OUR CHEFS
Allison Rittman, CRC
Owner
𖡡 Austin, TX
(512) 992-4501
arittman@culinary-culture.com
Chef Allison Rittman is a Corporate Chef and the Owner of Culinary Culture. She is also one of the first women to hold the title of Certified Research Chef in the United States. She has over 25 years of experience in the food industry. Allison specializes in Product Development, National Account Presentations, and Culinary Trends.
Her education includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Iowa and a degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America.
Allison currently resides in Austin where she operates the Texas-based R&D Kitchen and innovates the foods we eat everyday.
Contact Culinary Culture today to find out how Allison can help your business reach new culinary heights.
Chris McAdams, CRC
Director of R&D
𖡡 Union, ME
(720) 775-7971
cmcadams@culinary-culture.com
Chef Chris McAdams grew up working with food. At 14 he got his first job working at a local ice cream and burger café. This led to working in kitchens throughout his high school career. Chris went on to spend four years in the USAF. He then earned a BS degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the Metropolitan State University of Denver.
From there he studied Marketing and Communications at the University of Denver before returning to his love of food. After graduating from the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts Chris moved to London to train under chefs Sally Clarke and Michele Lombardi.
After spending 5 years as a Research Chef with Culinary Culture he moved to Boston to pursue an alternative role and gain additional experience. This led to a new opportunity with Culinary Culture as the Director of R&D. Chris has extensive experience in foodservice and CPG R&D, project management, strategic leadership, and relationship management.
Chris now resides in Union, ME where he operates the East Coast Culinary Culture test kitchen. He’s joined on his adventures by his amazingly talented wife Sadie and their grumpy little dog, Layla.
INNOVATIVE RESEARCH CHEFS
Our Mission
Culinary Culture is a group of passionate research chefs who offer consulting services for food based businesses. Through trend research, innovative ideation, and unsurpassed industry expertise, Culinary Culture will deliver imaginative, craveable products that consistently exceed your expectations.
What to Expect from Our Research Chefs
As chefs, we understand how important the culinary element is to the development of manufactured food products. In contrast, as scientists, we understand the parameters involved in making great tasting prototypes. This can be a difficult task within a manufactured setting. Our research chefs ensure your product works efficiently within your system, is of the highest quality, and tastes great!
Furthermore, we have the know-how to help increase your sales while reducing your costs. We have lived life in the kitchen and understand what it takes to run a successful restaurant. Additionally, our chefs study the global food scene and know what’s on trend. As a result, our unique mindset gives us an understanding of the operations side of food business to help you succeed.
What is a Research Chef?
Also known as product development or food innovation chefs, research chefs are essential to the F&B industry. We formulate and test new products and supplies for food and beverage based businesses. Therefore, our duties involve generating new recipes that look and taste great, and developing new formulas when needed. Even more, we’re experienced in marketing, operations, and training.
We develop new products by conducting consumer testing, observing market trends, and modifying recipes. Administrating consumer focus group testing is a very important responsibility. We find better ways to retain the flavor, freshness, consistency and nutritional content of mass-produced, packaged food products.
Additionally, we help launch new restaurant menus, train staff, and attend yearly conferences. We are constantly learning new information on how to help create the next big consumer hit.
Don’t hesitate to contact our research chefs today for more information about how we can help you reach your goals.