A taste for discovery: my career as a flavorist

I’m living my childhood dream

I think I was always destined to be a flavorist. My favorite game when I was little was to guess what my mom was cooking, just by the smells that came wafting upstairs from the kitchen. Fast forward to today and I’m still playing with taste and aroma, creating flavors that end up in products enjoyed by people all over the world. 

Chemistry meets creativity

The first job I ever had was in a bakery. I was excited to be working with smell and taste, and it taught me some valuable lessons about the importance of raw ingredients. But it also helped me realize that I’m more of a chemist than a baker in spirit. That’s the great thing about being a flavorist: it allows me to be creative and scientific at the same time.

Different challenges every day

My role is anything but routine. From one day to the next, we could be developing flavors for anything from coffee to yoghurt to confectionery. Right now, for example, I’m trying to solve the problem of how to get the flavor of a well-known chocolate brand into ice creams, candies, milk drinks and so on. Translating such a familiar taste into all these new applications is challenging – but also so exciting.

Working mothers welcome

dsm-firmenich is a fantastic environment for working mothers like me. We have a creche about five minutes’ walk from the office, which is super convenient. The company is also very flexible about where and when people work – so if there are days when I can’t manage the full eight hours, I can simply make the time up elsewhere.

A world of flavor

Like all flavorists, I love to cook. But even better is when other people cook for me! It’s a chance to encounter tastes and textures I’ve never experienced before. I especially enjoy traveling to new places and seeing the different ways people consume and enjoy food. It’s amazing how, after all these years, there is still a world of smells and flavours out there for me to discover.