Reformulation
Reformulated a national retail product while reducing cost.
Protected product identity · confidential engagement
Food science · Culinary craft · Global execution
Igniting food ideas around the world.
We help food brands and entrepreneurs develop, optimize, and scale products from first concept to commercial production, wherever the work takes us.
30+Years of experience
GlobalAvailable for travel
Idea → ScaleEnd-to-end support
What we do
From promising idea to production-ready product.
Technical rigor without losing sight of flavor, feasibility, or the people who will ultimately enjoy the food.
01
Develop
New products, flavor systems, culinary concepts, and formulas built for the real world.
Explore Develop →02
Optimize
Reverse engineering, cost reduction, sensory improvement, and process troubleshooting.
Explore Optimize →03
Scale
Pilot trials, plant support, ingredient sourcing, documentation, and commercialization.
Explore Scale →Confidential work · meaningful outcomes
The names stay private. The problems are familiar.
Most consulting engagements involve proprietary formulas, sensitive operations, or plans that are not ready for the market. These anonymized snapshots show the type of work without exposing the companies behind it.
Flavor matching
Reverse-engineered a competitive flavor profile.
Protected formula and brand · confidential engagement
Commercialization
Took a restaurant recipe through commercial manufacturing.
Protected client and process · confidential engagement
Troubleshooting
Resolved a production-line consistency problem.
Protected facility and product · confidential engagement
Global scale-up
Supported an international plant trial and launch.
Protected market and client · confidential engagement
The Green Light approach
Move the work forward without losing control of the variables.
Every engagement is shaped around the actual problem. This is the discipline underneath the work, not a one-size-fits-all package.
Listen
Define the real problem, the desired outcome, the people involved, and what success must look like.
Frame
Turn the challenge into a focused scope with practical workstreams, decision points, and clear responsibilities.
Build
Develop, test, compare, and document with one important variable changing at a time whenever possible.
Prove
Pressure-test the work through sensory review, pilot activity, plant trials, or production diagnostics.
Transfer
Leave the team with usable formulas, specifications, process guidance, and a clear path forward.
RAY SIERENGOWSKIFounder · Food Scientist · Chef · Author
Built at the intersection
Food scientist. Chef. Product developer. Founder.
Founded by Ray Sierengowski, Fire in the Kitchen brings more than three decades of hands-on experience across manufacturing, retail, foodservice, private label, and ingredient sourcing. We understand the science behind food and the operational realities of bringing it to market.
- ✓Product innovation & commercialization
- ✓Reverse engineering & flavor matching
- ✓Plant trials & manufacturing scale-up
- ✓Food safety & regulatory guidance
- ✓Ingredient sourcing & supplier collaboration
- ✓Process optimization & troubleshooting
Innovate Boldly. Create Purposefully. Feed the World.
The Green Light Lab™
Stop chasing recipes. Understand the dough.
A practical, science-informed guide and companion logbook for pizza makers who want every test to become progress.
THE GUIDE
Pizza Dough by the Numbers
Understand flour strength, hydration, fermentation, temperature, mixing, heat transfer, and oven recovery.
View on Amazon →
THE COMPANION
The Green Light Lab™ Pizza Dough Logbook
Track the variables, capture what changed, and turn each bake into useful information.
Find on Amazon →
Now on The Green Light Lab Podcast
Food science goes long-form.
Watch the full visual podcast on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episode 2 explores the $15 pizza problem and how independent pizzerias compete during National Pizza Month 2026.
YouTube is the primary video destination. Audio is also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and Castbox.
A cookbook from Chef Ray
Still Love Food
The GLP-1 Cookbook
48 protein-first recipes for smaller appetites and family meals, with 28 days of meal ideas. Ray brings his experience as a chef, food scientist and GLP-1 patient to practical cooking for everyone at the table.
View the book on AmazonA free companion to the cookbook
Try seven additional dinners, breakfast and lunch ideas, and a shopping list. This seven-day plan builds on the book with meals you can try whether or not you own a copy.
Get the free companion meal planNo purchase or sign-up required.
Development without borders
Global experience. On-site when the work demands it.
Product development does not stop at a conference room. Ray has supported development work around the world and is available to travel globally for discovery, plant trials, scale-up, troubleshooting, supplier collaboration, and team training.
Start a global projectA practical fit for
Teams that need experienced hands on the work.
Food manufacturers & established brandsStartups & food entrepreneursRestaurants moving into retailPrivate-label organizationsIngredient & flavor suppliersGrowing regional producers
Category experience
- Pizza, dough & bakery
- Sauces, dressings & condiments
- Seasonings & flavor systems
- Meat & prepared foods
- Snacks & frozen products
- Restaurant-to-retail commercialization
PRIVATE
BY
DEFAULT
BY
DEFAULT
Confidentiality comes first
Your product, process, and plans remain yours.
Initial conversations are treated as confidential. Sensitive formulas, manufacturing details, supplier information, and commercial plans are not shared or used as portfolio material. When a project requires deeper disclosure, a mutual nondisclosure agreement can be completed before proprietary information is exchanged.
That is why the work shown on this site focuses on challenges and outcomes rather than client identities.
Part of the Underground Syndicate
Ideas, operations, and hospitality under one connected family.
Begin with the challenge
Tell us where the work stands today.
Enough detail helps us understand fit and prepare for a useful first conversation. Please keep proprietary formulas and trade secrets out of this initial note.
Confidential from the first conversationMutual NDAs available before sensitive disclosureHobart, Indiana · Available worldwide