R&D Chef

New Braunfels, TX, USA|Travel, Onsite

Job Overview

Employment Type

Full-time

Compensation

Hourly

Range $15.75 - $29.00

Work Schedule

Standard Hours

Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Paid Time Off

Retirement Plan

Employee Discounts

Training and Development

flexible schedule

Job Description

Taco Cabana is a well-established fast casual Tex-Mex restaurant chain that originated in San Antonio, Texas. Known for its vibrant flavors, authentic recipes, and a warm, festive atmosphere, Taco Cabana has become a beloved icon in the southwestern United States. The brand prides itself on its handcrafted food that reflects the rich culinary heritage of the region, blending traditional Tex-Mex dishes with bold, creative twists. Since its inception, Taco Cabana has maintained a commitment to quality, freshness, and flavor, blending a passion for food with a dedication to delivering a unique dining experience to its guests.

The company is currently seeking a Research & Development Chef to join their culinary team. This full-time role is perfect for a creative, energetic, and passionate chef who thrives in a fast-paced environment and has a deep appreciation for Tex-Mex, Mexican, and Latin-inspired cuisine. The R&D Chef will support the organization by identifying, ideating, developing, and implementing new product initiatives and innovations that align with Taco Cabana's brand vision and growth strategies. Working closely with the Head of Culinary and Corporate Chef David Cisneros, the successful candidate will play a key role in developing new menu concepts, optimizing current offerings, and ensuring operational viability of products.

The role requires a unique blend of culinary creativity and practical operational knowledge, including food costing, financial skills, and the ability to evaluate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of food and equipment. The R&D Chef will also be responsible for training internal partners, managing recipe and costing databases, and collaborating across departments such as Operations, Purchasing, and Marketing to ensure seamless rollouts of new products. This position offers an exciting opportunity to influence the culinary direction of a dynamic and growing brand, to innovate within a heritage-rich food culture, and to contribute to Taco Cabana's ongoing story of flavor. The ideal candidate is someone who can bring fresh ideas, local inspiration, and authentic taste to a team that values creativity, pride, and a love for bold flavors.

Job Requirements

minimum 2 years experience as an r&d chef or executive chef
experience in chain restaurant or qsr/fast casual preferred
strong creativity and culinary expertise
knowledge of tex-mex, mexican, and latin cuisine
familiarity with operational capabilities and equipment platforms
financial skills including food costing and yield analysis
consumer driven approach integrating feedback and trends
ability to work independently and manage multiple projects
attention to detail in documentation and evaluation
effective communication skills
bilingual spanish-english preferred
proficient with microsoft excel, word, and powerpoint
able to lift up to 40 lbs
available for up to 20% travel

Job Qualifications

2+ years minimum progressive experience as an r&d chef or executive chef experience in the chain restaurant (qsr/fast casual) segment preferred
creativity ability to identify opportunities and create new innovative solutions
culinary expertise theoretical understanding and practical application of culinary principles
ability to create a prototype product solely from an idea can reverse engineer a finished product back to its source ingredients well-developed sense of taste aesthetics and value-drivers in food knowledge of tex-mex/mexican/latin cuisine
operations experience familiar and comfortable with the level of operational capabilities and equipment platforms within the category and able to design products for success within those parameters
financial acumen experience in food costing yield analysis and financial reporting
consumer driven integrates consumer feedback trends and insights into product development process
demonstrated ability to take direction formulate a plan and execute that plan with limited direct supervision
demonstrates exceptional attention to detail required when documenting formulations inputting costs evaluating products and managing multiple deliverables and timelines

Job Duties

identify and present opportunities to optimize core menu products procedures or workflow
function as a liaison with operations and various departments to provide culinary r&d solutions and improvements to in-restaurant performance
support training department with the development and execution of operations procedure job aids and in-field training
regularly audit unit-level execution of food and beverage initiatives providing feedback and solutions for improvement
maintain and regularly update the internal recipe and recipe costing databases yield calculations and vendor portfolio
partner with purchasing and other departments on the development of packaging and procedural solutions for all products
prepare appropriate documentation and materials to ensure a seamless transition from research and development to key departments including cost analysis