualize, and create new menu items aligned with brand identity and market trends in the GCC.

• Conduct multiple rounds of product iteration, improvement, and refinement based on sensory evaluation.

• Adapt recipes to fit the local palate of the UAE and GCC markets while maintaining brand DNA.

• Conduct competitive benchmarking across Dubai s QSR and cloud-kitchen ecosystem.

2. Recipe Engineering & Standardization

• Develop accurate recipes, formulations, and portion sizes for every dish.

• Ensure dishes can be reproduced with consistency across all kitchens (cloud, central, or outsourced).

• Build detailed standardized recipes (spec sheets), covering ingredients, equipment, steps, timings, yields, and plating/packaging methods.

• Translate complex recipes into operationally simple SOPs suitable for high-volume QSR operations.

• Understanding nutritional component and nutritional values of the food items created

• Someone who understands processes of retort, frozen, preservative based, hot fill products and technologies

3. Sensory Evaluation & Quality Control

• Lead internal tasting panels; document sensory feedback and continuously iterate to reach final approved benchmarks.

• Maintain taste, texture, and visual consistency across all locations.

• Collaborate with QA and Operations teams to ensure repeatable quality in daily operations.

4. Supply Chain & Production Integration

• Work with procurement to shortlist suppliers, evaluate raw materials, and ensure ingredient consistency.

• Design recipes considering cost targets, shelf-life, storage constraints, and scalability.

• Collaborate with central kitchen production teams to scale recipes from lab to batch production.

• Support outsourcing partners (co-packers, commissaries) in establishing production SOPs and quality guidelines.

5. Cloud Kitchen Operational Support

• Develop SOPs for every kitchen process, including preparation, cooking, assembly, packaging, and dispatch.

• Train kitchen teams on new products, workflows, and quality standards.

• Conduct periodic kitchen audits to monitor product adherence, hygiene standards, and operational compliance.