About Chocoberry

Chocoberry is one of the UK's fastest-growing dessert, brunch and speciality coffee brands, with a rapidly expanding network of stores across the UK and internationally. Innovation, quality and consistency are at the heart of everything we do.

As we continue our growth journey, we are looking for an exceptional Bakery & Patisserie Development Chef to join our Central Distribution Kitchen in Leicester . This is a unique opportunity for a highly creative and commercially minded chef to lead the development of new bakery and patisserie products while ensuring consistent production and supply across our estate.

The Role

This is a key position within our R&D Team, responsible for driving bakery innovation, product development, central production and supply chain management.

Working from our Central Distribution Kitchen in Leicester, you will create exciting new products, refine existing recipes, oversee production standards and ensure our stores receive consistently high-quality products with the correct stock levels.

The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in shaping the future bakery and patisserie offering for Chocoberry.

Key Responsibilities

Product Innovation & Research & Development

• Lead all bakery and patisserie Research & Development (R&D).
• Create innovative bakery, pastry and dessert products aligned with current UK and international food trends.
• Develop seasonal and limited-edition products.
• Continuously improve existing recipes to enhance quality, consistency, shelf life and profitability.
• Source and trial new ingredients, equipment and production methods.
• Conduct product tastings, benchmarking and commercial evaluations before launch.
• Work closely with the Operations and Marketing teams to successfully launch new products.

Recipe Development

• Develop detailed recipe specifications and production methods.
• Produce standardised recipe cards with accurate ingredient quantities, yields and production instructions.
• Ensure recipes are scalable for central production.
• Calculate food costs, margins and recommended retail pricing.
• Prepare allergen and nutritional information where required.

Central Kitchen Production

• Oversee bakery and patisserie production within the Leicester Central Distribution Kitchen.
• Ensure all products meet Chocoberry's quality standards before dispatch.
• Plan daily, weekly and seasonal production schedules.
• Maximise production efficiency while minimising waste.
• Ensure excellent organisation and cleanliness throughout the production kitchen.

Supply Chain & Stock Management

• Ensure adequate stock levels are maintained for all Chocoberry stores.
• Forecast production requirements based on sales trends and upcoming promotions.
• Coordinate production schedules with store ordering cycles.
• Monitor inventory levels and ingredient availability.
• Work closely with suppliers to ensure continuity of supply and product quality.
• Prevent product shortages whilst reducing unnecessary waste.

Food Safety & Compliance

• Ensure full compliance with Food Safety, HACCP and Environmental Health requirements.
• Maintain the highest standards of hygiene, cleanliness and food handling.
• Ensure all production documentation is completed accurately.
• Monitor product shelf life, storage conditions and quality control processes.

Leadership & Training

• Support, train and develop members of the Central Kitchen team.
• Promote a culture of innovation, teamwork and continuous improvement.
• Assist store teams with product training and implementation of new menu items where required.

Essential Requirements

• Minimum 5 years' experience in a professional bakery, patisserie, dessert manufacturer or central production kitchen.
• Strong experience in bakery product development and recipe creation.
• Experience producing products at scale for multiple sites.
• Excellent knowledge of bakery production techniques.
• Strong understanding of Food Safety, HACCP and allergen management.
• Experience with recipe costing and commercial product development.
• Excellent organisational and planning skills.
• High attention to detail and quality.
• Strong communication and leadership skills.
• A passion for innovation and creating market-leading products.

Desirable

• Experience within a multi-site hospitality or café brand.
• Experience supplying products to multiple retail locations.
• Experience developing frozen and chilled bakery products.
• Knowledge of current UK bakery and dessert trends.
• Experience working within a Central Production Kitchen.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Company pension.
• Staff discount.
• Career progression within a rapidly growing hospitality brand.
• Opportunity to influence and shape Chocoberry's future product range.
• A creative and collaborative working environment where innovation is encouraged.

Right to Work Applicants must already have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom .

Please note that this position is based full-time at our Central Distribution Kitchen in Leicester.

If you are passionate about bakery, patisserie and innovation, and want to play a key role in developing products for one of the UK's fastest-growing hospitality brands, we would love to hear from you.