Meal Kit Recipe Developer

ABOUT US

Silvertree Brands builds disruptive purpose-driven consumer and digital brands. Our power brands include UCOOK, Faithful to Nature, PetHeaven and SKOON. We focus on building amazing customer experiences that are “Good for you, good for the planet.” We trust our employees with full accountability and autonomy from day one. This unique entrepreneurial and performance-driven culture enables us to achieve executional excellence. 

At UCOOK we create 32 new meal kit recipes (dinners and lunch) for our customers to choose from each week, and we deliver fresh, locally-sourced and ethical pre-portioned ingredients to their door. Additionally we deliver frozen meals, desserts, market items, and we have a UCOOK Store which has a variety of fresh deli meals and grab and go products that are manufactured daily.

ABOUT THE ROLE 

The Recipe Developer is responsible for creating, testing, and perfecting innovative, high-quality recipes that align with UCOOKs brand, customer expectations, and operational capabilities.

As a key member of the UCOOK Food Team, this role contributes to the development, testing, and finalisation of up to 32 Meal Kit recipes each week. The successful candidate will have a thorough understanding of the Meal Kit categories and the ability to develop recipes within these frameworks. They must work effectively as part of a team while adhering to a structured weekly schedule. This position offers a dynamic balance of creativity and administration, requiring a candidate with a passion for food, a flair for flavour, and strong attention to detail in executing supporting tasks.

The Recipe Developer will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including Procurement, Operations, Marketing, and Tech/ Data.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Recipe Development & Innovation

Research, ideate, and develop new recipes that reflect current food trends, customer preferences, and brand positioning

Adapt global flavors, seasonal ingredients, dietary requirements, and category standards into accessible, exciting recipes that are delicious, easy to follow and innovative

Ensure recipes are balanced with  creativity, taste, and category requirements

Cost recipes accurately

Write recipes clearly adhering to standard methods,

Review customer feedback to continuously enhance dish quality and overall menu appeal on a weekly basis

Cooking

Conduct testing and approve dish flavour, texture,  methods, cooking times, and portion sizes

Record testing feedback, update documentation, and ensuring all feedback is actioned

Maintain quality control standards within the test kitchen 

Maintain a clean and organised kitchen environment

Demonstrate respect for ingredients — minimising waste, storing items correctly, and handling ingredients with care

Conduct quality assessments of ingredients before and during recipe testing to ensure freshness, consistency, and compliance with specifications

Occasions, bundles and Weekend boxes project management

Execution and project management of Occasions boxes / weekend boxes / bundles, to ensure growth of sales/revenue:

Lead concept and recipe development aligned with clearly defined objectives.

Develop and manage timelines to ensure on-time delivery of each product launch.

Conduct recipe costing and commercial feasibility studies, preparing and presenting proposals for management approval.

Write recipes clearly adhering to standard methods,

Coordinate & conduct recipe testing, recording feedback and updating changes for final team approvals.

Organize and manage product photoshoots, ensuring accurate representation and alignment with the product’s purpose and objectives.

Collaborate with internal stakeholders—including Operations, Procurement, Marketing, Tech, and BI—to ensure all aspects of the product are prepared for a successful launch.

Partner with Operations, Procurement, Customer Service, and Logistics teams to confirm order lists are accurate and that products are produced, packed, and delivered as intended, delivering an exceptional customer experience.

Administration 

Conducting a variety of internal Food Team documentation adhering to weekly schedules

Work on UCOOK software platforms (i.e Power BI, server-side software, Acumatica)

Manage ingredient substitutions in collaboration with Procurement and Operations teams

Complete and manage documentation and processes for external brand partnerships and collaborations (e.g., wine pairings with local farms, Discovery campaigns) 

Management of dish uploading on UCOOK backend - ensuring recipe data, ingredient lists, methods, and images are correct

Manage the creation, proofing, and delivery of recipe cards, reviewing for accuracy, clarity, and brand consistency

Mitigate recipe card errors proactively through systematic checking and close collaboration 

Provide support to Customer Service in investigating and responding to customer complaints

Support photoshoots and marketing initiatives — including assisted planning, cooking, and demonstrating cooking activities

Bi-annual Nutritional Document and Specification Update

Continuous Improvement

Review performance data and customer feedback to continuously enhance existing recipes 

Maintain high quality control standards in all recipe development activities

Uphold food safety standards within the test kitchen 

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

Tertiary qualification in Culinary 

Recipe development experience is advantageous 

Experience in developing recipes across multiple categories (i.e. vegan, vegetarian, low carb)

Understanding of an operational food facility, packing, etc is advantageous 

Understanding of Food safety 

Strong Excel/Google sheet skills

Functional skills:

Good cook with a passion for food and an understanding of food and flavours 

Time management 

Strong oral and written communication

Attention to detail 

Proficient in cross-functional team work 

Creative 

Soft  skills:

Collaborative team player

Dynamic and flexible

Strong problem solver

Builds strong relationships

Passionate about food and customer experience

Ability to motivate self and others

Proactive, shows initiative, and driven

Finger on the pulse of current trends within the Food Industry 

Accountability 

BENEFITS

Discounts across the Silvertree portfolio group 

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

Own transportation