Application Chef

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

The Application Chef will serve as a culinary innovator and technical partner, bridging product development, customer collaboration, and supplier initiatives. This role requires a balance of culinary creativity, technical expertise, and customer engagement to deliver differentiated food solutions. The chef will work closely with Flavorists, R&D teams, account managers, and customers to inspire, develop, and optimize products that align with market trends and consumer insights.

50% – Product Development

• Develop working knowledge of ingredients, formulas, and customer processing techniques.
• Collect and relay key information for new project briefs.
• Describe flavor profiles in detail using flavor continuums.
• Relay feedback quickly between supplier and customer companies.
• Collaborate with internal and external customers.
• Participate in ideation sessions and food treks.
• Facilitate marketing, consumer insights, and sensory alignment.
• Provide culinary inspiration through gold standard benchmarking.
• Lead and participate in benchtop development.
• Coordinate with other embedded suppliers.
• Maintain an organized and safe kitchen/lab environment.

30% – Customer Development

• Operate with entrepreneurship and identify innovative customer support ideas.
• Build customer relationships with culinary and cross-functional development teams.
• Understand customer strategies, initiatives, platforms, brands, and products.
• Provide technical sales support and customer education on supplier capabilities.
• Coordinate with account managers to support sales initiatives.
• Organize demonstrations showcasing innovative concepts.
• Develop prototypes using supplier products in customer applications.
• Lead and participate in customer experiences.
• Support off-site customer visits.1

10% – Professional Development

• Continually enhance culinary, technical, and leadership skills.

10% – Supplier Development

• Support internal initiatives through food treks, ideations, and technical projects.
• Contribute to events and projects with other customers.

Key responsibilities

• Deliver innovative culinary solutions aligned with customer and market needs.
• Ensure projects are executed efficiently, on time, and with high-quality standards.
• Provide culinary leadership in sensory panels, ideation sessions, and benchmarking.
• Maintain compliance with safety and hygiene protocols in kitchen and lab environments.
• Act as a culinary ambassador, inspiring both internal teams and external customers.

Qualifications and skills

• Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts required; Bachelor’s in Food Science, Culinary Arts, or equivalent preferred.
• 3–5 years’ experience as a Chef and/or Food Technologist.
• Positive, solutions-focused team builder with kitchen management experience preferred.
• Strong ability to work in cross-functional teams and build client relationships.
• Knowledge of cooking equipment, techniques, and materials.
• Experience with flavors, seasonings, coatings, and their application in food systems is a plus.
• Ability to maintain an organized, clean, and safe lab environment while supporting environmental safety standards.
• Willingness to travel 25–50% (3–5 times per month for Tyson project work, plus monthly visits to Springdale and corporate headquarters).
• Commitment to continuous improvement, with performance reviews at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

The pay range for this position is $ 75,602.00 - $123,432 in Annual Salary. Kerry typically does not hire an individual at the top or near the top of the range, as we are a pay-for-performance company, and this range is set to continue to reward performance annually while in role. Compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. The specific compensation offered to a candidate within the above range may be influenced by a variety of factors including skills, qualifications, experience, and internal equity. Kerry offers a competitive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, paid time off, a 401(k) plan with employee and company contribution opportunities, Employee Share Plan, Life, disability, and accident insurance, and tuition reimbursement. This job posting is anticipated to expire on Feb 28th, 2026.

Kerry is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. Kerry will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a background investigation and drug screen. Additional information can be found at: Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal (dol.gov).

Beware of scams online or from individuals claiming to represent us. A Kerry employee will not solicit candidates through a non-Kerry email address or phone number. In addition, Kerry does not currently utilise video chat rooms (e.g., Google Hangouts) to conduct interviews. Refuse any request that asks you to provide payment to participate in the hiring process (e.g., purchasing a “starter kit,” investing in training, or something similar). Kerry will not ask you to pay any money at any point in the hiring process with the exception of reimbursable travel expenses. In addition, any payments made by Kerry will be from official firm accounts bearing the Kerry name.