About us
Our co-founders
Toph Ford
With a background in food science and professional kitchens, Toph has gone on to work for industry leaders across hospitality, food retail and manufacturing.
Starting his career in product development and buying roles for prominent retail manufacturers, Toph followed his passion back into the hospitality sector and spent over 4 years at Leon restaurants as Head of Food & Marketing. With the responsibility for leading all food innovation, he helped to build the foundations for a scalable restaurant model and supported the business as it grew from 7 to over 40+ sites.
With a drive for new challenges, Toph's most recent role as Head of Hospitality Product Development at M&S gave him the opportunity to inject foodservice best practices, and the entrepreneurial thinking of a young brand, inside a leading retail focused environment – launching on-trend new concepts and re-thinking existing offers.
Toph has a keen eye for detail and is an expert in brand and concept development, creating food strategies, and mentoring food teams.
With a background in food science and professional kitchens, Toph has gone on to work for industry leaders across hospitality, food retail and manufacturing.
Starting his career in product development and buying roles for prominent retail manufacturers, Toph followed his passion back into the hospitality sector and spent over 4 years at Leon restaurants as Head of Food & Marketing. With the responsibility for leading all food innovation, he helped to build the foundations for a scalable restaurant model and supported the business as it grew from 7 to over 40+ sites.
With a drive for new challenges, Toph's most recent role as Head of Hospitality Product Development at M&S gave him the opportunity to inject foodservice best practices, and the entrepreneurial thinking of a young brand, inside a leading retail focused environment – launching on-trend new concepts and re-thinking existing offers.
Toph has a keen eye for detail and is an expert in brand and concept development, creating food strategies, and mentoring food teams.
Stefan Cosser
After honing his skills through culinary competitions and in the kitchens of high end restaurants in his native Iceland, Stefan moved to the UK to work at Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen where he managed and led the creative team for over 5 years.
It was at The Fat Duck that Stefan learnt to harness creativity, combining experimentation and creative thinking with his understanding of food science.
Upon leaving The Fat Duck in 2012, Stefan turned his focus to the wider food industry, using his breadth of creative, technical and operational expertise to deliver innovation and operational projects within branded restaurants, fast casual and food-to-go operators.
With a strong background in restaurant kitchens and an in-depth knowledge of food, coupled with commercial and operational expertise, Stefan is an expert at creating and planning new food concepts and improving existing kitchen operations.
After honing his skills through culinary competitions and in the kitchens of high end restaurants in his native Iceland, Stefan moved to the UK to work at Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen where he managed and led the creative team for over 5 years.
It was at The Fat Duck that Stefan learnt to harness creativity, combining experimentation and creative thinking with his understanding of food science.
Upon leaving The Fat Duck in 2012, Stefan turned his focus to the wider food industry, using his breadth of creative, technical and operational expertise to deliver innovation and operational projects within branded restaurants, fast casual and food-to-go operators.
With a strong background in restaurant kitchens and an in-depth knowledge of food, coupled with commercial and operational expertise, Stefan is an expert at creating and planning new food concepts and improving existing kitchen operations.
Our team
Aces in their places
OLLIE SHORT
Senior Development Chef and Project Manager
Starting his career in professional kitchens, Ollie has honed his culinary training into being a highly effective and modern thinking product development chef.
Ollie is part of the Egg Soldiers core team, and working alongside Stefan and Toph, has gained extensive experience in NPD project management – working directly with clients across a wide range of projects, from full recipe & menu development, to supply chain set-up, kitchen operations, training and concept implementation/launch.
Ollie is part of the Egg Soldiers core team, and working alongside Stefan and Toph, has gained extensive experience in NPD project management – working directly with clients across a wide range of projects, from full recipe & menu development, to supply chain set-up, kitchen operations, training and concept implementation/launch.
PHILLI ARMITAGE-MATTIN
Senior Development Chef – Associate
A strong foundation in Michelin starred kitchens with the Gordon Ramsay group and in Tokyo & Hong Kong, alongside a background in science, has helped Philli attain high-end culinary skills and a structured approach to product development.
Philli has developed and launched 100s of products for industry leading brands such as Tesco and Starbucks, in the UK as well as internationally. A keen eye for blue sky concepts was key to Philli's work on the plant-based Wicked Kitchen range.
Philli has a passion for helping food businesses struggling with innovation.
Philli has developed and launched 100s of products for industry leading brands such as Tesco and Starbucks, in the UK as well as internationally. A keen eye for blue sky concepts was key to Philli's work on the plant-based Wicked Kitchen range.
Philli has a passion for helping food businesses struggling with innovation.
DANIEL FLETCHER
Pastry Development Chef – Associate
An Award-winning pastry chef, Daniel has over 15 years' experience as a professional, holding prestigious roles for both Gordon Ramsay and Jason Atherton.
Daniel has worked in various Michelin starred restaurants and 5-star hotels across the globe. He also held the position of Dessert Product Developer for M&S for 3 years, working with some of the UK and Europe's leading food manufacturers, overseeing a product portfolio of over 120 products.
Daniel brings a wealth of experience to his current role as a Pastry Consultant, working on various projects yielding great success for clients.
Daniel has worked in various Michelin starred restaurants and 5-star hotels across the globe. He also held the position of Dessert Product Developer for M&S for 3 years, working with some of the UK and Europe's leading food manufacturers, overseeing a product portfolio of over 120 products.
Daniel brings a wealth of experience to his current role as a Pastry Consultant, working on various projects yielding great success for clients.
Associates
Our external experts
The Sideys are a food & drink branding studio. With over 10 years of creative hospitality expertise, they focus on creating meaningful identities, content and assets for brands. They specialise in operationally driven design, strategic copywriting, food styling and sustainable packaging.
Get in touch
We are based in London and work with clients nationally and internationally.
Email us at
hello@eggsoldiers.co.uk
or fill out the form.
Egg Soldiers
Suite 1-3,
The Hop Exchange,
24 Southwark Street,
London
SE1 1TY
Email us at
hello@eggsoldiers.co.uk
or fill out the form.
Egg Soldiers
Suite 1-3,
The Hop Exchange,
24 Southwark Street,
London
SE1 1TY