TASTE OF THINGS TO COME
IF you’re one of the thousands of people doing Veganuary and shunning meat and dairy, then here’s someone on your side.
Food product developer Simona Cohen-Vida-Welsh, 32, works for Waitrose in London and has been inventing plant-based creations for months now ready to keep you on the straight and narrow.
What does it involve?
I work in the Own Brand and Innovation Team and my role is to come up with products, concepts and ranges. No day, week, month or even year is the same in this career. And most recently I have had the challenge of working on developing our new veggie and vegan ranges.
Within my role there is so much variety. I may be sampling new products and perfecting recipes with our chefs in the kitchens. Or I could be visiting our producers to see products made at scale.
Then there visits to restaurants for inspiration, while also reading about new customer and cuisine trends.
It is quite a rollercoaster journey creating new concepts. There are often challenges to overcome, but it is so rewarding and there is always something new to learn.
The variety of products I develop and look after certainly keeps my day-to-day work life really interesting. I joined Waitrose more than seven years ago as a junior product developer and after three years was promoted.
Why did you choose this career?
I am so passionate about food and have always wanted to make people happy through eating. As a child I became obsessed with chef cookery shows and knew from early on I wanted a career in food.
I went to University College Birmingham for its amazing Culinary Arts Management course.
Those four years opened up my eyes to all the potential career opportunities in the food and hospitality industry, from events to small restaurant management all the way to product development.
During my studies I worked in restaurant kitchens and then I went onto my first job in product development which was part of the Sainsbury’s graduate scheme.
Having prior food experience in retail and hospitality is now key in securing product development roles, and I feel my restaurant experience really helped me to stand out in my interview at Waitrose.
I still draw on everything I learned in restaurants – the structure of organising your ingredients for the day, trying and improving every dish as you prepare it and getting the quality right consistently.
Is vegan food becoming more popular?
I think Veganuary is really iconic and there is so much buzz around at this time of year as customers might want to start a flexitarian lifestyle and try something new.
I do believe reducing meat is the new norm, a lifestyle that many of us now embrace as part of our dayto-day lives – and this movement has expanded so much more beyond January.
I’m not vegan myself – an integral part of my role involves sampling such a variety of products. But at home I go for a balanced choice of dishes, including meat-free meals.
Do you still enjoy cooking at home?
During the week when I’m busy with work I love to cook our favourite tried and tested recipes at home, but on the weekend I love experimenting with new ingredients and different recipes. Cooking will always be a huge passion, it depends on how much time I have on my hands.
But certainly I have been known to make recipes that take a whole day (to my husband’s despair, waiting for me to be done).
I do believe reducing meat is the new norm – a lifestyle many of us embrace
What are your career ambitions?
Professionally I know I am on the right path. My job is such a satisfying way of getting new products out there to the whole nation.
And with so much to learn about food, cuisines and new ingredients there will always be a new concept or a new range to bring to Waitrose shelves.
Now I have started learning about food styling and am perfecting each photo I post on my food Instagram account, spending hours styling food shots.
To find out all the ins and outs of what the food industry involves visit tastycareers.org.uk