Kerry, the Taste and Nutrition Company, is a global leader in the food and beverage industry that develops products people enjoy and feel better about. Striving toward this goal necessitates having highly-qualified R&D and culinary departments. In an effort to strengthen the synergy between the two teams, Kerry recently launched a Certified Culinary Scientist (CCS®) training program to sharpen the culinary skills and knowledge of their R&D scientists.

The program was designed through a joint effort between Culinary Culture, a culinary product development company, and the University of Arkansas. The purpose was to prepare the scientists for the official Research Chefs Association CCS® examination and, more broadly, bridge the gap between food science and the culinary arts.

Twelve R&D scientists were nominated by their supervisors at Kerry to participate in the CCS® program. This inaugural class graduated in late July, marking the completion of 120 hours of coursework on Culinary Arts Fundamentals, Baking Arts Fundamentals, Global Cuisine and Advanced Culinary Arts.

The training took place in Kerry’s Culinary Innovation Kitchen. Recently renovated with state-of-the-art custom equipment, it serves as a prime example of Kerry’s commitment to investing in world-class facilities. The Culinary Innovation Kitchen is used for customer engagements, allowing Kerry’s chefs to collaborate with customers in real time. Internally, the kitchen has always provided a space for the day-to-day development and innovation of new product concepts.  Moving into the future, it will continue to do so, but it will also provide a space to train the subsequent groups of R&D scientists seeking CCS® certification.

The cross-functional knowledge gained through the program gives each of the graduates a stronger understanding of the culinary arts and the final products that their research helps to develop. It provides them with a more tangible understanding of the goals of the culinary department which in turn gives them the ability to efficiently convert the ambitions of the culinary kitchen into the pragmatic, workable procedures of the laboratory and manufacturing facility. Jennifer Dunn, Senior R&D Scientist and a graduate of the course commented on the experience stating, “I believe that the certification program adds extra credibility to our R&D team and helps us translate culinary ideas into practical solutions that are both innovative and processable.”

Kerry believes this holistic approach to food will naturally expand the graduates’ vocabulary into the realm of culinary, making them better able to articulate their thoughts to other chefs in the industry. Scott Walnofer, Senior Director of Culinary at Kerry commented, "Knowledge of creating food leads to better collaboration, camaraderie in our kitchens and confidence in developing Taste-leading samples. As part of Kerry’s mission of Leading to Better, this certification demonstrates our commitment to developing the skill set of our talented R&D team "

Kerry hopes the new CCS® training will do more than just improve the internal development process. They believe this type of program will promote leadership development and support recruitment efforts with another incentive for new hires. Ultimately, the program will produce better, more knowledgeable scientists as well as superior final products.