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Culinary Development Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Ventura Foods

Culinary Services Manager

Irvine, CA · On-site

Reporting directly to the VP, this position serves as a lead culinary interface between Customers, Sales, Product Development, Insights, and Marketing. The Manager will play a lead role in executing ...

Bon Appetit

Culinary Director - NVIDIA

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

$150K - $170K/yr

Short Description As Culinary Director, you will provide strategic culinary leadership for one of ... Strong expertise in menu development, food costing, purchasing, inventory management, labor ...

Compass Group

Culinary Director - NVIDIA

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

$150K - $170K/yr

Short Description As Culinary Director, you will provide strategic culinary leadership for one of ... Strong expertise in menu development, food costing, purchasing, inventory management, labor ...

Compass Group

Culinary Director - NVIDIA

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

$150K - $170K/yr

Short Description As Culinary Director, you will provide strategic culinary leadership for one of ... Strong expertise in menu development, food costing, purchasing, inventory management, labor ...

Compass Group

Culinary Director - NVIDIA

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

$150K - $170K/yr

Short Description As Culinary Director, you will provide strategic culinary leadership for one of ... Strong expertise in menu development, food costing, purchasing, inventory management, labor ...

Sodexo

Culinary Supervisor

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

$21.67 - $29.25/hr

Culinary Supervisor Location: VMWARE HQ, PALO ALTO - 92173001 Workdays/shifts : Weekdays - morning ... Access to ongoing training/development and advancement opportunities to turn your job into a career ...

mendocinofarms

Regional Culinary Manager

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$27 - $35/hr

Clear path for growth and development Summary: The Regional Culinary Manager is a key member of the Management Team who works at their home store and across multiple regional locations. Reporting to ...

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Culinary Development information

See California salary details

$46.4K

$66.7K

$87.3K

How much do culinary development jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 2, 2026, the average yearly pay for culinary development in California is $66,718.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $54,300.00 and $77,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is culinary development?

Culinary development is the process of creating, testing, and refining new recipes, menu items, and food concepts for restaurants, food brands, or hospitality businesses. Professionals in this field combine culinary expertise with creativity and market research to develop dishes that meet customer preferences and industry trends. They often collaborate with chefs, nutritionists, and marketing teams to ensure that new offerings are both delicious and commercially viable.

How does a culinary development professional typically collaborate with chefs and product teams to create new menu items?

Culinary Development professionals work closely with chefs, food scientists, and product development teams to brainstorm, prototype, and refine new menu offerings. This often involves conducting taste tests, sourcing unique ingredients, and ensuring recipes are scalable for larger production. Regular meetings and feedback sessions are key, as is collaborating with marketing and operations teams to ensure the final product aligns with brand standards and customer preferences. Effective communication and adaptability are essential, as priorities may shift based on market trends or operational constraints.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in culinary development, and why are they important?

To excel in Culinary Development, you need a deep understanding of food science, recipe formulation, and culinary techniques, often supported by a degree in culinary arts or food science. Familiarity with kitchen equipment, food safety certifications (like ServSafe), and product development software is typically expected. Creativity, strong collaboration, and adaptability are vital soft skills for innovating new dishes and working with cross-functional teams. These abilities ensure successful creation and launch of appealing, safe, and commercially viable food products.

What is the difference between Culinary Development vs Culinary Chef?

AspectCulinary DevelopmentCulinary Chef
CredentialsRelevant culinary certifications, culinary school diplomaProfessional culinary certifications, culinary school diploma
Work EnvironmentResearch and development kitchens, product testing labsRestaurant kitchens, hotel kitchens, catering services
Employer & Industry UsageFood companies, product development firms, culinary innovation teamsRestaurants, hotels, hospitality industry
Primary FocusCreating new recipes, developing food products, culinary innovationPreparing dishes, managing kitchen staff, executing menus

While Culinary Development focuses on creating and testing new recipes and food products, Culinary Chefs are responsible for preparing dishes and managing kitchen operations. Both roles require culinary certifications, but their work environments and primary objectives differ significantly.

What are popular job titles related to Culinary Development jobs in California?

For Culinary Development jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Culinary Development jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Culinary Development jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Culinary Development jobs?

Cities in California with the most Culinary Development job openings:

Culinary Development jobs near you
Infographic showing various Culinary Development job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 86% Full Time, 11% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 89% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $66,718 per year, or $32.1 per hour.

Culinary Services Manager

Ventura Foods

Irvine, CA • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Posted 12 days ago

Ventura Foods rating

6.9

Company rating: 6.9 out of 10

Based on 33 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

241st of 443 rated food and drinks producers

Job description

Employment Type: Salaried
Work Arrangement: Hybrid- Sandy Springs, GA.  

Position Summary:

The Manager, Culinary Services,  will champion our Food Innovation Services, technical expertise, and commercial growth for Ventura Foods and its customers. Reporting directly to the VP, this position serves as a lead culinary interface between Customers, Sales, Product Development, Insights, and Marketing. The Manager will play a lead role in executing the company’s innovation services, strengthening customer relationships, and ensure alignment between product development and business objectives. This role will develop concepts and products to accelerate speed-to-market, menu innovation and drive revenue growth for our customers. This role will act as the culinary lead for the Sandy Spring, GA Innovation Center. 

Major Duties and Responsibilities:
  • Provides menu and product innovation services to key customers in multiple business channels. Develops menu concepts and products. Collaborates and/or leads cross-functional teams to present these solutions to customers. Plays a key role in the execution of our Vista Food Innovation Service. 
  • Employs and/or develops digital tools such as videos for menu concepts, product category training, social media, YouTube, and direct to customer engagements. Expands our culinary reach through these tools. 
  • Is the culinary site leader for this location. Owns and manages the kitchen event calendar and culinary execution those events. Ensures the kitchen is cleaned, maintained, and organized. Develops and maintains relationships with third-party culinary facilities. This includes our area broker kitchen for project work involving food preparation. Includes contracted facilities for executing presentations to customers. 
  • Provides and/or leads culinary support for company and industry events where culinary and food service is required. Includes developing concepts, products, menus, execution plans, and communcation. 
  • Documents all customer project acitivty in the Salesforce CRM system to capture the value and time investment provided to customers.  
Education and Experience:

Required:              

  • Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts, Food Science, or related field is preferred. AA/AOC Culinary degree, professional certificate, or recognized apprenticeship program, equivalent culinary and product development will be considered.
  • 7+ years of progressive culinary experience in restaurant operations, food manufacturer, or culinary sales.
  • 3+ years experience in a food manufacturer role is preferred.
  • Experience includes hands-on kitchen operations, menu innovation, product development, direct customer engagement, team leadership, commercialization, and turning strategy into business growth.
  • Experience in collaborating and/or leading cross-functional teams to create customer solutions.
  • Proven success in building customer relationships and translating culinary trends into customer menu solutions. 
    •    Ability to travel up to 40% for customer meetings and industry events.

Highly Preferred:        

  • Possesses or meets requirement to acheive CEC and/or CRC certifications are preferred.
  • Food Protection Manager certification is preferred. 
  • Demonstrated working knowledge and use of digital/video capability.
  • Strong business acumen with ability to connect culinary innovation to commercial growth
  • Strong presentation, communication, and negotiation skills
  • Deep knowledge of food safety, product development, regulatory, product commercialization, trends, and marketing strategies. 
  • Proven profiency in food preparation and execution at a high-level.
Knowledge and Skills:
  • Passionate about food and delivering customer value through food innovation.
    •    Strategic thinker with customer-centric approach to culinary innovation.
    •    Ability to work independently with broad direction. 
    •    Skilled in project management and cross-functional collaboration.
    •    Relationship-driven culinarian with strong commercial instincts.
    •    Kitchen operations expert – fine dining, high-volume food service, casual, fast-casual, QSR, and retail food service. 

Why Join Us:
Ventura Foods innovates and manufactures food solutions for foodservice and retail businesses.  We make exclusive products for the world's most iconic restaurants and retailers, we provide ready-to-go product solutions for professional kitchens, and we make consumer brands everyone knows and loves.  When you work for Ventura Foods, you get a strong foundation of training, a manager who cares about you and celebrates your success, a safe environment, and challenging work.  As part of our team, your future is limited only by how much you’re willing to push yourself to get there. We invest in your growth because you invest in ours.  

Ventura Foods offers career growth opportunities as well as competitive compensation and benefits:​

  • Medical, Prescription, Dental, & Vision – coverage beginning on your 1st day for eligible employees​
  • Profit Sharing and 401(k) matching (after eligible criteria is met)​
  • Paid Vacation, Sick Time, and Holidays​
  • Employee Appreciation Events​ and Employee Assistance Programs
  • Salary Base Range of $114,801.00 - $150,678.15*

*The “base salary range” provided above is a good faith estimate of what we expect to pay for this position in the specified markets.  Ventura Foods reserves the right to pay outside of the given range based on a variety of factors including but not limited to: candidate skills and experience, complexity of the job, budgetary factors, and location/geography.  Ventura Foods conducts regular reviews of compensation ranges and therefore reserves the right to alter this range at any given time.  

Diversity & Inclusion:
Our commitment to a diverse and inclusive environment in which all employees are treated with respect is evident in our company culture and values.  We believe that fostering an environment of inclusion and a focus on diversity across our organization is vital to attracting top talent, driving innovation, and meeting the high expectations of our customers in a rapidly evolving global marketplace.

Ventura Foods is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Ventura Foods may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted tools at certain stages of our hiring process, including identifying & sourcing candidates, reviewing applications and matched candidates on job boards and websites, and generating screening questions to help us work more efficiently and consistently. We regularly review our tools to promote fairness and reduce the risk of bias. However, while these tools support our process, every hiring decision is made by a real person on our team.  Applicants in the State of New York may request an alternative process by contacting us at VFaccessibility@rescocompany.com.

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