Developing characters
The growth of the retail ready-meal and branded pub and restaurant sectors has created a growing demand for chefs to develop products for these markets.
Whereas, in the past, food technologists and scientists were largely responsible for developing new products, food manufacturers now turn to chefs to bring them the creativity they need to stay ahead in what has become an increasingly competitive market.
Many chefs, though, who move into development work from the catering sector quickly find that they have entered a world that is light years away from restaurants and hotels. Suddenly they are having to deal with food science issues, marketing dilemmas and packaging problems, and they can end up feeling totally isolated as they have no other chefs to liaise with.
Now, together with the launch of two professional organisations aimed at supporting development chefs, help will also be available in the form of a course, which is being set up at Thames Valley University (TVU) for September 2004. The course is designed to help chefs from restaurants and hotels make the transition into product development.
The two new organisations are the Development Chefs Network (DCN) - aimed specifically at chefs - and the Food Development Association (FDA), which encompasses all professionals working in food development, including food scientists and food stylists.
Mark Rigby, chairman of the DCN, which is helping TVU's Professor David Foskett devise the new course, says that major food manufacturers such as Nestlé and United Biscuits are good at helping chefs develop and flourish in their new working environment, but many companies leave chefs floundering to deal with issues that are new to them, such as the accuracy that's required when devising dishes for the manufacturing process.
Creative drive
"Chefs were brought in to the manufacturing industry in the first place for their creativity," says Rigby. "But, unfortunately, there has never been any support to nurture and develop this creativity, then integrate it and apply it to other business functions - all of which can be detrimental to the quality of products developed.
"Our goal is to improve the quality of manufactured food to the credit of the chef and the benefit of the consumer. This can only be done if chefs are given help to acquire the tools in order to develop their maximum potential."
Rigby says he believes that there could be between 500 and 1,000 development chefs working in the UK, of which 100 have already signed up to join the DCN. As well as holding monthly meetings, the network plans to offer regular educational seminars. At the next one, to be held on 23 October at the Meat & Livestock Commission in Milton Keynes, there will be butchery demonstrations and a marketing session on food trends.
Officially launched earlier this month, the FDA could potentially become a large and powerful body, as it is believed that there are some 8,000 people working in food development throughout the UK. "We already have about 2,000 members on our books," says Nick Moore, chairman of the FDA and also development director of Scottish & Newcastle.
"As well as recognising the role of people who work within food development, we also want to help them with their career development. Through our website we aim to provide different resources such as nutritional data and trading standards issues. We would also like to eventually put together a formal qualification, probably linked to a specific college, for everyone working in food development."
The FDA also plans to arrange study trips to help further food knowledge, and to set up an annual conference.
Steve Love, business development chef, Nestlé Food Services
Steve Love joined Nestlé Food Services in 1996 to further his interest in recipe development. He had spent the earlier part of his career as a chef in the Royal Navy, when he served for two years on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, and in contract catering, working for Sutcliffe Catering and Sodexho. Since then he has risen to the top of the profession and is currently the holder of the Craft Guild of Chefs Development Chef of the Year and the British Meat Development Chef titles.
Love is particularly proud of winning the British Meat award as a result of a cook-off in which he prepared a trio of lamb with hot toddy sauce using two products from the Nestlé stable: Chef Veal Jus and Maggi Cold-Mix Mashed Potato.
"A lot of stigma still exists surrounding the work that development chefs do - some people even say that we are not real chefs," says Love, who is a member of the Food Development Association. "But I was told by Henry Brosi [chef de cuisine at London's Dorchester hotel], one of the judges at the British Meat event, that the flavours of the dish were fantastic.
"It goes to show that ready-prepared products have come a long way. While there will always be Michelin-starred places, you have got to be realistic about the fact that there are so many more places now that are selling dishes made from ready-prepared products."
Love's job involves the development and testing of products - such as the Nestlé range of cold-mix gravy, béchamel, cheese sauce and custard - as well as carrying out presentations to customers and recipe development.
"One of the biggest challenges is keeping on top of what is going on in the industry, whether it is at the very top level or within school catering," he says. "For instance, there is a move within school catering to make better use of local produce and regional dishes, and that is something we can look to help with."
Love also regularly visits new kitchens so that he is aware of the latest equipment and can develop products accordingly.
He is one of two development chefs working for Nestlé Food Services in the UK and is part of a worldwide group of development chefs within the company. While other development chefs may complain of being isolated, Love has no such worries. "If I need some help with a recipe from Singapore or the USA, I just ring up my counterpart in those countries."
Love occasionally misses the buzz of working in a kitchen during a busy service, but he has no intention of leaving development work. "It's a huge growth business, it is a very exciting time to be here."
Future trends in food development
- More ready-meals in kit form using fresh ingredients, giving the customer some involvement in the cooking process.
- High-protein, low-carbohydrate meals inspired by the Atkins diet.
- Ready-meals inspired by British regional cooking.
- Healthy food options in fast-food chains.
Ian Sutton, between jobs
In the quest to discover more about the science behind cookery, Ian Sutton turned his back on a successful career as a restaurant and hotel chef to move into development work. At the time he was head chef at the Saint M brasserie at the St Martin's Lane hotel, London, having previously worked in many of the city's other top restaurants including Bluebird, Quo Vadis and La Tante Claire and at the Dorchester and the Savoy.
In April 2000 he joined Geest Prepared Foods, a food-manufacturing company that supplies ready-meals to major food retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Sainsbury's. He was employed to work alongside food technologists to bring a more creative input to the business.
"The food technologists are usually graduates who know a lot about food science but have little practical knowledge of a working kitchen, which is where I came in," says Sutton, who in turn learnt a great deal about food science during his three years with Geest.
Among his achievements were the creation of a selection of classical dishes for Waitrose's Winter Bistro range of ready-meals, including lamb shanks with lentils, coq au vin and duck à l'orange.
Their success, in part, Sutton believes, stems from the close working relationship he built up with suppliers to create products that, as well as tasting good, were consistent and authentic. "For instance, I found some fantastic additive-free stocks from a French company called Aromont."
He often drew on his classical background for inspiration. A cabbage dish that he cooked while working alongside Pierre Koffmann at La Tante Claire in London - Koffmann cabbage - was reinvented for Waitrose as a cabbage, carrot, bacon and cream dish. The bacon, though, was later removed from the dish for the vegetarian market.
One of the biggest challenges of the job was in having no other chefs around him to bounce ideas off. "It is something that is an issue with a lot of development chefs and something that the Development Chefs Network will help address," he says.
Sutton is currently applying for a new job in food development.
Colin Lynn, product development controller, Global Trading
As a development chef working in the food manufacturing industry for nearly 20 years, Colin Lynn believes his influence in creating new products has been immense. The product of which he is most proud is the McChicken Sandwich for McDonald's, which he helped create during a 14-year spell with Sun Valley Foods.
While he may not receive the public recognition achieved by top hotel and restaurant chefs, Lynn is satisfied by the fact that millions of people all over the world have tasted the dishes that he has helped create. "It doesn't matter that no one beyond the food manufacturing industry knows who I am," he says.
In fact, it was the belief that the impact of his work would reach a wide audience that first attracted Lynn into development work during the 1980s. He joined Sun Valley Foods as a development chef, having previously worked as a chef-lecturer at Hereford Technical College and, before that, as a hotel chef in Liverpool and Ontario, Canada.
During his time with Sun Valley, Lynn helped create and launch more than 300 products for major retailers such as Iceland and Marks & Spencer, as well as Allied Breweries, Greenalls, Forte and food service operators in the airline catering industry.
Today he works as a product development controller for Global Trading, a food manufacturing company that sources products in countries such as Thailand and Brazil. Chicken items may be prepared abroad and then finished off with a sauce in Britain.
For Lynn, the plusses of development work are many: he has travelled all over the world in order "to bring authenticity to products" and earns a "very comfortable" salary.
However, the stresses are enormous. "You can make a fantastic sauce for two portions, but to make it work in a factory environment is quite another matter," says Lynn, who is a member of the Development Chefs Network. "There are enormous pressures to get it right, as well as meet deadlines and the right costings, all the while knowing that what you do can affect multimillion-pound profits."
Although Lynn has never received public recognition for his work, he is proud that his creations have won gold medals in the British Frozen Food Federation's Best Main Course and Best All Round Product awards.
"Through exposure to a vast array of new food trends and a greater understanding of food science, the move into product development has made me a better chef," he says.
Becoming a development chef
There is no doubt that for chefs seeking a new direction in their careers, development work has become an increasingly attractive proposition. "We're finding that there is a lot of interest in development work from chefs in their early 30s who are ready to settle down and find themselves a better quality of life away from the grind of working on the stove on a day-to-day basis," says Paul Lucas, general manager of recruitment company Berkeley Scott Chefs.
While Lucas believes the demand for chefs in food manufacturing has probably peaked, he says there is still a lot of growth occurring in the branded pub and restaurant sectors. "Starting salaries tend to be between £25,000 and £32,000 for jobs aimed at the senior sous chef level."
Among the attributes required of a development chef are good communication skills, diversity of experience, maturity, a non-elitist approach and a level head.
Contacts
Development Chefs Network
Mark Rigby, chairman
01706 346067 or 07759 726416
www.developmentchefs.com
Food Development Association
Nick Moore, chairman
01474 574417
www.fooddev.co.uk
