Italy is Calling for 60 Nutella Tasters - Here's How to Get Involved

The amazing job vacancy was posted on Openjobmetis.it earlier this month by Soremartec Italia SRL, a branch of Ferrero that focuses on ‘commercial, physical and biological research and development’.

The ‘research and development’ involved in this role will consist of tasting cocoa, hazelnuts and other raw and semi-finished ingredients that are used in the famous Italian spread.

The 60 new recruits will officially take on the job title of ‘sensory judges’ and will attend a 3-month training course, starting on September 30, 2018. The aim of the course is to educate the sense of smell and taste, and to improve the employees’ ability to describe the taste of the chocolate spread’s ingredients.

From the original group of 60, 40 people will then be offered long-term contracts with the company and go on to form two tasting panels. The panels will provide feedback that will help improve Ferrero-branded products, which, as well as Nutella, include Kinder Surprise, Ferrero Rocher and TicTac.

The taste testers will work from the company headquarters in Alba, Piedmont—the birthplace of the chocolate-hazelnut paste gianduja and later, of course, Nutella. The role is part-time and only requires a 4-hour per week commitment, with staff clocking in to tasting sessions twice a week.

According to the Italian daily newspaper, La Repubblica, the position of sensory judge is not new but, until now, Ferraro had only entrusted the coveted role to internal staff. It’s unclear why the company now wants the opinions of non-professionals specifically, but that shouldn’t stop interested chocoholics from applying.

In fact, the company has confirmed that it’s looking for regular consumers, preferably without qualifications or previous experience in nutrition or taste. Applicants will need to have basic computer know-how and be free from allergies or other diseases that might affect the necessary sensory skills.

After news of the job vacancy quickly spread around the Internet, Ferrero confirmed that it wasn’t a marketing ploy but an effort to put raw materials at the centre of their products. The company also said that there’s been quite a bit of interest in the position already, so if you’re thinking of applying, do it quickly.