Many of the best culinary jobs don’t take place in a kitchen. Restaurant work tends to be the most coveted work (and is therefore the most competitive), and the pay doesn’t always match the amount of time and effort you put in. And even then, the hours are long and grueling, and one bad review can change the way you view your culinary career forever.
If you want stability out of your career—not to mention a higher rate of pay, traditional working hours, and the ability to work behind the scenes of food production—quality control is a great field to consider. From overseeing production lines at industrial food manufacturers to becoming an inspector at the Health Department, maintaining safety and sanitation is a great way to remain in the culinary field while also straddling the booming industrial and commercial sectors.
What Types of Culinary Quality Control Jobs are There?
Most quality control work takes place in factories, the hospitality trade, or at an administrative or managerial level in a restaurant or cooking facility. You might be a food scientist devising new ways to extend the shelf life of produce, or you might help train new employees at a hotel chain on food sanitation.
Depending on your background and level of education, you could work in:
- Policy and Procedure Drafting
- Manufacturing Practices
- Organizational Management
- Pest Control
- Environmental Control
- Food Production
- Food Science
- Sanitation and Cleaning
- MSDS Sheet Drafting
- Food Security
- Food Testing
- Sensory Evaluation
- Raw Material Testing
- Food Distribution
- Vendor Quality Control
- Food Recall and Processing
- Internal Auditing
- Customer Complaints
- Regulatory Compliance
The type of education you need to get a job in the field varies. Working more closely with food (at the production and distribution levels) typically requires a food science or culinary degree. Training, particularly in the hospitality industry, is best served with a degree from a hospitality management program. The more technical work dealing with the actual food production equipment and maintenance often requires a more in-depth focus on engineering. But no matter what your strengths, the goal remains the same: find ways to keep food safe and delicious on its path from the farm to the mouths of those who enjoy it.
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