Meet Josiah Huelle

Your shopping trip is about to get a whole lot yummier. Delicious new products are coming to our stores soon thanks to our new product development manager, Josiah Huelle. Josiah joined the team after a long and successful career as an executive pastry chef in the hospitality and restaurant industries. He brings his expertise, passion, and creativity to Fresh & Easy’s new product development kitchen everyday. Read more on Josiah below.

Name: Josiah Huelle
Hometown: Honolulu, HI
Current position: New Product Development Manager
Location: Campus, Riverside
Previous positions at fresh&easy: N/A
Education: Johnson & Wales University – Bachelor of Science, Culinary Arts

How did you get started at fresh&easy?

I was presented with a great opportunity to join Fresh & Easy’s dynamic new product development team and I couldn’t pass it up! After spending many years in the hospitality and restaurant industries working with world-renowned chefs, I was excited about the opportunity to create similar quality foods at affordable prices.

What makes a great pastry chef?

Pastry chefs must understand the science and technical aspects of cooking to ensure a recipe works. In order to get consistent, repeatable results, we have to be organized, detail-oriented, and creative in the test kitchen.

What does a day in the life of a NPD Manager look like?

I’m very busy every day. The projects we work on give us the opportunity to bring lots of creativity to work and teamwork always plays a major role in what we do. Each day we work together to develop new recipes in the test kitchen and then figure out how to create the foods in large quantities for our markets.

Our NPD team consists of:

• Katie Jaeger, our head chef and new product development leader
• a buyer who helps me source quality, wholesome ingredients
• a technician or sous chef who helps develop and test recipes
• a process and technical manager who determines the best way to take a recipe from our test kitchen to the manufacturing floor to be produced on a large scale
• and an engineering team who designs and maintains the machinery and appliances we use

What do you think is the most challenging aspect of your job?

When we’re developing new, wholesome foods for our markets, we have to think about how those foods will be made at our Campus facilities. The most challenging aspect of my work is making product that can be run through a manufacturing plant and delivered fresh to our markets each day.

Why do you love working at fresh&easy?

I love working here because we get to create new products from a blank canvas—the sky is the limit when it comes to how we think about delicious food. I get to show my passion through the products I create. In addition, I try to connect with our customers through food by creating flavor profiles that may remind them of happy childhood memories.

What are your favorite flavor combinations? I love peanut butter and chocolate or chocolate and mint!

Getting Fresh:

What fresh&easy foods do you crave?

Pizza and salads

When you’re not at work, where can we find you?

At the beach, surfing

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done (that you can share on your employer’s blog)?

Surf 10-12+ foot waves, Hawaiian standards at Waimea Bay

What’s on your iPod or DVR?

Insane Cinema Surfing