While getting paid to eat might sound like a dream job for food enthusiasts, it often involves hard work, dedication, and sometimes even competitive eating skills. Nonetheless, for those passionate about food, these opportunities can offer a way to turn their love for eating into a source of income.
1. Competitive Eater
Not everybody has an eating habit. Not just eating habit, it got to be your passion and profession so that you can make some decent money out of it and such people make a profession out of it to become a competitive eater that too with a high capacity hunger rumbling belly. And it is also among the best money-making hobbies that pay these days. But yes, you need to have a high-capacity stomach to become a food champion.
Social networking platforms like Facebook and others feature Major League eating which has information about such eating contests amongst others.
Several such eating competitions exist where you can earn money and fame at the same time. And winning any of those can earn you around $10k per competition.
2. Take Part in Food Events
If you aren’t very physique conscious you can often take part in such initiatives. As these are not ‘sports’ and such events do not promote obesity and over eating you got to be strong in physical health to participate globally and become a food challenger.
And many companies, restaurants, and food chains now often organize these food events.
Besides, you can participate in specific food events, such as shrimp, bacon, burger, and even pizza. And you can easily make around $15to $20k depending on much popular you are
3. Become a Food Blogger
There is no better option than becoming a food blogger if you want to earn money while eating. This is also among the very few opportunities that will earn you money and fame at the same time.
And it is not even difficult to launch your own food blog, also go live by with as basic as just$100 or so
A food blog can be easily launched just by having three things: a domain name, a server, and a suitable WordPress theme on food.
Bluehost with a package of all that need to be going live with your blogging website just charges $2.95 per month on an average, while most hosting companies charge at least $9.99/month. And you’ll also get a domain name completely free of cost with this affordable hosting package.
Once you get all these two at a bargain price, you can just install a food-themed free WordPress theme and make your website live.
4. Start a YouTube Channel
Can you believe that it can ever be possible to make millions in this profession? With the shows like ‘Mark Wiens’ and others like “Best ever food review show” on YouTube, guys are now making millions just by exploring food at different places and posting it on their YouTube channels.
Yes, you can also start getting paid to eat on YouTube if you follow the right path. There are three main avenues to generate money from a YouTube channel.
You can collaborate with brands and food chains to make money. You can also opt for paid promotion. Primarily, you can generate a very good income through Good Adsense.
But not just that, you can now even get paid to watch videos these days as well.
Besides, you can also open a channel on other media streaming platforms, such as Twitch and Dailymotion. However, to have a YouTube channel that you can monetize, you need to have atleast 1000 subscribers and atleast 4000 hours of video watch time to be eligible for the Adsense revenue.
1. Livestream Your Eating Stint
If you want to get paid to eat food on camera, there is no better option than live streaming those eating stints. Such a trend actually originated in South Korea where it is called Mukbang
One of the most popular mukbangs, TV Diva, now has millions of followers. Mukbang is globally popular. You can choose any Livestream platform of your choice, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitch, and create a profile first. And then, you can simply start live streaming your food eating challenges.
2. Become a Social Media Influencer
If you don’t know about the power of social media, you are really missing a vital thing in this era of global communication. And if you want to make money eating food online, there is no better option than becoming a social media influencer.
There are social media stars like Kim Kardashian and Dan Bilzerian who are now making millions of dollars just from their social media handles. Besides, they are also living a luxurious lifestyle.
Restaurants and food chains even pay up to $10 thousand per promotional post if you have a huge following and it makes a significant difference in visibility as in advertisement. Earnings from monetization of their social media accounts like YouTube have played a part even with famous personalities like Kim Kardashians also have made up to their luxurious lifestyle
7. Sell Merchandise
If you can establish a successful YouTube channel or food blog, you can then start selling your custom merchandise to your fans and market it through your social media handles. And it is also the best option to make money without a job these days.
Private label branding is a simple way promoting and making money that you can start by making t-shirts, mugs, key chains, wallets, caps, card holders and start selling on social media. Drop shipping can help support you avoiding logistical burdens with some budget allotted to your product marketing.
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8. Write a Food-Related eBook
If you have a flair for writing and if you can tell your food and binge stories creatively. While most people think writing and publishing an eBook is a tough and costly affair, it is way easier than it sounds. And not just writing and publishing it, you can now even get paid to read books online. Making about $10-$20k per book is very much achievable and that is how a lot of writers have turned millionaires.
And once you complete writing it, you can simply publish it online through Amazon Kindle and other e-publishing platforms.
9. Write about Food and Recipes
Writing about food and exotic recipes from all over the globe is not a cup of tea for everyone. That’s how the exotic recipes get paid even $500 per recipe, food reviews are paid well too! But, if you have the right flair, you can easily make money simply by writing about food and recipes online. Writing mentors like Holly Johnson can guide you to achieve your passion. Her workshops and mentorship programs help her students achieve earning more than $10k a month while she herself makes more than $250 a year.
There are several high-paying writing jobs that also exist where you can even make a six-digit salary simply by writing and creating food blogs.
However, writing proficiency is not the only thing needed to become successful in this profession, as you also need expert guidance to follow the right path to success.
10. Become a Research Chef
You get to devour very tastefully done dishes at a few places. And all the credit goes to the research chef who has been able to make that recipe just apt to suit your taste buds. Such unique flavors are uniquely paid too. Such experts are paid for full time and part time jobs too and on an average paid $10k a month. For freelancing is a possibility too in their profession, they get about $2k per recipe on an average. Research chefs are the ones who invent new food items and recipes with new flavors. However, you can now also become a research chef if you have the right culinary skill along with the right creativity to invent a new food item or recipe that no one has ever tried yet.
11. Become a Food Photographer
If you want to get paid to eat and have a natural talent in photography, there are several websites that sell photos online and earn you up to $100/photo. You can launch your own blog or social media handles to sell these photographs directly to your customers. However, there will be one time investment to purchase specialized equipment, such as DSLR, lenses, gimbals, as your smartphone will not be able to give you the required output.
And once you are ready to sell your photos, you can simply upload those on platforms like Getty Images, Shutterstock, Alamy, or 500px.
12. Become a Recipe Tester
Recipe testers are generally hired to taste their unique dishes before they are introduced in their regular menu. They get added after an announcement by the restaurants of their exotic flavors filled dish after testing and it is also among the best ways to get paid to eat. These much devoured stuff testers can expect to make around $200to $500 on an average for every recipe.
The responsibility of a recipe tester mainly comprises three things, collecting the ingredients from the market, measuring those in exact order, and then following the instruction to cook them. And they mainly need to check the output of that recipe.
13. Become A Cheesemonger
If you visit any artisan food shops in your locality, you’ll see cheese specialists in those stores who are called cheese mongers. Their job is to guide the customer to choose the right type of cheese as per their palate due to their vast varieties and advice them of storing it too. But yes, you definitely need to know everything about cheese if you want to become a professional cheese monger. And it is also among the legit passive income ideas that can fetch your tons of money.
You can either take a job in the local artisan shop or can also start your own business to enter this industry. Besides, you can start your own store as well.
14. Join Frozen Food Companies
Companies hire testers and analyzers to evaluate their products in the process of making better products. These testers get paid $70 to $100k per year on an average and freelancers cross over $100k and that’s a good reason why most of them freelance. If you want to get paid to eat but also want job security that generates a steady income each month, you can join frozen food companies.
Besides having the right culinary skill, you should also have the zeal to learn about new food while you work with frozen food companies. And you can also work as a freelance consultant if you don’t want a fixed job.
15. Become A Taco Tester
Like cheese mongers, taco testers are now becoming immensely popular, especially in Latin American countries. Some surveys reported that these Taco Testers get paid a monthly wage of $10k and witnessing the CNN report talks of the same.
Yes, this industry is so huge, and the opportunities are many. However, you do need to have a strong grip over anything related to tacos to grab this job. Besides, you should know about its history as well. You can also start your own consultancy business and help the local taco sellers.
10 Mystery Shopping Sites to Get Paid To Eat
Mystery shopping is a new thing where you get undercover to test some products as a consumer or test service in a specific eatery or food chain.
But not every mystery site is legit. So, here are our top picks of mystery shopping sites to get paid to eat this year.
1. TrendSource
There are many ways to earn free PayPal money now. However, nothing can be better than eating your favorite dishes and earning PayPal money at the same time. And TrendSource is the platform where you can get this opportunity. You can expect to make about $20 per test and some get paid up to $40 and they pay directly through paypal transfer.
However, you can only become a member of this fantastic community of product and service testers only if you live in the USA, UK, and Canada. However, they are now soon planning for a global expansion.
2. Contract Testing
Contract Testing is one of the oldest and most popular mystery shopping sites that offer food testing opportunities to its global members. And if you don’t know how to make $300 fast, it is the best one to hop for.
And in return, you need to provide them with your honest feedback. Besides, you may also need to make a small video sometime. Their site allows you to test chocolates, cookies, wines, snack and drinks and most of their other products. After the test you can make about $25 an hour on an average.
3. Shoppers’ Critique
Shopper’s Critique is one of the best mystery shopping sites in the world that now works with thousands of hotels and restaurants. And it is among the very few companies that assure a steady stream of projects.
While working for this company, you need to visit restaurants and hotels undercover. Trust me; it is among the easy jobs for lazy people to try this year. All that you need to do is you have to visit restaurants, hotel and other eateries undercover disguise and then provide a detailed feedback of their service that can fetch you about $40 per assignment.
4. MysteryDining.net
If you want to get paid to eat and travel, MysteryDining.net is one of the best options to try, as it pays travelers and food reviewers. You mainly need to visit restaurants and stay at hotels undercover as a normal customer. And in return, you need to submit detailed feedback about their services and hospitality.
For every legit feedback, gets paid $50 to $100 on an average, depending on the type of review they want. Besides, they do offer frequent bonuses as well.
5. Ipsos I-Say
If you want to get paid to eat or want to make money fast and easily by testing products and services, there is no better option than Ipsos I-Say. However, this platform works a bit differently and pays around $5 on an average.
They pay up to 600 additional points on a daily basis. After testing any specific food item or product, you need to take a short survey to ensure detailed feedback. The best thing about this company is that you can even make money just by being a regular member, as
6. Coyle Hospitality
Coyle Hospitality is one of the oldest mystery shopping websites that are still in operation, even in this competitive market. And now, they have an enormous global footprint with a nationwide presence. Its requirement is to submit a detailed review of the service and hospitality by visiting different hotels and restaurants and these mystery shopping assignments visits are their efforts for which it pays around $40 – $80 averagely
You mainly need to work as an undercover review agent while associating with this company. And for each of these mystery shopping assignments. Joining this company is also easy, as you can directly create an account with your existing Gmail account.
7. Red Robin Panelist
There are now many places available to get paid to eat. But not every platform is as legit as Red Robin Panelist. However, this company is also limited to permanent citizens of the United States.
If you live in Colorado or nearby, you can take advantage of this company to become their mystery shopper. And for each hotel or restaurant you visit, that can pay and let you earn up to $100 on the downside. Joining this company is also easy as they offer instant approval to the localites. And once you get the approval, you can start taking mystery shopping assignments on the very same day.
8. MarketForce
If you are looking for restaurants that pay you to eat, MarketForce is the best platform that can get you that. It is probably among the highest-rated companies that now offer traditional store and restaurant observation jobs.
For getting paid around $35 you don’t need any specific skills to start working for this company. However, you do need to have strong communication skills. And to review each of their assigned shop or restaurant. You can also easily withdraw your earnings through a linked PayPal account, although they now pay once per month. Besides, you can also request a direct payment transfer.
9. McCormick Product Testing
As the name itself says, McCormick Product Testing is a platform that now assures the opportunity where anyone can become an accredited tester to earn online. With each test you can expect to be paid around $50 to $120 on an average and the off-site testing is paid around $20-$25 which offers both on-site and off-site testing facilities. However, this company only accepts members from the United States. And you can get instant approval and start working right after opening a free account on this platform.
You can even opt for home-testing, where they will directly ship you the product.
10. The Consumer Product Testing Centre (CPTC)
The Canada-based mystery shopping site CPTC or The Consumer Product Testing Centre currently offers testers and panelist’s jobs. While working for this company, you can test new recipes and dishes even before they hit the consumer market.
All that you need be is just over 18 years old with great analytical skills for which you get paid $15 to $20 on an average and this company also ensures instant approval for their new entrants. Once you get it, you can start working on the same day.
