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Why did you want to become a development chef? Whilst I was training at Leiths I looked into development having convinced myself that I'd 'never want to work in restaurants, however that was quickly sidelined when I started my first Commis role, and I fell in love with hospitality. After working my way up at various restaurants I got a Head Chef role at a new opening. As those who work in hospitality will tell you, the challenges of running a kitchen can cause stress, which in my case impacted my ability to be creative. Once I left hospitality, I really wanted a role that would enable me to be creative and reinvigorate my passion for food and cooking. How did you find your job? I actually already followed my, now, manager on Instagram and saw they had posted a story advertising the role. I submitted my CV and was called in for an interview which included some cooking. I had to cook a few seasonal concepts appropriate to retail that were inspired by food trends. The interview questions were left totally up to my interpretation which while challenging was a great opportunity to push myself. I was able to lean on my restaurant experience and knowledge of seasonal ingredients. Following the interview, I was offered the job. The hiring process was less demanding than I expected, particularly in hospitality roles where you can sometimes be expected to commit a huge amount of your precious free time to trial shifts. What would you recommend other chefs do if they dream of becoming a development chef? You must have a think about what sort of development you are interested in. Development for retail is very different to the development of a restaurant menu. There are specific limitations and capabilities that I didn’t even imagine existed before I got involved in the large-scale production of retail! I'd also say that you can't be in a rush to get these roles. Great development chef roles come up infrequently; if it is something that you are interested in then do some research, keep an eye out and be patient! What is the day to day really like? My day to day is split between researching trends, recipe writing and actually cooking up concepts for presentation to product developers. I am lucky to have flexibility to work from home; I'll use this time for my theoretical development and research. As a team we'll be in the office three days a week; we'll be developing recipes for products in-store and recipes for online and social media. What has surprised you about a development role? I think I underestimated how valuable my restaurant experience would be as a Development Chef (maybe it was a bit of imposter syndrome!). I was pleased that lessons and hacks that I had picked up in being a restaurant chef transferred well into my role as a development chef in retail and I believe are highly valued by my team and colleagues in the wider business. Tell us what you miss about restaurant kitchens? I miss the camaraderie of restaurant kitchens; the theatre of it and the feeling after service of having had a shared experience. That unique bond is difficult to replicate elsewhere!
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