Name: Liam Byrd
Age: 24
Job title: NPD assistant
Company & location: Higgidy, Shoreham-by-Sea
Education: Food science and technology, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Why did you decide to go for a career in food? I read an article about food scientists in Denmark trying to encourage people to eat more dairy, by making all sorts of unusual things like fizzy milk and crunchy cheese. I thought ‘they must have the best job’.
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): I assist the Higgidy food development team in product development and reformulation, creating exciting new products and flavours, as well as making samples for photoshoots or retail sell-ins.
“People tend to assume the only jobs in food are in catering and hospitality, but there’s a lot more out there”
What does a typical day look like for you? Either making samples of some kind – at the moment I’m busy with British Pie Week – or looking at new raw materials for our latest NPD. Most days usually involve setting up for a tasting of some kind, whether that’s for other team members, buyers or sometimes media.
Tell us how you went about applying for your job: Higgidy was on the other side of the river from where I grew up, and I used to be able to smell the delicious food being cooked when I walked my dog. I had known about the business for a while and was delighted when an opportunity came up.
I had a video interview after seeing the job advertised, and after that there was an in-person interview. I was given a recipe for focaccia and asked to make it and bring it along.
The interview consisted of a factory tour and a chat about previous experience, as well as a taste test of the bread I made.
What’s the best part about working for a food company? Doing hands-on work making really hearty, tasty food away from a desk.
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? People tend to assume the only jobs in food are in catering and hospitality, but there’s a lot more out there.
I would encourage anyone with an interest in food to explore food manufacturing and get to know the different roles available.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Try to get on a work placement. I think having a year’s experience in the industry is a really great way to get ahead when trying to apply for jobs.
What’s your ultimate career dream? I would love to play a part in solving some of the challenges the industry faces around food waste and sustainability.
Interested in finding out more about food & drink careers? Check out GrocerJobs for the latest vacancies
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