Taylor Farms Culinary Development Technician

Description

The Taylor Farms Culinary Development Technician supports the development, testing, commercialization, launch, and execution of new food products and culinary programs. This role is highly hands-on and requires someone who can take an idea from early-stage development through testing, trial production, launch, and successful execution.

The ideal candidate combines strong culinary and food-processing knowledge with excellent organization and communication skills. This person must be comfortable working in a fast-paced innovation environment, managing multiple projects at different stages, and partnering closely with project managers, clients, suppliers, operations teams, and other cross-functional partners.

A key expectation of this position is the ability to set priorities, take initiative, stay motivated, and complete work with limited day-to-day supervision.

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities.

• Operational Administrative Support
• Merchandising Training & Support 
• Field Execution 

• Support the development of new food products, recipes, menu concepts, and culinary programs.
• Translate concepts and client needs into practical, executable culinary solutions.
• Prepare samples for internal and client evaluations.
• Identify opportunities to improve flavor, quality, consistency, cost, preparation methods, and operational execution.
• Assist with ingredient selection, formulation adjustments, portioning, preparation procedures, and finished-product standards.

Candidates should possess a strong working knowledge of basic professional kitchen and food-processing practices, including:

• Professional kitchen organization and workflow
• Knife skills and basic culinary techniques/cooking methods - roasting, grilling, sautéing, frying, steaming, baking, braising, and reheating.
• Recipe and formula execution
• Ingredient functionality and basic food science
• Flavor development and sensory evaluation
• Product consistency and quality evaluation
• Basic food-processing and production methods – weights & measures 
• Commercial food equipment and smallwares
• Batch preparation and scaling recipes
• Packaging and finished-product handling
• Temperature control and proper cooling, holding, reheating, and storage procedures
• Cross-contamination prevention and allergen awareness
• Cleaning, sanitation, and safe equipment operation
• HACCP principles and general food-safety practices

• Plan and execute culinary testing, product evaluations, comparison testing, and preparation trials.
• Accurately follow recipes, formulas, specifications, and testing procedures.
• Document test results, observations, measurements, yields, preparation times, temperatures, and recommended adjustments.
• Conduct repeat testing to confirm product consistency and readiness for launch.
• Troubleshoot product, preparation, processing, or execution issues and recommend solutions.

• Participate in on-site testing and launch activities when required.
• Identify execution challenges before full-scale implementation.
• Help establish clear preparation methods, procedures, specifications, and standards to ensure successful execution.
• Follow projects through launch rather than stopping at the development stage.
• Evaluate launch performance and help resolve issues that arise during implementation.

• Maintain consistent communication with project managers regarding project status, timelines, testing needs, risks, and next steps.
• Communicate professionally and effectively with clients, vendors, suppliers, and cross-functional teams.
• Participate in project meetings, tastings, product reviews, and client presentations.
• Provide clear and timely updates on project progress.
• Immediately communicate potential delays, product concerns, execution risks, or resource needs.
• Maintain organized project notes, testing documentation, specifications, samples, and supporting information.

• Food science background, or culinary experience preferred 
• Experience in culinary innovation, research and development, food manufacturing, restaurant operations, retail foodservice, commissary production, or a related field.
• Understanding basic commercial food production and processing.
• Ability to accurately execute recipes, formulas, and product specifications.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Ability to independently prioritize and complete assignments.
• Ability to receive feedback, make necessary adjustments, and quickly repeat testing.
• Strong attention to detail while maintaining the ability to work at the pace required by an innovation environment.
• Comfortable working on multiple projects and changing priorities when business needs require it.