Things you never thought of...
by Martin Belam, 25 March 2004
A recruitment advert in The Guardian today placed by Baer Management Consulting on behalf of Philip Morris International:
Flavorist
Research & Development Division
With a view to enhance smoking quality, the successful candidate is responsible for the development of new and the modification of existing cigarette flavor systems. Closely liasing with the research specialists you are able to subjectively profile our client's products and those of competitors and to translate product development briefs into cigarette flavor systems that meet customers' expectations. Drawing on your state of the art knowledge of flavoring materials and flavor chemistry you will drive a visionary project that responds to increasing consumer sensitivities.
The bit I like is "subjectively profile our client's products and those of competitors". Even as an ex-smoker I'd still love to imagine this as a job which paid you to sit in a pub, with a whole rack of cigarette packets, smoking one from each in turn in order to 'subjectively' say "Oh, that tasted nice, I'll use my state of the art knowledge of flavoring materials to work out what went into the flavor".
I once worked in a cigarette factory, and except for the pub bit, that is pretty much what the flavourists do. It's a highly skilled job - and I doubt many people could do it. You can't, to the best of my knowledge, do a degree in it.