R&D; CHEF — PRODUCT RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ?

Location:
Central Kitchen, Andheri East, Mumbai | Travel for research, sourcing & market visits ? Employment Type: Full-time ?‍?

Experience:
6–10 years in professional kitchens, including 2–3 years in R&D;, product development or menu development ? Function: Culinary — Product & R&D; ? Reports to: Founder & Chief Brand & Product Officer ABOUT HUNDO PIZZA Hundo Pizza is a premium, delivery-first pizza brand from Mumbai. Every recipe is developed in-house, and every outlet runs off a central kitchen that produces our dough, sauces and key components. Pizza is our hero, and we're building out pasta, sides, desserts, beverages and new categories. We grow through consistent product, not discounting. THE ROLE We're looking for an R&D; Chef who isn't bound by any one cuisine. You've travelled, eaten widely and cooked across styles. You bring that range back into the kitchen and approach food with curiosity, research and discipline. You'll read, test, measure and stay close to what's happening in food around the world — then turn those ideas into products that work at scale and in delivery. From the first concept through testing, costing, scale-up and launch, you'll own the journey of a product from idea to being served across every outlet.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• RESEARCH & TRENDS
• Track global and Indian food trends across ingredients, techniques, formats and flavours in restaurants, QSR, delivery and retail.
• Study competitors and best-in-class brands in India and abroad, and run regular tastings and benchmarking.
• Build and maintain a research library of references, dishes, suppliers and techniques, and share learnings with the team.
• Travel for research, sourcing and market visits, and bring back ideas that fit the Hundo brand.
• Read customer feedback, ratings and sales data to identify gaps and opportunities on the menu.
• PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
• Develop new pizzas, pasta, sides, sauces, seasonings, collaborations and limited-edition items from concept to launch.
• Run structured trials — change one variable at a time,



record every version and use taste panels to make decisions.
• Design for delivery by testing how products hold up after time in the box, and solve for texture, temperature and packaging.
• Improve existing products by refining recipes, upgrading ingredients and fixing recurring quality issues.
• Apply modern techniques where they improve the product, including fermentation, sous vide, dehydration, emulsions, smoking, ageing and preservation.
• SCALE-UP & LAUNCH
• Translate kitchen trials into central kitchen batch recipes with the Corporate Chef and Central Kitchen team.
• Run shelf-life, holding and stability tests on new components.
• Cost every new item, establish specifications and yields, and ensure margins work before launch.
• Write recipe cards, build guides, photo standards and SOPs.
• Train outlet teams for current product launches.
• Work with Marketing on product stories, names, launch content and food photography.
• INGREDIENTS & SOURCING
• Find and evaluate new ingredients and suppliers, including local, regional and imported produce, in collaboration with the Purchase team.
• Set ingredient specifications and conduct sample testing before approval.
• Identify better-quality, more consistent or more sustainable alternatives to existing ingredients.
• PIPELINE & DOCUMENTATION
• Own the R&D; pipeline — priorities, stages, timelines and cycle time from idea to launch.
• Document every project clearly so recipes, processes and learnings stay with Hundo.
• Present new products and research findings regularly to the Founder & Chief Brand & Product Officer. MUST HAVE
• 6–10 years of experience in professional kitchens, with at least 2–3 years in R&D;, product development or menu development.




• Strong cross-cuisine exposure — you've cooked or worked across more than one style of cuisine and aren't tied to a single tradition.
• Travel and exposure — you've eaten, staged or worked in different cities or countries and bring those references into your cooking.
• A research-driven approach — you test hypotheses, maintain detailed notes and make decisions based on results.
• Strong understanding of food science, flavour building and ingredient behaviour.
• Experience taking products from a test kitchen through to production at scale.
• Comfortable with recipe costing, specifications and Excel / Google Sheets. GOOD TO HAVE
• Experience with pizza, bread, fermentation or Italian food.
• Experience in premium QSR, delivery brands, FMCG or packaged food product development.
• International stages or experience working in kitchens known for innovation.
• Formal culinary training. Food science or food technology qualifications are a plus.
• Strong food styling and photography sense. WHO YOU ARE
• CURIOUS — You travel to eat, read about food constantly and always want to understand why something works.
• OPEN-MINDED — You take inspiration from anywhere, from a street stall to a fine-dining menu to a supermarket shelf.
• DISCIPLINED — You love experimenting, but you also document, measure and finish what you start.
• UP TO DATE — You follow what's happening in food globally and in India, and know what's next, not just what's now.
• BRAND-MINDED — You know a excellent dish isn't enough. It has to fit Hundo, travel well and work consistently across every outlet. WHY HUNDO? This is an opportunity to build products from the ground up with a growing Mumbai food brand where R&D; isn't an afterthought — it's central to how we build the business. If you think deeply about food, love testing ideas, and want to see your creations move from a notebook to a production kitchen to customers across the city, we'd like to hear from you. ?

Location:
Andheri East, Mumbai ? Employment Type: Full-time

📌 R&D Chef (Mumbai)
🏢 Hundo Pizza
📍 Mumbai