Recipe Testing
I am interested in doing some work as a recipe tester. Does anyone have advice on how to find opportunities, or contacts? Thanks for any insight!
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6 Comments:
Wow - this is certainly an esoteric field. I can only suggest you apply at cooking magazines, cookbook publishers and/or any magazine that might include recipes as part of each issue (i.e. Woman's Day - but the food will be a LOT better if you work for Saveur or Gourmet).
chiff0nade at 7:15AM on 02/19/09
I do recipe testing, and I think it's a blast. Right now, I work for free/in exchange for cookbooks. I think that's probably the best way to start – you can build up experience and understand whether this is really something you want to do. I started testing for Joni Newman (Cozy Inside, Just the Burgers) when a friend (a tester) recommended that I e-mail her. My other testing projects came from me answering requests on message boards. Try seeking out other testers and talking to them about their experience/ who they test for. Hang out on foodie message boards and keep your ears and eyes open. Develop relationships with food bloggers and cookbook authors.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- You need to know what you're doing and have the appropriate equipment. I got chewed out once when a recipe went wrong because I didn't have an oven thermometer. You need to follow instructions/ ingredients to the letter. If the recipe calls for a cake pan made of diamonds and shaped like a turtle, that's what you need to use.
- Testing takes money. Cookbook authors have no problem writing recipes that call for 80 different ingredients, some of which might require mail ordering. I'm working for free, so I usually choose not to test those recipes or contact the author and ask about substitutions.You might have to test everything if you're working for money, though.
- It's a big time obligation. Authors typically have different expectations, but I would plan on testing at least twice a week.
Hope that helps!
KarynMC at 7:08PM on 02/19/09
If you mean for free...Cooks Illustrated has a list of cooksillustrated.com subscribers who have signed up to test their recipes when they request it.
It is however very infrequently that I get asked and I do not know if they have enough/too many/or need more testers.
keliann at 7:22PM on 02/19/09
Thanks for the info. I am assuming i'll need to work for free at least to start, but i was told once by a professional that its quite reasonable to ask for reimbursement on groceries/ingredients. Have any of you testers found this to be possible?
ewilson22 at 8:38PM on 02/19/09
@ewilson, It's probably not unreasonable to ask, but given that there are a heck of a lot of people willing to do the work for free, there may not be all that many opportunities where you're going to see any reimbursement for a long, long time. Unless you know someone or get really lucky.
dbcurrie at 9:00PM on 02/19/09
I think an author's ability to compensate will really depend on their publisher. I've been testing for vegan authors working in a somewhat niche market. They have loads of unpaid testers, and I honestly don't think the authors could afford to compensate everybody. Most of them offer recognition in the book/ a copy of the book based on the number of recipes you test.
Now, if you're testing for Gourmet, you can probably get payment more easily. My feeling, though, is that freelance recipe testing is like any freelance work - you will need to work for free before you're in a position to receive compensation.
KarynMC at 11:41PM on 02/19/09