Cheese Technologist

What’s Cooking? is a European fresh savoury food group headquartered in Belgium which commercialises in Europe and beyond a wide range of high-quality and innovative savoury cold cuts, snacking and ready meal food products (also known from Come a casa®), and related services. “Day by day, we make sustainable food second nature by increasing the world’s appetite for tasty, convenient meals, crafted with care both for the people and the planet”.

Within What's Cooking? we work hard to help fulfil our mission around sustainable food consumption. What's Cooking? set a goal of getting at least 15% of volume from vegetarian or plant-based products by 2030. Our focus is largely on developing plant-based options within Savoury and Ready Meals. We also discovered opportunities for blended products. These are products made from a combination of plant based and animal ingredients. The aim is to combine the benefits of both to create a more sustainable and healthier product.

Our customers and consumers are always on our hungry minds when preparing our food products, as is the well-being of our approximately 2,500 employees from our headquarter, 12 industrial sites in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Poland, and the UK, and 7 sales offices. What’s Cooking Group (previously named Ter Beke) exists for 75 years, is listed as family company on Euronext Brussels since 1986 (EBR: WHATS) and realised a turnover of EUR 832 million in 2023.

For our Business Unit Ready Meals, we are looking for a Cheese Technologist.

Your mission:
As a Cheese Technologist, you will be responsible for developing and optimising our portfolio of dairy cheese and (plant-based) alternatives. Together with our suppliers, you play a crucial role in developing technological solutions for issues surrounding cheese including microbiology and innovative ingredients.

What are your tasks as a Cheese Technologist?

• To strengthen the technological knowledge within the organization and guarantee the quality of the cheese products supplied, you carry out technical studies, test materials, analyse raw materials and components and maintain contact with suppliers.
• You play a key role in solving complex technological and microbiological issues within cheese processing, and you contribute solutions that improve the quality of our products.
• • You are responsible for the development of the ‘Golden Standards’ for our cheese products to ensure optimal product properties and ensure consistency in the range.
• An important part of your role is to actively contribute to the transition from animal to vegetable proteins, guiding the development of sustainable cheese alternatives for the future.
• You take the lead in the planning and execution of innovation and optimisation projects, ensuring that these projects are completed on time and within budget.
• In your role, you will work closely with various departments such as procurement, R&D, FSQR and operations, contributing to ensuring the quality and future of our cheese range.
• Finally, you actively follow developments in your field, constantly looking for innovations and keeping a close eye on culinary and consumer trends to keep our product range future-proof.

• You have a Bio-Engineering or Industrial Engineering degree, ideally specialising in agri-food technologies (microbiology and biochemistry) or dairy technologies.
• You have significant experience (5 to 10 years) in cheese technology and production. You have acquired a good knowledge of the various ingredients and recipes as well as the production processes.
• You have experience with project management.
• You have an analytical and critical mindset. You are proactive, organised, pragmatic and work independently.
• You are a good communicator, motivator and are capable to properly argue your ideas to the other divisions.
• You have an excellent knowledge of English, knowledge of French is an advantage.
• You are willing to travel between our different offices (national or international) when needed.

• You'll be working in an exciting environment, as part of a stable, innovative Belgian food group with an international reputation.
• You will have the opportunity to learn and develop. You will be guided and supported by our colleagues, and we will offer you opportunities to develop according to your interests and abilities, so that you become an expert in your job.
• A friendly atmosphere and a personal approach are your guarantee of making the right choice.
• You can of course count on a competitive salary package, complemented by benefits such as meal vouchers, hospital insurance and a pension scheme.
• Finally, we think it's particularly important that you feel at home in our organisation. What's cooking? is a company with an open and informal culture, we take pride in what we do, we share successes and enjoy working together.