Happy Foodie Friday, y’all! In the past few weeks my household has been busy with discussing possible careers for our youngest. She turned 16 in January, and is about halfway through high school. Yes, I know she has plenty of time to decide what she wants to have as a career. She has a couple of different career paths in mind, but who knows if that’s where she’ll be in the future. And no, none of her plans involve a career in food. Nonetheless, I did brainstorm a few different ideas. So let’s check out some food related careers that aren’t in a kitchen.
The first career that most people think of when it comes to a career in food is a chef. The second is probably a pastry chef/baker. But everyone isn’t cut out for those careers. That doesn’t mean they can’t work in the food industry in other ways. Some of these are probably jobs you’ve heard of, but never considered as being possibilities.
Science Based Food Careers
Did you know there are science based food careers? Some are more science heavy than others. But if you enjoy science, these may be the way to go!
Farmer
Wait, before you say a farmer isn’t a scientific career, have you tried it? Have you spoken to a famer? They use science daily, between understanding weather they also have to understand chemistry to ensure the products are right for the soil and their crop. If it wasn’t for farmers we wouldn’t have food!
Food Scientist
Food scientists break down food to the basic levels to understand the nutrition in any given food. But they also work to ensure the food is safe for consumption. Food scientists also work to help farmers understand how to make their crops better.
Nutritionist
Nutritionists help people understand what they’re eating, and how to achieve their health goals with food.
Food Historian
Yes history is a science! But what is a food historian? How to you think we know what people used to eat hundreds of years ago? Where do you think those heirloom tomatoes and carrots came from? Or the knowledge that the apple as we know it in North America isn’t native to North America? Exactly, food historians!
Influencer Food Careers
No, I’m not just talking about YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok influencers.
Taste Tester
Food companies will pay people to test their new products. They also hire taste testers to compare their products to other companies. This may be an occasional job or one that happens quiet often. Especially, if you have a discernible palate.
Reviewer
To me, this is the opposite of a taste tester. How? Because most reviewers, restaurant or product, are not being paid by the company to review their product. They may be paid by another company, like a newspaper or magazine.
Artistic Food Careers
Illustrator
Have you ever watched a show like The Great British Bake Off? Remember the illustrations of the planned bakes? Those have to be created by someone. Illustrators can also create prints of their art to sell, or to be used in books.
Photographer
Another career that can allow the artist to sell prints of their art. The photos can be used for print ads, packaging, blogs, etc.
Food Stylist
A food stylist often works in tandem with photographers and videographers. What does a food stylist do? They are responsible for the food looking delicious in all of those images we see.
Documentarian
Yes, there are people who make documentaries about food. How else would we know what food is like in remote places? Or where’s a great place to eat in New York City? Or even how our favorite treats are made?
And that’s ten food related careers that aren’t in a kitchen. Have you considered any of these careers? Are there any food related careers that I missed?
Are you looking for more food-related content? Check out my other Foodie Fridays posts.
These are all great options that I know will interest a lot of people. I guess they just don’t think of them as food related careers. Nice post, Pam.
Food historian is legit something I’ve been looking into since discovering it’s a thing!
I first learned about it when my oldest daughter was discussing going to school to study history. It made me want to go to school for it, and one of the best in Canada is about an hour away from.
I knew about some of them—for example taste testers are mentioned in “Cork Dork,” a book about sommeliers (another non-kitchen food career)—but I just didn’t think about most of them. Great list!
As someone who doesn’t like wine, I never think of sommeliers. I have come across them a few times in books, but never in real life.
I drink wine very casually, so sommeliers are a huge help to me when we go out to a nice dinner and I want something to drink with it. I would never want to be one, though. That requires a LOT of wine drinking in preparation for the job.