Senior New Product Development Chef

About Calo (more here)

Calo is an app providing personalized meal plans for busy people through nutritional algorithms, built with love by chefs, nutritionists, and software engineers.

Launched in Bahrain in 2019, we have since expanded to 7 countries, delivered millions of meals to our customers, and are now expanding our mission of making healthy easy to retail and other verticals.

We're on a noble mission to make healthy easy. We think this is one of the most important problems to tackle in our world today. We have global ambitions - no small thinking here.

Why This Role Matters

Calo’s menu is at the core of our customer experience. As we expand our UAE offering, we need a chef who can elevate our meals, introduce bold new flavors, and continuously innovate while staying true to health, quality, and operational efficiency. This role directly shapes what thousands of customers eat every day.

Role Overview

We’re looking for an experienced Sous Chef with strong exposure to modern European and Asian cuisines, and a proven track record of developing new recipes, building menus, and improving existing dishes. You will work closely with the GM, Head Chef, and NPD team to design, test, refine, and scale recipes that meet Calo’s nutritional standards and production capabilities. Experience in catering, hotels, or large restaurant operations is highly valuable due to the scale and precision required.

What You’ll Do

Product Development

• Create and test new recipes that align with Calo’s nutritional philosophy (keto, high-protein, vegan, detox, gluten-free, etc.).
• Improve existing dishes to enhance flavor, consistency, and customer satisfaction.
• Balance creativity with cost, nutrition, and operational constraints.

Menu Innovation & Market Insight

• Analyze culinary trends, customer feedback, and dietary needs to inform new product ideas.
• Develop concepts that stand out in the UAE health & wellness market.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work with Nutrition and Operations teams to ensure all meals meet health, safety, and production standards.
• Coordinate with Procurement to source high-quality, cost-efficient ingredients.

Quality, Documentation & Scaling

• Document recipes, yields, methods, and standards with accuracy.
• Standardize recipes for bulk production and train teams on execution.
• Ensure all new dishes comply with Calo’s food safety and quality requirements.

Creativity & Team Contribution

• Bring fresh energy and creative thinking to the kitchen.
• Foster a culture of experimentation, learning, and continuous improvement.

What We’re Looking For

• Culinary Arts degree or equivalent formal training.
• Minimum 5 years of experience as a Sous Chef, ideally within hotels, large restaurants, or catering environments, with full menu and NPD ownership exposure.
• Strong background in modern European, Levant, and Asian cuisines.
• Proven track record of taking dishes from concept to pilot to scaled production in high-volume environments.
• Demonstrated experience designing menus under real-world constraints, including cost, macros, operational feasibility, shelf life, reheating, and consistency at scale.
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, high-volume production kitchens where precision and efficiency are critical.
• Skilled in recipe costing, scaling, optimization, and standardization for bulk production.
• Tech-friendly: confident using basic kitchen and reporting systems (MS Office, RMS, POS, MMS).

Who You Are

• Positive, energetic, and collaborative.
• A strong communicator with the ability to present ideas clearly and professionally.
• Detail-oriented, organized, and capable of managing multiple development projects.
• Creative yet practical.
• Passionate about health, wellness, and building exceptional food experiences.
• Bonus: You have a portfolio showcasing dishes, menus, or product development work.

The Hiring Journey

• Screening meeting with our TA team (30 mins)
• Technical interview 1 (45 mins)
• Technical interview 2 (30 mins)
• Culture-fit interview (30 mins)
• Offer stage

Ready to Join?

If this role excites you, and you see yourself matching at least 85% of the criteria above, what are you waiting for? Yalla, let’s gooo! 🚀