This Food Retail Production Specialist position at Moishes Butchery in Johannesburg is a permanent, full-time role that goes beyond standard counter service. It is a highly operational, hands-on position requiring a culinary or fresh-food professional who can manage the entire lifecycle of fresh products—from raw ingredient forecasting and preparation to cooking, packaging, and visual merchandising.
Food Retail Production Specialist | Moishes Butchery
Location: Johannesburg, Gauteng Posted: May 2026 Job Type: Permanent, Full-Time Equity Status: Open (EE/AA & Non-EE/AA)
The Reality of the Role: Cross-Departmental Fresh Food Execution
Moishes Butchery operates a high-volume, premium fresh food ecosystem. In this role, you are the engine behind three distinct daily production lines: Perishable Meat Processing, Fruit & Veg Processing, and Value-Add Prepared Foods (Deli/Ready Meals). You must balance strict portion controls, culinary prep timelines, and food safety standards simultaneously.
Key Responsibilities
1. Multi-Departmental Food Preparation & Production
- Culinary Prep & Cooking: Execute commercial-scale cooking, slicing, chopping, and marinating across meat, vegetable, and ready-to-eat product lines.
- Value-Add Merchandising: Pack, seal, label, and creatively display finished goods in retail fridges to optimize visual appeal and drive impulse buys.
- Bulk Scaling: Assist in scaling up production quotas seamlessly to meet massive spikes in demand during seasonal rushes and holidays.
2. Production Planning & Inventory Alignment
- Yield Forecasting: Assist management with daily production planning, calculating ingredient yields to meet sales targets without overproducing.
- Raw Supply Ordering: Track raw ingredient levels (spices, trays, plastic wrap, raw produce) and place accurate replenishment orders.
- Waste Mitigation: Enforce strict First-In, First-Out (FIFO) stock rotation across cold rooms and prep stations to keep shrinkage and spoilage metrics as low as possible.
3. Food Safety, Hygiene & Compliance
- Cold-Chain Maintenance: Monitor food temperatures strictly during the processing, cooking, and cooling phases to ensure consumer safety.
- HACCP & Hygiene Compliance: Maintain pristine cleanliness across all processing surfaces, knives, bandsaws, and cooking equipment in line with South African food safety laws.
Minimum Requirements
- Experience: Proven, hands-on experience in retail food production is essential.
- Domain Expertise: Practical background working directly within a retail Butchery, Fruit & Veg processing department, or a commercial Deli/Hot Foods environment.
- Skills: Strong understanding of ordering cycles, basic stock forecasting, and physical stock rotation.
- Stamina: Ability to perform efficiently in a fast-paced, physically demanding environment that involves extended standing, heavy lifting, and navigating cold rooms.
- Compliance: Impeccable hygiene habits and strong foundational knowledge of food safety practices.
Advantageous Qualifications
- Kosher Food Production Experience: Given the specific nature of Moishes, direct experience with or an understanding of Kosher dietary laws, ingredient segregation, and specialized clean-down protocols is a massive competitive advantage.
- Leadership Tenure: Prior experience acting as a team leader, supervisor, or shift run-manager.
- Event Planning: Experience managing large-scale batch cooking or seasonal retail menu rollouts.
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