want to work in a test kitchen-

[alli]

I would love to find a job, working in a test kitchen for a company, or any type of food testing organization. Does anybody have any ideas or background in this area? Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[Peeps]

I can't answer your question but did you see the "Food Fantasy" on the Food Network recently where the woman's fantasy was to work in a test kitchen and they sent her to Cooking Light for the day? Looked like a great job.

[Jewel]

It would be a great job until I gained my lost 100 pounds back!!! Light or not, when you gotta problem with portion control, you're in trouble! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[funnybone]

I used to work for a company that sold products to the major food manufacturers. Most people in the labs have a "Food Science" background - usually a degree in it. You should call a company you would be interested in working for, and ask what qualifications would be needed. That is really the only way you would know for sure.

[woodsl]

Originally posted by Jewel:
It would be a great job until I gained my lost 100 pounds back!!! Light or not, when you gotta problem with portion control, you're in trouble! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

Jewel, I hear you! Although it could be a short term career without gaining much weight. I mean, if I eat all of the "test" food, then I think I would get fired before I gained too much weight. Also reminds me of one of my favorite sayings - Just how much Healthy Choice Ice Cream can I eat before it's no longer a healthy choice?

[schuh]

woodsl, I hear you about the HC ice cream! It's great, but not if you eat the whole container in a day or two (as I have done).

To the original question, I remember reading a local story about people who work in a test kitchen of sorts. I believe the employer was Hefty and they were testing food storage (I could be wrong about the employer but I have a pretty good memory for this kind of trivia and I know some Hefty bags are made here in the Rochester area). Anyway, these people had to test various foods to see what went rancid when, whether certain kinds of storage affected the flavor of foods, etc. This was not a full time job for these people and they got the jobs as a result of having very sensitive palates. They had to pass some kind of a stringent test to get the positions. And it didn't pay all that well, as I recall. So there's something you could look into .... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by schuh (edited 04-21-2001).]

[This message has been edited by schuh (edited 04-24-2001).]

[JohnK]

At the CL test kitchens your name has to be alphabetically correct, falling between J and M. and or your birthday fits conveniently in a non-holiday period or doesn't overlap with other birthdays.

But seriously folks, most magazine test kitchen people have a Consumer Science (Home Ec) background and or degrees and experience in culinary arts. Food manufacturers have TK staff of a more food science background as in the scaling up process has to have some knowledge of chemistry and engineering.

Most of us haven't gained weight outside of what would be customary and normal for an
adult growing older and metabolisms slowing down. It is helpful that we cook light all the same.

[AD]

As a senior in high school, I love studying about cooking, food chemistry, nutrition and even its effects on digestion. I love to bake and would love to get into the chemistry and math behind it as well. I plan at this point to pursue this interest in college.

[foodiedelite]

Ad,
That sounds like a wonderful goal and it's great you know what you want to do with your life. You sound very focused which is important in achieving your goal.

Alli,
I took my daughter on a field trip the other day to "Fairytale Brownies". They have the most amazing brownies. They were taste testing a new flavor. I won't mention it here since it was a somewhat unusual flavor. It's a small company and their staff works closely together on marketing efforts and taste testing. Opportunities are out there. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[tovie]

Originally posted by woodsl:
Jewel, I hear you! Although it could be a short term career without gaining much weight. I mean, if I eat all of the "test" food, then I think I would get fired before I gained too much weight. Also reminds me of one of my favorite sayings - Just how much Healthy Choice Ice Cream can I eat before it's no longer a healthy choice?


I don't know how they do things now, but ever since I was a little kid my uncle has worked for a variety of companies (including Tyson and Worthington) in their test kitchens. And he used to bring home all sorts of food, so you might not want to count on it being a short career (bg) I have very fond memories of the times we lived close enough to my aunt and uncle that he would fill our freezer too. Although it was sad, too, cause some of it never did make it to the market and once it was gone, it was gone. I can remember trying those frozen fajita and stirfry kits several years before they appeared in the grocery store.

Alli, my uncle has some sort of a chemistry degree but I'm sorry, I don't know anything more specific.

[food girl]

I went to college at Samford University which is right next to the CL/Southern Progress building. I remember a few of my fellow nutrition majors got jobs in the summer working in the CL test kitchens. At the time this seemed like the WORST job to me! I do remember that they had to make something like muffins from a box - just so that the staff could see if they were good at following directions. As I recall, someone didn't drain & rinse the blueberries and thus got the axe. I think that you do have to have some kind of food science/ nutrition background and obviously a knack for details.

Now I think this would be a great job! I am just not sure that I could remember to take careful notes of how long I cooked things, exactly how much "additional" ingredients I put in a recipe & other things that I am sure you must do in a test kitchen.

Lisa