A flavorist, also known as flavour chemist, is someone who uses chemistry to engineer artificial and natural flavours. Flavourist needs to know what’s in a naturally occurring flavour before they can decide how to recreate it in the lab.
Large flavoring companies such as International Flavors & Fragrances, Givaudan, and Firmenich; smaller companies like Aromatech and Flavor & Fragrance Specialties; and the flavor divisions
of large food and beverage companies like Cadbury Schweppes and Kraft doneed the flavourist to make sure the flavour of their products are favourite among the masses. And for that purpose they higher Flavourists.
Lindsay Mahon, working at FONA for 11 years, completed her Society of Flavor Chemists Certification. She enjoys creating dessert flavors for chewing gum. In order to create an indulgent profile that tastes like the real dessert and captures the expectation of mouth feel, she has to rely on materials like pyrazines, lactones, and aldehydes. An appropriate balance of each is crucial to a well-rounded flavor that consumers prefer.
I realized that the creativity that is involved in flavour creation was something I enjoyed and could see myself doing it forever.
-Lindsay Mahon, Flavourist.
The tools and materials used by flavorists are almost the same as that used by perfumers with the exception that flavorists seek to mimic or modify gustation properties of various food products rather than creating just abstract smells. As well, they have to make sure the materials and chemicals that a flavorist utilizes for flavor creation must be safe for human consumption.
A trainee may get $50,000 a year, but a professional flavourist could make from
$200,000 to $250,000 a year.
Processes used in the food industry to provide safe products often affect the quality of the flavor of the food. To the detriment of the manufacturer, these technologies remove most of the naturally occurring flavors. To remedy the flavor loss, the food processing industry created the flavor industry. The chemists that tackled the demand of the food processing industry became known as flavorists, and, thus, the flavor industry was born.
To become a flavorist you should have a background in chemistry and a keen sense of taste and smell. The professionals works with chemicals to recognize and reproduce flavors for perfume, candy, and food manufacturers. Flavorists must work with aromas found in nature and then try to replicate them in a lab.
Educational requirements for the profession known as flavorist are varied. Flavorists may have had little or no formal education up to PhDs obtained in subjects such as Biochemistry and Chemistry. Because, however, the training of a flavorist is mostly done on-the-job and specifically at a flavor company known as a flavor house, this training is similar to the apprentice system. Being a flavorist requires creativity, in addition to an above-average sense of taste and smell. Flavorists have a good memory for scents. Motivation, patience and a willingness to experiment are also important.
Flavorists rely on the work of researchers who have analyzed about 80 to 90 percent of the components in most flavors. Armed with this information, flavorists determine which components are important to an overall flavor profile. They try to duplicate the original aroma. Worldwide, the flavor industry generates $18 billion a year in
revenue. Not bad! •
