Taste Panel Co-ordinator

Overview

Job Advert

Are you passionate about food quality, sensory evaluation, and continuous improvement? Do you enjoy being at the heart of product integrity—from factory floor to customer plate? We’re looking for a Taste Panel Coordinator to join our Quality Assurance team at Riverside Bakery in Nottingham, supporting the delivery of safe, consistent, and high-quality chilled food products.

Job Title:

Taste Panel Coordinator

Working days:
Monday - Friday, 8:30 - 17:00 with 16:00 finish on Friday

Pay: £27,810 per annum

Location:

The Compleat Food Group, Crossgate Drive, Nottingham, NG2 1LW

At The Compleat Food Group, we’re proud to be a food business built on purpose and passion. Formed in 2021, we’re on a mission to create Food to Feel Good - great quality, tasty and affordable food that people love to eat.

We’re home to some of the UK’s most exciting and loved food brands, including Wall’s Pastry, Pork Farms, Wrights, The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co., unearthed, Vadasz, Squeaky Bean, Palace Culture, and Harvey & Brockless. Alongside our branded portfolio, we’re a leading supplier of delicious own-label pastry, sweet bakery, party food, olives and antipasti, added-value egg products, continental meats, dips and sauces and plant-based food to the UK’s major retailers, as well as across food service.

With over 6,000 talented colleagues across 17 sites, and an annual turnover of £1.3bn, we’re united by a shared ambition to shape the future of food for the better.

As Taste Panel Coordinator, you’ll play a critical role in ensuring our products meet defined sensory and quality attributes throughout their shelf life. You’ll coordinate and lead structured taste panels, manage sensory training, support laboratory and sampling programmes, and work closely with QA, NPD, and Commercial teams to drive quality excellence.

This is a hands-on, highly collaborative role, ideal for someone who thrives in a food manufacturing environment and enjoys turning data and feedback into positive action.

Your day-to-day will include:

• Collect representative samples from each production run and organize and lead regular taste panels to agreed schedules.
• Ensure products are paneled at end of shelf life at set frequencies and conduct panels in a structured manner with clearly communicated attributes.
• Train panel attendees in line with retailer and customer requirements and support customer panels and “buy-back” panels.
• Record results accurately and share clear reports with relevant stakeholders and review panel data for trends and escalate findings for weekly complaints and quality meetings.
• React promptly to out-of-specification results, instigating investigations or placing product on hold where required.
• Adhere to microbiological, nutritional, Free From, claims, authenticity, and pesticide sampling schedules.
• Manage nutritional testing results and support investigations into OOS findings.
• Assist with raw material, WIP, and finished product testing—especially for claim-critical products.
• Maintain up-to-date QAS documentation.
• Manage stock takes and ordering of consumables (e.g. swabs, sampling kits) and raise purchase orders for testing and consumables.
• Be an active member of the Internal Auditing Team, including process audits and support QA Manager and QA Team with audits, investigations, and day-to-day QA activities.

We’re after someone who’s passionate about doing things right and making a difference every day. You’ll bring:

• Essential
• Experience in a food manufacturing environment (technical or production).
• Strong organisational and planning skills.
• Confident communicator, both written and verbal.
• Positive, proactive problem-solving mindset.
• Competent in Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook.
• Desirable Qualifications
• Food Safety Level 3
• HACCP Level 3
• Campden BRC Sensory Training
• Internal Auditing Training
• Understanding of retailer Codes of Practice and BRC standards

At The Compleat Food Group, we believe our people are the heart of our success. That’s why we offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your lifestyle, wellbeing, and career growth.

• Financial &…