Corporate Chef – 6 Month Contract

Blue Rock search is partnered with Subway to identify their next Corporate Chef. This is a 6 month contract opportunity. This role focuses on culinary research & development of new and improved menu items, including menu platforms, individual products, and processes. The position plays a critical role in building sales and profits in a way that aligns with Subway brand strategies and operational standards of excellence. Success in this role requires an insatiable passion for food and compelling culinary thought leadership, especially for and within the sandwich category.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop new products that support menu and brand strategies, supporting the development menu items from concept ideation through gold standard development, working in partnership with the executive chef and cross-functional teams and proactively translating conceptual ideas into compelling new or improved menu items for the Subway brand.
• Partner with leadership to deploy and refine the Subway menu vision, rooted in a strong understanding of the brand, consumers, markets, and broader industry; convert vision into a pipeline of compelling concepts and products and serves as culinary champion for assigned development projects, which may include improving ingredients, developing new taste profiles, achieving industry-leading nutritional’s, or developing new-to-market menu items that span Subway’s current and any future product categories.
• Partner with Innovation (Product Marketing), Consumer Insights, Brand Marketing and FP&A on culinary goals and menu ideas and then translating those ideas into commercialized concepts.
• Oversee or support the planning, execution, and quality assurance of assigned taste tests, internal and external product showings, and photo shoots as necessary.
• Lead culinary development of product prototypes, formulas, and ultimately, commercialized products. Partners w/Supply Chain (IPC) on vendor networks to ensure a broad portfolio of ingredients to work with, balancing cost efficiency with ingredient quality.
• Ensure products are developed within specified cost parameters to ensure achievement of our business targets (traffic, profit, menu mix and sales), while delivering on quality experience.
• Keep records on culinary activities, product cutting results, and necessary documents for new product development. Similarly, keeps R&D kitchen in good condition, including keeping equipment in good working order, conducting daily cleaning activities and maintaining necessary inventories.

Qualifications:

• 3-5+ years’ experience in culinary.
• QSR experience preferred.
• Deep culinary expertise and knowledge of restaurant operating environments and regulatory requirements for foodservice execution and operations
• Requires adaptability to handle multiple projects simultaneously while addressing aggressive timetables for completion.
• Must have working knowledge of food products, costs, and manufacturing, plus an understanding of restaurant equipment and services.
• Basic computer skills, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Must have excellent communication skills and the ability to thrive in a collaborative, cross-functional team environment.
• Understand menu costing and operational parameters to deliver feasible product solutions and projects.
• Demonstrate leadership and proactive attitude when creating culinary solutions to solve business and market issues.

If this opportunity looks interesting to you or if it is not for you and you know someone who may benefit from the information, please let us know. Blue Rock Search is a specialty firm providing Franchising talent in the Franchise Sales, Development (Includes Real Estate and Construction) and Operations Leadership. This includes Mid-Manager level up to and including C-level talent.

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