Getting paid to eat sounds like a complete scam.
But in 2022, it’s absolutely not. There are a ton of things you can get paid to do in 2022 that you couldn’t get paid for just a decade ago.
Thanks, technology.
It’s been changing the way we live our lives since…we started living our lives.
And I couldn’t be more thankful for being alive in this day and age where creating content is an actual job/career and not just a side gig.
So you wanna know how you can get paid just for eating?
Stay with me.
How to Get Paid to Eat
As you might know from my other posts, I like to keep things short and sweet, so let’s get right into it.
1. Start a Food/Restaurant Vlog.
One of the easiest ways to get paid to eat is to create a restaurant review social media page. Know the local hotspots in your area to eat?
Or do you travel a lot and love to try out new dishes wherever you end up?
Start a Tik Tok channel dedicated to showcasing the best restaurants and you could get paid to review restaurants.
Build up a following and showcase your vlog to potential clients. Most will be happy to pay a small fee for some exposure.
2. Become a Professional Food and Wine Taster
As a professional food and wine taster, you might not initially know that the job is not all about eating.
Taste tester Lisa Schroeder – an associate sensory scientist for Mars Wrigley Confectionary U.S. has to evaluate products, run team taste-testing panel sessions, plan trainings ahead of product launches, and continue her own tasting education on top of all of that.
As a professional food and wine taster, you might have to do some of the same things.
In New York, a Sommelier can make between $50,105 and $80,224 per year, according to Salary.com.
3. Become a Taste Tester for Food Manufacturers
Another way to get paid to eat is to work directly for food manufacturers. They typically hire taste testers locally to taste test food. So, if you live near a food manufacturer, you might be able to get a job as a taste tester.
Here are some food manufacturing companies that hire taste testers:
You can also do your own research to find food manufacturing companies in your area that might be hiring taste testers.
4. Become a Food Critic
As a food critic, you’ll have to taste test and review new meals offered in restaurants and hotels. You’ll have to taste a variety of different types of cuisine and you’ll also need to give feedback about the atmosphere and the service you received in the restaurant.
Most food critics work for magazines, newspapers, or food websites/blogs.
But don’t expect to rake in enough to pay the bills with this type of income (unless, of course, you’ve built a business or reputation around it) because most food critics are freelancers.
However, the average salary for a food critic is about $50,004 as of 2022, according to Zip Recruiter. But some have made as much as $78,000.
Convinced you want to be a food critic? Start your job search on sites like Indeed and Zip Recruiter.
5. Get Paid to Eat by Frozen Food Companies
It’s actually pretty common for frozen food companies to pay people to eat their frozen meals or treats.
The main goal is to make sure their products are consumable because of their frozen nature. So, in essence, you’re kind of their guinea pig.
But obviously, you won’t have to eat anything that might cause you harm or kill you.
And the best part is that you get free food on top of getting paid. Win-win!
6. Get Paid By Apps
There are some apps that allow you to make money just for eating food. They can be easily downloaded onto your smartphone. It’s a quick way to make some extra cash. Although you might not be able to pay your bills with the money you make, you’ll still be able to earn a few extra bucks.
Apps That Pay You to Eat
Wanna get paid to eat just by using your smartphone?
Here are some of the apps that pay you to eat:
Oftentimes, getting paid to eat through one of these apps is as simple as downloading the app and registering with your information.
7. Start a Food Blog
If you’d rather write down your experiences with food, another option is to start a food blog.
Talk about your favorite restaurants and add affiliate links to food products or food-related products to make money from your content.
You could get paid to promote restaurants after you build up your following and reputation.
The best way to do that is to continuously post content and publish it on Medium to boost your reach. Before long, you’ll be recognized as a thought leader in your industry and people will be coming to you asking you to promote their content on your website.
Do some research on the best blogging platforms
For domain names, I recommend Name Cheap – because they’re extremely cheap. I only pay $8.88 per year, but they have a deal going on right now where you’ll pay as low as $5 and some change per year.
You’ll also need web hosting. I recommend Site Ground (which is what I use to host my blog), Blue Host, Host Gator, or Hostinger. For a more in-depth review of top hosting companies for new bloggers, read my review of hosting companies.
8. Eat at a Restaurant as a Mystery Shopper
Mystery shoppers are paid to shop in stores and eat in restaurants to collect information. The shoppers are essentially undercover customers sent in to observe, interact, and report on other customers and store employees, according to The Balance Small Business.
Apply for restaurant jobs with mystery shopping companies. Start by checking out the top five mystery shopping companies to work for in 2022 (courtesy of The Penny Hoarder).
Ready to Get Paid to Eat?
Ready to get out there and eat your way to success? Start with the above eight ideas and you could be living your best foodie life in no time.
Have you ever been paid to eat? What was your experience? Let me know in the comments.
And if you found this content useful, please feel free to share it with your family and friends (or your network if you have one). If not, you can always buy me a coffee to support me!
Thanks so much for reading my content!
