Head - Culinary Innovation, Menu Development & Nutrition

Job Description

Head Culinary Innovation, Menu Development & Nutrition

Department: University Food Services / Hospitality Services
Location: University Campus
Reports to: AGM F&B

Functional interface: Executive Chef, Nutritionist/Dietitian, Procurement, Stores, Finance, Student Affairs and Mess Operations

1. Position purpose

To lead the University's culinary and menu-development programme and ensure that food served to approximately 2,000 students is:

Nutritious • Varied • Tasty • Appealing • Safe • Cost-effective • Sustainable • Consistently produced

The incumbent will be responsible for developing the overall food concept, menu cycles, recipes, preparation methods, nutritional balance, presentation standards and continuous culinary innovation, while working with the production team to ensure that recipes are practical and scalable to institutional volumes.

2. Key responsibilities

A. Menu Development

• Design and maintain a 4–6 week rotating menu for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner.
• Develop separate weekday, weekend, seasonal and special-occasion menus.
• Ensure appropriate variety in cuisines, ingredients, colours, textures and cooking methods.
• Minimise unnecessary repetition.
• Develop regional Indian, contemporary Indian and selected international preparations suitable for students.
• Introduce periodic food festivals/themed meals.
• Develop healthy alternatives without compromising taste and acceptability.

B. Culinary Innovation & R&D

The incumbent will:

• Develop new recipes and preparations.
• Find multiple applications for the same raw material.
• Experiment with different cooking techniques.
• Improve existing recipes.
• Conduct food trials.
• Develop recipes specifically suited to bulk cooking.
• Explore healthier versions of popular dishes.
• Develop innovative snacks and breakfast options.
• Introduce appropriate contemporary food trends.
• Study successful institutional/food-service practices in India and internationally.

Target: approximately 8–12 new or substantially improved preparations per month, subject to operational feasibility.

3. Recipe standardisation

It should specify:

• Ingredients
• Quantity
• Yield
• Portion size
• Preparation procedure
• Cooking method
• Cooking time
• Equipment
• Garnishing/presentation
• Nutritional information
• Cost per portion
• Expected wastage
• Holding/storage requirements

4. Nutrition

The Head will work with a qualified Nutritionist/Dietitian to ensure that the overall menu provides appropriate:

• Calories
• Protein
• Fibre
• Complex carbohydrates
• Healthy fats
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Pulses/legumes
• Dairy or suitable alternatives
• Micronutrients

5. Menu engineering and cost optimisation

The incumbent should work with Procurement and Finance to:

• Establish recipe costing.
• Calculate cost per portion.
• Analyse raw-material price changes.
• Identify high-cost/low-value dishes.
• Identify ingredients that can be used across multiple dishes.
• Reduce food wastage.
• Optimise seasonal purchasing.
• Improve utilisation of existing inventory.

6. Student food experience

Feedback should be captured for:

• Taste
• Appearance
• Variety
• Portion size
• Temperature
• Quality
• Frequency of repetition
• Overall satisfaction

A monthly dashboard should identify:

Top 10 dishes / Bottom 10 dishes / Most repeated dishes / Most wasted dishes / New dishes' acceptance

7. Presentation

Develop appropriate standards for:

• Buffet presentation
• Serving vessels
• Garnishing
• Salad presentation
• Live counters
• Special meals
• Desserts
• Festival menus

9. Food quality and safety

The incumbent should ensure that all recipes and processes are compatible with:

• FSSAI requirements
• HACCP principles
• Food hygiene
• Appropriate cooking/holding temperatures
• Cross-contamination controls
• Allergen management
• Safe storage
• Shelf-life requirements

10. Essential qualification

One of:

• Degree/Diploma in Hotel Management
• Culinary Arts
• Food Production
• Hospitality Management
• Catering Technology

Experience

12–18 years of overall culinary/food-service experience, with at least 5 years in a senior culinary, menu-development, institutional or large-volume food-service role.

Competencies

The candidate should demonstrate:

Culinary

• Indian cuisine
• Regional cuisine
• Modern/contemporary cuisine
• Bulk cooking
• Recipe development
• Food presentation

Commercial

• Recipe costing
• Food cost
• Portion control
• Waste reduction
• Procurement awareness

Technical

• Food safety
• HACCP
• FSSAI
• Kitchen equipment
• Production planning

Management

• Team leadership
• Training
• Vendor coordination
• Cross-functional working
• Data analysis

Creative

• Innovation
• Experimentation
• Understanding of food trends
• Ability to transform ordinary ingredients into interesting preparations