Before products reach grocery store shelves, sensory evaluators first test, touch, and smell them. You might know them more informally as taste evaluators, but sensory evaluators do much more than just taste foods. They try everything from fabrics to fragrances to pizzas. They assess people's ability to identify and detect different aspects of food quality.
They help train panelists to evaluate specific food products. A food critic is also known as a food writer, restaurant critic or, in some cases, simply “foodie”. Karine has a master's degree in Food Science and an engineering diploma (specializing in agri-food industries). Once you've established yourself as a freelance food critic, there are plenty of places where you could get regular employment.
If you love food and have a knack for persuasive writing, becoming a food critic could be a perfect career for you. However, food critics who have blogs are generally paid with advertising revenues once they monetize their sites. It's relatively difficult to become a food critic, not only because there are limited paid positions, but because it can take a long time to enter the industry in general. Sensory evaluation is a scientific discipline that is used to evoke, measure, analyze and interpret reactions to the characteristics of food material perceived by the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing.
Writing independent restaurant reviews can generate significant exposure as a food critic and can help writers start their career. The work itself can be a challenge, since the food critic will have to show up at local restaurants on a biannual basis without being recognized. A food critic can work with magazines, popular websites, newspapers, and even a food blog or social media. The only requirement that most major publishers will have to train is that the food critic has a degree that improves their writing and communication skills.
According to Ruiz-Capillas et al. (202), “efforts have been made to develop new methodologies for the sensory characterization of food with the aim of gaining speed and simplicity compared to traditional methods. Commercial uses of proteins in different food preparations (such as egg gels, jelly gels, pastries, confectionery products, meringues, souffles, custard, soups, curries, etc.) Becoming a food critic isn't a very popular profession, which means there's still plenty of room for those who want to enjoy the best food on the market and then write about it. The skills needed by a food critic include having a wide palate, being able to manage time well, having creative writing and persuasion skills, and understanding what their readers want to read about food and service reviews.
Many food critics will spend a significant amount of time looking for new restaurants and reporting on them and finding the most exclusive cuisine in their area and beyond.
