Chef Christian "Kit" Kiefer, a chef and certified culinary educator and former restaurant owner, who created many popular menu items for restaurant chains and Fortune 500 companies, has been hired by St. Louis-based Kent Precision Foods Group as Corporate Culinary Chef of the Research & Development Department.

In his new position, Kiefer will work closely with KPFG Sales, Marketing, and the Research & Development departments to coordinate innovative and trend-setting culinary creations for internal brand development as well as customer initiatives. He will also oversee the company's new customer Culinary Center in Bolingbrook, IL. From this state of the art kitchen and facility, Kiefer will collaborate with customers, national restaurant chains, and other culinary chefs to create innovative dishes, recipes, and food menu solutions.

Kiefer began his career in research and development in 1995 and has since spent his time developing products, training programs, and research and development for many major food companies and restaurants. He spent six years on the faculty at Cornell University's Hospitality School where he specialized in menu engineering, price/value perception, cost control and trend research. After completing his Certified Executive Chef designation and Food Service Management Professional certification, he served as the Corporate Executive Chef/Director of Culinary Services at The Schwan Food Company from 2004-14. In 2013, Kiefer and his wife, Amanda, a protein specialist and marketing/merchandising expert, founded A Kitchen Kalamity, which provided a broad list of services for food companies.  

Kiefer became involved with the Research Chefs Association in the late 1990s and served as president of the national organization. He now serves as an RCA advisor. Originally from the Tampa Bay area, Kiefer graduated from The Florida Culinary Academy and the Michael Coles School of Business Administration at Kennesaw State University. He then opened Kiefer's, a 140-seat lunch and dinner house, in the Atlanta metro area and enjoyed more than a decade of success garnering numerous awards, citations and recognitions.