Kepak Culinary Graduate Programme 2024 - Ireland

We are seeking to recruit for the 2024 Culinary Graduate Programme at at the Kepak Centre of Excellence in Ireland:

• Blanchardstown, Co. Dublin

Start date: September 2024
Check out our Graduate Hub on: https://www.kepak.com/careers/graduates/
The Programme:
Our Culinary Graduate programme is to help us to develop our Culinary leaders of the future, and allows dynamic, motivated, hardworking, and passionate Graduates an opportunity to start their career with one of Ireland & UKs leading meat businesses. The programme lasts 2 years and leads successful graduates onto potential career opportunities within the business.
You can expect:

• To be fully immersed into our Culture from day 1, working alongside key industry experts and Kepak leaders
• Supporting the Culinary Innovation Agenda with customer facing presentations and an in-depth knowledge of concept design & product development
• Gaining a deep understanding of our product suite, including the supply chain, processes, challenges and risks associated from both a product development and food safety point of view
• Working closely with NPD, Marketing & Category, to gain an understanding of their roles, and how Culinary works with them to trial and launch new products
• Learning how to keep on top of emerging food trends and food innovation and understanding how to apply that knowledge can influence our products
• To learn key aspects of our business, whilst you develop your skills and knowledge
• The opportunity to develop personally and professionally through exposure to key projects, tasks and development activities that challenge you, all supported by a detailed learner journey and training plan
• A dedicated mentor and development program to support you on the programme & learning journey.

Requirements
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for hardworking and ambitious Graduates, who want to learn and grow in a challenging and fast paced environment, by performing real roles as part of your rotations.
You must be mobile and willing to travel throughout the programme to undertake development activities at any of our sites in the UK and Ireland.
We are looking for Graduates who hold a degree in Culinary Arts, Culinary Innovation & Food Product Development, Culinary Entrepreneurship or Professional Cookery
We will be looking for alignment with our Core Values:
Responsibility – Ability to work on your own initiative and take accountability for your actions
Ambition – You will have the willingness and confidence to challenge yourself to be the best you can be and be driven to succeed
Passion for Food – this is at the heart of everything we do, you must be passionate about every aspect of our industry
Teamwork – ability to build positive relationships quickly with people from all cultures and career stages is pivotal

Our Graduate programme starts at €30,000 in Year 1, with and increase to €32,000 at the beginning of Year 2
Benefits

• Employee Discount Scheme
• Service-Related Annual Leave
• Discounted Health Insurance
• Educational Assistance/ L&D
• Discounted Meat Products
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee assistance programme