Title: Research & Development Chef

Organization: Real Food for Real Kids 

Website: www.rfrk.com 

Location: East End of Toronto, ON (On site)

Hours of work: Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week, flexible schedule with core hours of 9am to 3pm

Length of contract: 18 Months

Compensation: $65,000 - $75,000/ year, dependant on experience

About Real Food For Real Kids:

Real Food for Real Kids (RFRK) is a growing company on a mission to make real food the standard rather than the exception.

A multiple award-winning company recognized for excellence and innovation, we’re a leading healthy catering company for child care centres, schools and camps. RFRK proudly serves nutritious meals and snacks to thousands of children throughout the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area every day. We’re well poised for growth into new markets and planning for significant expansion over the coming years.

Our Product Development & Innovation team is looking for a fantastic person who is energized by employee engagement and administration to join us as a Research & Development Chef. If you like the sound of us so far, keep reading to see if you have the experience and skills needed for this rewarding role!

About the Role:

We are seeking a Research & Development (R&D) Chef to join our team and lead the testing of Real Food for Real Kids (RFRK) recipes for rethermalization. RFRK’s kitchen is a large-scale manufacturing environment, cooking more than 17,000 hot meals daily.

This role blends culinary creativity with food science and experimentation, focusing on recipe development, rethermability testing, packaging formats and equipment, freeze-thaw effects, and transportation impact. We’re looking for someone who loves delicious healthy food, cooking and thrives on scientific problem-solving - you probably keep a recipe book and a science textbook close by at all times.

Some of the things you’ll get paid to do:

Recipe Testing & Development

• Test and refine existing RFRK recipes, to make them viable for rethermalization using scientific principles and data-driven experimentation.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive recipe specification sheets for all RFRK recipes.
• Apply the scientific method to assess the impact of cook times, temperature changes, packaging, and rethermalization on food quality, adjusting recipes for optimal taste, texture, and consistency.
• Collect, organize, and analyze data to track findings, measure improvements, and inform recipe modifications.
• Collaborate closely with kitchen teams, production staff, and quality assurance to validate recipes in real-world production environments.
• Assist in testing and evaluating new packaging formats for standard recipes and specialized meal offerings (e.g., frozen meals) in partnership with the Quality Assurance and Food Production teams.
• Assess contingency ingredients, evaluating their impact on recipe quality, sensory characteristics, and overall performance.

Quality, Safety & Compliance

• Maintain detailed records of testing procedures, ingredient modifications, and results to support quality control and future recipe refinement.
• Contribute to standardized production processes, ensuring consistency in taste, texture, and quality across all recipes.
• Ensure all recipes comply with food safety regulations, allergen guidelines, and nutritional standards.
• Conduct testing and sensory evaluation for contingency ingredients and new or existing recipes.
• Support new recipe development and reformulation of existing recipes to enhance flavor, texture, and efficiency.

About You

Required Education & Experience

• Minimum 3 years of experience in Recipe R&D, Culinary Arts, or Food Product Development in a manufacturing environment.
• BSc or MSc in Food Science, Culinary Science, or a related field.
• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of food chemistry, shelf life stability, and recipe costing.
• Strong understanding of food safety requirements in manufacturing settings and a passion for food safety and compliance.
• Proven track record of successfully achieving project goals, meeting deadlines, and working efficiently within a dynamic environment.
• Hands-on experience with food manufacturing and packaging machinery, including but not limited to:Combi ovens, mixers, steam-jacketed kettles, blast chillers, vacuum sealers, food pumps, Cryovac, vertical fill seal machines.
• Proficient computer skills, including: Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Drive), Nutrition analysis software (e.g., Genesis R&D®, Food Processor®)
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, such as FMP (FileMaker Pro) or similar database programs.

Additional Skills

• Experience in high-volume production, catering, or manufacturing settings.
• Exceptional culinary creativity that can be balanced with operational needs for a high volume food manufacturing/complex catering business
• Open minded and receptive to new processes, ingredients, concepts. Ability to manage complex projects with changing deadlines and priorities.
• Passion for food and desire to learn and study new techniques, flavours and recipes

Working at RFRK comes with other perks too:

Comprehensive Benefits Package

• Health and Wellbeing: Our benefits program includes coverage for alternative and preventative health treatments, ensuring your wellbeing is a top priority.

Work-Life Balance

• Flex Hours: We understand life's demands. Our flexible hours let you balance work and personal commitments seamlessly

Time for You

• Vacation: Enjoy three weeks of vacation per year.
• Paid Sick & Wellness Days: Take up to 8 paid sick and wellness days each year. Your wellbeing and work-life harmony matter to us.

To apply, please upload your résumé and cover letter, including salary expectations, explaining why you’d be a great fit for this role. If you meet almost all of the requirements and are not sure if you should apply, apply anyway! We may see something special in your application that sets you apart from the rest.

Real Food for Real Kids is an equal opportunity employer.  We value diversity and inclusion in our workplace and at all levels of our organisation. We strongly encourage applications from diverse backgrounds and communities.

We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

No phone calls, emails or drop in visits, please. We’ll contact applicants who fit the bill, and invite them in for an interview.

We appreciate the interest from the Staffing industry however respectfully request no calls or unsolicited resumes from Agencies.

Thanks for your interest in Real Food for Real Kids!

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