Senior Culinary Development Manager - Education & Care

Elior Uk; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food service provider in the UK is seeking a Senior Culinary Development Manager to shape menu strategy and lead culinary teams. In this high-impact role, you will ensure compliance, taste, and sustainability across various sectors. The ideal candidate will have extensive culinary development experience, strong commercial acumen, and a passion for food trends. Benefits include flexible working, generous holiday allowance, and various perks to support your well-being.

Benefits

Free, tasty meals

Flexible working

Generous holiday allowance

Paid volunteering days

Career development opportunities

Pension schemes and life assurance

Company car or car allowance

Qualifications

• Must have senior-level experience in culinary development or food-led operations.
• Strong experience in managing margins, costs, and recipe data.
• Ability to influence teams and senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Culinary Managers.
• Own menu frameworks and recipe development.
• Drive optimisation of ingredients and supplier ranges.
• Ensure operational soundness of menus.

Skills

Culinary development experience

Commercial acumen

Leadership skills

Operational understanding

Menu management system experience

Passion for food trends

Education

Senior-level culinary management experience

Job description

Senior Culinary Development Manager - Education & Care

Are you a commercially minded culinary leader who knows how to turn great food into scalable, compliant, and profitable menus?

This is a high-impact senior role where you’ll shape menu strategy across multiple sectors, lead talented culinary teams, and ensure our food offer delivers on taste, nutrition, sustainability, and margin – every time.

You’ll sit at the heart of the business, bringing together culinary creativity, operational reality, and commercial insight to drive consistent, high-quality menu delivery across Education & Care.

What you’ll be doing…

• Leading and developing a team of Culinary Development Managers to deliver robust, compliant, and inspiring menus
• Owning menu frameworks, recipe development, and costing to hit commercial, margin, and sustainability targets
• Driving optimisation of ingredients, SKUs, and supplier ranges in partnership with Purchasing
• Ensuring menus are operationally sound, easy to execute, and clearly understood by site teams
• Using data, trends, and feedback to continuously improve recipes, ranges, and performance
• Championing compliance across allergens, nutrition, calorie labelling, and legislation
• Collaborating closely with Marketing, Promotions, Operations, and sector stakeholders to bring menus to life
• Leading innovation, testing, and refinement to future-proof our food offer

Working Pattern: Monday to Friday | 37.5 hours per week

What can you bring?

• Senior-level experience in culinary development, menu management, or food-led operations
• Strong commercial acumen with proven experience managing margins, costs, and recipe data
• Confident leadership style with the ability to influence across teams and senior stakeholders
• Deep operational understanding of food production and menu execution at scale
• Experience working with menu management systems and analysing sales and purchasing data>
• A passion for food trends, customer needs, and continuous improvement
• A hands‑on, field‑focused mindset with the confidence to challenge, inspire, and lead change

A full and detailed job description will be provided to shortlisted candidates.

Brilliant Work Deserves Brilliant Perks!

At Elior, we believe that when you love where you work, it shows. That’s why we make sure our team feels appreciated, supported, and set up for success! Here’s what’s waiting for you:

• Free, tasty meals – Enjoy tasty, nutritious food on us while you work!
• Flexible working – including part time roles, because life doesn’t run on a 9-5 schedule.
• Plenty of Time to Unwind – generous holiday allowance of 33 days, with the option to buy more.
• Leave for life’s important moments – whether family, personal or unexpected.
• Give back time – paid volunteering days for the causes you care about.
• Room to grow – career development and learning opportunities for all stages of your career.
• Financial security – pension schemes and life assurance.
• Drive in Style – Enjoy a company car or car allowance

One small thing— we welcome you to apply using the name you feel most comfortable with! No need for legal names at this stage.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

We’re a people-first business with over 10,000 colleagues across the UK, serving everything from stadiums to hospitals, schools to workplaces. Our mission? To enrich lives everywhere, every day.

And here’s the best part - 87% of our team say they’re proud to work here! Why? Because we create a place where you’re listened to, trusted, supported, and valued.

Not sure you match every single requirement? Apply anyway! Research shows that many people - especially women and those from underrepresented backgrounds - hold back unless they meet 100% of the criteria. But we hire for potential, not just experience. If you’re passionate and ready to grow, we want to hear from you!

We Celebrate You!

At Elior, diversity and inclusion aren’t just policies, they’re who we are. We know that different perspectives make us stronger, and we’re dedicated to creating an environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and empowered to succeed.

Need any support or adjustments during the application process? Just let us know - we’re happy to help!

Ready to join us? Hit ‘Apply Now’ and let’s chat!