Chocolate Consultant or Chocolate Taster?

Chocolate has been linked to some of the “feel good” chemicals in our brains, so professional chocolate tasters and entrepreneurial chocolate consultants must be some of the happiest people on the planet. Their dentists must be getting rich, too.

(Photo Credit: EuroMagic/Flickr)

Chocolate Tasters

Godiva Chocolates hires tasters who would more aptly be named “chocolate sommeliers.” They make anywhere from $24,000 to $70,000 for the privilege of spending their days inspecting candies for appropriate sheen or (heaven forbid) cracks in the chocolate ganache coatings. They take sniffs of the delicate chocolates to make aroma notes, but they do not swish the candies around in glasses to test their legs. The best part: they get to savor the taste and level of creaminess of various and sundry chocolates before the general public can get their hands on them.

In order to land such a dream job at Green & Blacks, applicants must undergo a blind taste-test in which they must successfully identify ingredients of specially created chocolate bars.

Green & Blacks discussed chocolate tasting with The Telegraph, and said that flavor is much more than taste.

“Flavor is made up of a complex combination of taste, smell, touch, temperature. and sensation with smell the most important aspect,” they said.

It is interesting to note that women, in general, have stronger senses of smell than men, and therefore may be more suited to this job. Women under the age of 35 seem to have stronger senses of smell than their older counterparts, indicating that sense of smell may decline over time. These scientific facts are not a reason to sue for discrimination; all are welcome to apply and applicants are hired based upon ability proven during the interview process. 

If you think chocolate tasting is your dream job, be forewarned and heed the plight of Angus Kennedy. The Telegraph reports Kennedy landed his dream job of “Britain’s Chief Chocolate Taster” in 2010. He tasted, tested, and enjoyed about two pounds of various confections every day, and wrote about his reactions in a professional publication. After gaining almost 30 pounds and being warned by his doctors that he was going to have a heart attack if he continued, he stepped down. The Telegraph did not report about Kennedy’s teeth.

Chocolate Consultants

Chocolate Consultants are usually entrepreneurs. Lindt Chocolates wants people to “earn extra income” as Lindt Chocolate R.S.V.P. Advisors. Similar to Tupperware’s original business model, Advisors host parties in an attempt to make sales. A Business Starter Kit is “just” $124. Melissa Cardenas is a real-life Lindt Chocolate Consultant. 

And here is a great example of entrepreneurial spirit: Jennifer Earle promotes herself as a Chocolate Guide, proving that if you love chocolate, you may be able to make money with chocolate.

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