Name
Lewis Kerton
Age
29
Job title
Development chef
Company and location
Pilgrim’s Europe, Attleborough
Education
Hospitality and Events Management at the University of East Anglia, plus culinary training.
Favourite food/drink
My favourite style of food to eat is Mezze. I love the social aspect, and it pairs well with a glass of wine or a cold beer. The mixture of hot and cold plates, with bread, oils, and dips. You just can’t beat it. Especially when the meat has been cooked over glowing charcoals. It’s even better when the sun is shining. Delicious!
What inspired you to enter F&B?
I’ve always loved food. Ever since I was a kid, I enjoyed helping out with dinner, flicking through cookbooks, and watching cooking shows. At first, I went down the path of studying public services, but realised I wanted to do something more creative. So, I made the leap and decided to pursue culinary arts.
Looking back, I realise that those public service lessons actually helped me in the kitchen. Working in a busy kitchen can feel pretty chaotic, and understanding how to keep things organised and structured is super important. Those skills definitely came in handy.
Tell us about your role
My job is all about bringing new and exciting food products to life, overseeing everything from the initial idea to when it finally (hopefully!) hits the shelves.
I connect directly with our customers to really get a feel for what they want and need, and work with them to create recipes that are unique to them. This means providing support to ensure their product range stays relevant and competitive, and making first-class products that stand out in a crowded market.
What does a typical day look like?
A typical day for me always begins with a cafetiere of coffee, a little ritual that gets the day started. However, due to the problem-solving nature of my role, it’s usually interrupted before I am able to finish it!
An example of this is balancing new innovation with operational practicality. As a development chef, I’m constantly working to create products that push creativity, while also fitting within manufacturing capabilities, budgets, and timelines. It requires close collaboration with our customers, suppliers and production teams.
Once any challenges are tackled, I get into the more creative side of the role: developing new recipes to meet our customers’ briefs, or refining existing recipes to make them even more authentic and flavourful.
My days are very busy with lots of elements going into developing a recipe; from gathering ingredients to batching and cooking up recipes multiple times a day. More complex meals that have multiple components can be challenging but it is rewarding when you try the final product and are happy with it- even when you’re your own worst critic.
In the end, I always find a way to get the job done, often smiling whilst doing so.
How did you get to where you are today?
Becoming a development chef was a bit of an unexpected journey for me. During my time at university, I often heard guest speakers saying they ‘just happened to fall into their roles’. My story is pretty similar. Life has a way of surprising you.
After graduating, I went into full-time employment. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I, like many others, found myself out of a job. I’d set up a LinkedIn profile whilst at university, and I used this to let recruiters know I was looking for opportunities. A recruitment agency reached out to me about a junior development chef position at a food manufacturer in Norfolk. I went through both an initial interview and a practical assessment where I had to complete a brief and present it to the NPD team.
This was an opportunity to showcase my butchery and knife skills since the job included primal development and value-added work, as well as my presentation skills and understanding of flavours and creativity. I was fortunate enough to land that role and spent a year and a half there before moving on to my current position at Pilgrim’s Europe.
When you’re having a bad day, what cheers you up?
Easy – going home to my family is enough to lift my spirits. I have two little boys who are four and one years old. They keep me busy, but I’d have it no other way - they are my bundles of joy. However, if I’m really struggling, a slice of cake will do the trick.
What’s your favourite part about the food sector?
Here in Norwich, we are incredibly lucky to have such amazing independent restaurants, bars, pubs and market stalls, all of which offer something unique and wonderful. You could easily spend a day eating within the confines of Norwich market, and I genuinely think it would be impossible to leave feeling sad.
The smells, the noise of woks clattering, and the colours and dishes presented are joyous. This is true for a lot of the UK. We have such a brilliant range of diverse eateries waiting to be explored, if you follow your nose – I’m sure you’ll end up somewhere brilliant.
If you could change one thing about the F&B sector what would it be?
Whilst studying culinary arts, we rarely talked about development roles - everything seemed focused on restaurants and catering. It meant many of us didn’t realise just how many other paths existed within the industry.
So, I’d definitely like to change that!
Working at Pilgrim’s Europe, I have seen how important investing in future talent is. That is why, I have put together a workshop for GCSE & College culinary students to show them what a career in development looks like, and give them some hands-on experience to understand those roles better. My first session is in April, which I’m really excited about.
