I've read several stories (latest was a manhwa, but seems like I've read it in some manga as well), that have somebody who is an amazing cook, and they say something about their parents being "food researchers" to explain their skills. In the west, I would see a food researcher as someone who creates new cooking techniques, tries to create better, more sustainable products, etc. But, the food that the characters make all seems to be normal food...I haven't seen anyone pulling out sous vide techniques or anything like that.

So, I've always wondered...is this just a poor translation of a chef/restaurant owner? Or, is this the title for someone who looks for traditional recipes that have been forgotten over time (ex. a royal dish that someone wrote about hundreds or thousands of years ago like the Satyricon)?

From what I understand, it would be someone who's a food scientist. That can be anything from studying how food packaging effects foods and food safety to new product development or the molecular composition of foods after they've been prepared in certain methods. Basically, it's anything that could be considered scientific that involves food.

What I generally gather when reading anything that says that, but doesn't expand on what type of scientific study they went into, is that the author in question wants us to know that the cook in question knows about food and how it's best prepared. Maybe not the scientific aspects of it like their parents, but they picked up something.