Would you believe I actually got paid to eat delicious food?! No, for real. It wasn’t a dream, nor did I play guinea pig for a pharmaceutical company that will end up giving me a third arm when I wake up the next day.

Listen, I can’t give you all the details. Let’s just say it was a legit food tasting for the next ‘chicken sandwich’. They paid triple digits for basically an hour of my time, and feedback. That’s fucking business!

Can I make a career out of this? I mean, Bourdain was sort of my ‘role model’ to some extent (RIP, culinary rebel). My love for the kitchen, international cuisine and cultural exploration was essentially defined and refined when I met him through his shows and books.

Eating something and then being asked questions about the tastes, textures, dislikes, improvements, etc… That may very well be my absolute dream job (not that I dream of labor, ugh). None of that fake reality show feel or social media influencer bs; the real deal. Seating down at a table, and a chef bringing you his dish for actual honest and knowledgeable feedback on how to make it better. 

My palate and words shaping the food that other people will put in their mouths and enjoy. That’s a huge responsibility I’ll gladly assume and excel at it.

I already get paid to write about food. Visiting restaurants, eating for free (or with a discount rate) and writing about the experience was how I started writing and paying the bills in a marketing firm, but always wanted more. Maybe it has to do with recognition of some sort, like people on the streets talking about me: Oh, he knows his shit. Chefs actually call him first before launching their new menus.

The result is the same:

Me using words as a form of expression and creation in the real world
Me getting acknowledge by experts in the culinary industry
Me eating for free, of course…