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- A Scottish woman has revealed that she makes her living as a professional chocolate taster.
- Chocaholic Marion Muir from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, is paid to try the tasty treats all year round.
- She says Easter is always her busiest period.
For the past five years, Marion Muir has had a job that most of us could only dream of, as she consumes the equivalent to one Easter egg per day on the run-up to the holiday. Marion's official title is a Product Development Manager for ASDA supermarket, and her vital responsibilities include trying a range of different flavour combinations and pairing the best together to ensure the chocolate that hits our shelves is as delicious as it can be.
"My life involves eating a lot of chocolate - which is a tough job, but someone has to do it. I'm Scottish, so I have a real sweet tooth - Blonde chocolate is my absolute favourite at the moment, but I also love a square of bitter dark chocolate after with a coffee," she says.
"I’ve been a chocolate taster with Asda for five years in total. Before chocolate, I’ve been a taster across a range of different categories and been in the industry for 25 years."
Chocaholic, Marion Muir who tastes easter eggs for a living. Image supplied
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Marion says she's been fascinated by food from a young age and went on to study food science at university.
"I then got into food tasting as a job. I’ve worked on lots of different products and have been lucky enough to land on chocolate," she says.
Whilst Marion consumes chocolate on a daily, the confectionary expert claims that during the run-up to Easter, she devours the equivalent to one whole Easter egg a day.
She adds: "It can really vary – when we’re working with suppliers to test out flavours, then I can easily eat a few eggs or multiple chocolate bars in a day. On average, I’ll eat a whole Easter egg per day around this time of year."
Although Marion's career sounds like a piece of chocolate cake, she explains it's not always the easiest job that a lot of time and decision-making goes into the process of chocolate manufacturing.
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"An average day for me involves lots of planning and thinking of new ideas with the rest of the team - we look at trending flavours, both with chocolate and beyond, in the wider food world and use this to think up new and exciting flavour combinations," she shares.
"This is particularly important around Easter to make sure our eggs and chocolatey treats really stand out and taste extra special. When it comes to chocolate, I’m a big believer in doing what works for you. If you like your chocolate frozen or refrigerated, then go for it! However, I would never put chocolate in the fridge."
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CREDIT: MERCURY PRESS/MAGAZINEFEATURES.CO.ZA
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