Research & Development Chef – Food Service Division

Company Description

Seafood City Supermarket is the leading Filipino supermarket chain in North America, serving as both a grocery destination and a food culture hub for Filipino communities. Beyond groceries, Seafood City operates in-house food brands including Grill City, Bakers Avenue, Crispy Town, Noodle Street, and more, bringing Filipino flavors to everyday dining at scale across 37+ locations in the U.S. and Canada.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced R&D Chef to lead food innovation and commercialization across Seafood City's in-house restaurant brands. This role goes beyond recipe creation, you will be responsible for turning Filipino flavors into scalable, cost-effective, and operationally sound menu items that perform in high-volume, multi-location environments.

You will work closely with Operations, Purchasing, Marketing, and Store Teams to ensure that every dish can be executed consistently, sourced reliably, and rolled out efficiently across the network.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop new menu concepts for Grill City, Crispy Town, Noodle Street, and future food brands

• Modernize classic Filipino dishes with scalability, prep efficiency, and profitability in mind

• Translate recipes into clear SOPs suitable for high-volume kitchens

• Partner with Purchasing to source ingredients, manage costs, and ensure supply continuity

• Continuously optimize existing menu items to improve consistency, speed, and margins

Qualifications

• Culinary degree or equivalent professional experience

• Minimum 10 years of experience in culinary R&D, preferably in QSR, fast-casual, or multi-unit restaurant environments

• Deep knowledge of Filipino cuisine is required; experience with Asian or fusion concepts is a plus

• Proven ability to develop recipes for commercial scale, not just test kitchens

• Strong food costing, yield management, and margin optimization skills

• Proficient in Microsoft Excel for costing and performance tracking

• Comfortable working cross-functionally with operations, marketing, and purchasing

• Willingness to relocate and travel as needed