This company said there were four vacancies to be filled, which required tasters to test chocolate and cocoa drinks and provide honest feedback. The successful candidates will work up to eight hours a week in order to avoid “palate fatigue”, said the company.
Almost overwhelmed
This is the second year Mondelēz has advertised such a role and comes a year after it was almost overwhelmed by 1,500 applications in the first 24 hours. In total, it received 6,000 applications from as far afield as Australia and the US. The job advert was the fifth most viewed on LinkedIn last year.
The successful candidate then was Angela Castleton, from Reading, who was hired after passing a series of chocolatey challenges, including being able to detect almost imperceptible differences between two pieces of chocolate. She now works at Mondelēz International’s Reading Science Centre, where the new jobs will also be based.
Tasting chocolate
Castleton said: “I’m really enjoying the role. Of course, it’s lovely tasting chocolate for a living, but the best bit has to be working with my team – we get on brilliantly and we work really well together. This first year is a steep learning curve – there’s so much more to chocolate than you’d think – but the job has fitted into my life perfectly.”
Afsha Chugtai, group leader, consumer science, said: “Chocolate tasters are vital to our business as their input helps us to perfect our products before they hit the shelves. As Angela has discovered, food science is a fascinating field and I can’t wait to see who makes the cut this year to join our 4,000 chocolate-loving employees across the UK who invent, test and make some of the nation’s favourite treats.”