About Us

Gilbert Street Kitchens is a proudly Australian-owned manufacturer of high-quality ready meals. We supply national supermarkets, food service partners, and private label clients with delicious, real food made with integrity. As we grow, we’re looking for a passionate Product Development / NPD Chef to join our team in Richlands, QLD.

About the role

Reporting to the Executive Chef, you'll drive new product creation from bench to production, working closely with cross-functional teams to bring innovative, scalable and commercially viable meals to market. This role suits someone who lives and breathes food, but also gets the realities of manufacturing.

What You’ll Do

Develop and refine recipes for chilled or frozen ready meals

Translate food trends and consumer insights into winning products

Lead NPD projects across both branded and private label ranges

Manage production trials, scale-up, and handover to manufacturing

Ensure compliance with FSANZ, food safety, labelling and allergen regulations

Collaborate with sales, marketing, QA and operations teams to hit timelines

Present products to internal stakeholders and retail partners

Maintain accurate documentation including costings, specs and batch sheets

What You’ll Bring

3+ years’ experience in NPD, product development or culinary innovation (FMCG or food service)

A solid understanding of food safety, HACCP, and manufacturing processes

Experience developing for private label / white label customers (highly regarded)

Culinary training or food science qualifications preferred

Proficiency in recipe scaling, costing, and technical documentation

A collaborative mindset with strong communication and problem-solving skills

Passion for food, innovation, and getting into the kitchen to test, taste and tweak

Would be great if you had

Familiarity with retailer systems (e.g. Woolworths Compass, GS1, BarTender)

Experience with ready meals, chilled or frozen categories

Knowledge of clean-label, plant-based or dietary-specific innovation

Ability to identify cost-saving opportunities or ingredient optimisation

What’s in It for You

Join a nimble, growing company with an exciting national footprint

Hands-on, food-led team culture where your ideas make it to shelf

Full access to our onsite test kitchen and commercial production teams

Competitive salary and opportunities for career progression

Work on real food with real impact—no corporate fluff