I bet you’ve never considered that you can make money doing something you need to do every day.
Like what, you ask?
I’m talking about the fact that you could get paid to eat. (After all, you’ll starve to death if you don’t eat every day.)
A gig involving consuming food and beverages sounds far-fetched, but it’s been around for centuries, aka food tasting.
Years ago, it was common for monarchs to employ food tasters to sample their meals because they feared being poisoned.
Even today, world leaders hire food tasters to guard against poisoned food.
Luckily, you don’t have to worry about testing for poison with the leads and job titles I’ll list.
Many jobs in this article pay you to assess a dish’s texture and flavor or give cashback rewards for purchases.
Read on to learn more about businesses where satisfying your taste buds can be a side hustle or a full-time job.
Table of Contents
Legit Companies That Pay You to Eat
These businesses will reward you for snacking and dining.
1. Liven
- Income Potential: Up to 30 percent of your bill
Liven pays you to buy food.
How does it work?
After downloading its app, you dine at a participating restaurant, pay your bill, and get a portion back in LVN points to cover your next meal.
Download the Liven app from Google Play or the Apple Store.
2. Contract Testing Inc. (CTI)/Matrix Sciences Consumer Research
- Income Potential: $20 to $25+ per session
Live in the U.S. or Canada?
CTI recruits people to test foods like soup, cookies, and French fries through its partner facilities.
You can taste-test products up to five times a year.
3. Seated
- Income Potential: Up to 30 percent of the cost of your bill
Be seated and enjoy your meals through Seated!
The app works with over 1,500 restaurants located throughout:
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Dallas
- New York City
Seated even gives you $10 back on your first meal.
Download it from Google Play or the Apple Store.
4. McCormick’s Consumer Testing Program
- Income Potential: Varies
McCormick’s Consumer Testing Program allows you to take part in food-tasting sections up to four times a year.
Travel to its Hunt Valley, Maryland, location or test its products at home.
The program is open to U.S., Canadian, and U.K. residents.
5. Dosh
- Income Potential: Varies
With Dosh, you receive cash back from booking hotels, shopping, and of course, dining at restaurants.
Download the app, link your card, and use it at participating retailers.
Cash out or donate to charity when you accumulate at least $15.
Get the Dosh app from Google Play or the Apple Store.
6. Coyle Hospitality: Restaurant/Bar Mystery Shopping
- Income Potential: About $35 to $95 per audit
If you enjoy frequenting restaurants and bars, you’d be glad to know that Coyle Hospitality will pay you to be a mystery diner.
Restaurant mystery shopping is a fun way to get paid to go to dinner!
That means you enjoy meals while secretly evaluating businesses’ goods and customer service quality.
Registering as a Coyle evaluator takes only a few minutes, so go ahead if you’re eager to begin.
7. Cash App
- Income Potential: $5 bonus for new members; Varies
Cash App is an amazing app because you can use it to:
- File taxes
- Send/receive money
- Accept direct deposit payments
- And even save on food purchases!
Yep, when you buy food from places like Domino’s, Taco Bell, and Starbucks, you receive cash back.
Note that you need a Cash App debit card to qualify for cash-back benefits.
Download Cash App from Google Play or the Apple Store.
8. Mystery Dining
- Income Potential: Varies
Want to make extra cash as an undercover guest?
Join Mystery Dining!
All you have to do is book an appointment at a hotel or restaurant, eat, fill out and submit a report, and receive your payment.
Easy peasy.
9. Upside
- Income Potential: Varies
There are many upsides to Upside because you can get cash back on purchases from 50,000+ retailers from all over the country.
Dine at Marco’s Pizza, Arby’s, Jason’s Deli, and other participating restaurants and earn money back.
You can also receive cash-back rewards when you shop at grocery stores or get gas for your vehicle.
Redeem your earnings for e-gift cards, bank account transfers, or PayPal.
Download the Upside app from Google Play or the Apple Store.
10. MarketForce
- Income Potential: About $15 to $35 per gig
MarketForce is a nice side gig for students, stay-at-home parents, and just about anyone. (I should know as someone who used to work for the company.)
As an undercover customer, you’ll visit restaurants, banks, and stores to assess businesses on criteria like product selection and customer service.
11. Rakuten
- Income Potential: $10 bonus; About 10 to 25 percent cash-back
With Rakuten, you can make money back at over 3,500 retailers, which may include your favorite restaurants.
Install Rakuten on your computer or phone and begin saving (and earning back cash).
You even receive $10 when you sign up and spend at least $25.
12. Shoppers’ Critique
- Income Potential: About $5 to $35 per gig
Consider being a mystery shopper for Shoppers’ Critique!
You secretly assess places like family fun centers, steakhouses, and pizza joints while enjoying free meals.
Shoppers’ Critique also offers gigs like apartment shopping and bank visits.
13. OpenTable
- Income Potential: Varies
It literally pays to be an OpenTable member.
Why?
Because you receive points when you make reservations at your local restaurant(s).
Then, you redeem your points for cash.
Download the OpenTable app from Google Play or the Apple Store.
14. Swagbucks Dining Deals
- Income Potential: 500 SB welcome bonus; Varies
Swagbucks is known for paying its members for Internet surfing and completing surveys.
With that said, it also offers a program that pays you to dine at your favorite eateries: Swagbucks Dining Deals.
You just need to connect your debit or credit card to your account, eat at participating restaurants, and receive cash back.
15. Rich’s TasteMaster Research Program
- Income Potential: Varies
If you want to taste-test appetizers, desserts, and other foods, sign up for Rich’s TasteMaster Research Program.
As a sensory panelist, you’ll participate in studies like focus groups, online surveys, and product evaluations.
To qualify, you shouldn’t have any allergies or other medical conditions that would prevent you from taking part in food studies.
16. P & K Tester Community
- Income Potential: Varies; A chance to win Amazon gift cards in monthly drawings
P & K Tester Community pays you to participate in on-site or remote taste tests.
You earn compensation in the form of P&K coins that you can exchange for gift cards and prizes.
17. Campden BRI
- Income Potential: Varies
Like in the U.K.?
Sign up for Campden BRI!
This company offers food and beverage studies in these formats:
- On-site
- Survey
- Online
- Remote
18. Checkout 51
- Income Potential: Up to 10 percent cash back
Checkout 51 gives you cash back on gas stations and grocery store purchases.
After you upload your receipt through its platform, Checkout 51 will confirm your purchase and pay you.
The company will mail you a check when you reach $20.
Who knew that buying snacks could pay off, literally?
19. Drop
- Income Potential: Up to 40 percent cash back
Drop will reimburse you whether you want to buy snacks from CVS, Kroger, or another retailer.
You just need to link your credit or debit card to your account to earn Drop points, which are redeemable for gift cards.
Download from Google Play or the Apple Store.
20. Red Robin
- Income Potential: Varies
Red Robin provides on-site panelist opportunities for its fans.
If you want to apply, be prepared to wait at least 30 days for a response.
Also, you have to live in Colorado to be eligible.
21. Ipsos-iSay
- Income Potential: Varies
With Ipsos-iSay, you can make money by answering surveys about food products you’ve bought from stores or restaurants.
Once you earn enough points, redeem them for PayPal, charity donations, or gift cards.
22. MyPoints
- Income Potential: $5 sign-up bonus; Varies
MyPoints allows you to earn points by grocery and online shopping.
It also pays you to play games and take surveys.
You exchange your points for gift cards.
Other Ways to Become a Paid Foodie
The following jobs pay you to eat, too.
23. Competitive Eater
- Income Potential: $400,000 to $500,000 a year
If you can chow down copious amounts of food in a limited time, consider being a competitive eater!
I learned competitive eaters need to adopt certain diets and exercises to expand their stomachs and hold down all that food. (I personally couldn’t do this but to each his own!)
24. Food Critic
- Income Potential: $80,000 to $90,000 a year
As a food critic, you get paid for food reviews where you review restaurants on their food quality.
You have to be open to trying all types of dishes, so this position isn’t for picky eaters (like yours truly, ha ha)!
25. Webcam Eater
- Income Potential: Varies
Eating in front of a live stream camera sounds strange, but many people make money from it.
It’s a major phenomenon in South Korea. (It’s called mukbang, meaning “eating broadcast.”)
The purpose of webcam eating is to comprehend how viewers react to others’ eating habits.
26. Food Photographer
- Income Potential: Up to $100 per photo
Food photography combines art and cuisine.
You snap pictures of your favorite meals and sell them through platforms like Shutterstock and Getty Images.
27. Food Blogger
- Income Potential: Varies
Food blogging is one of the most popular blogging niches.
Create a blog dedicated to food.
What could you write about?
Well, you could use your blog to promote your favorite restaurants or review various snack foods.
28. Professional Chef
- Income Potential: $11,000 to 290,000 a year
A chef ensures that food preparation goes well in restaurants and other areas.
They’re also responsible for ordering supplies and creating menus.
29. Pet Food Taster
- Income Potential: $20,000 to $100,000+ a year
As gross as it sounds, you can make money eating dog or cat food. (After all, someone has to ensure pets have tasty, healthy food.)
30. Babysitter
- Income Potential: $20,000 to $40,000 a year
Though babysitting is not entirely food-related, you sort of earn money while eating when you take meal breaks with your charges.
31. Food/Wine Taster
- Income Potential: $30,000 to $60,000 a year
A food/wine taster evaluates the odor, texture, colors, and other aspects of food and wine, so you must possess a sensitive palate to succeed in this position.
32. Food YouTuber
- Income Potential: Varies
Partner with food companies and get paid to promote their brands in front of the camera.
You could also experiment with other video ideas, like creating a stop-motion film of a cake baking itself.
33. Cooking Show
- Income Potential: Varies
This option is similar to having your YouTube Channel, except your show would be on cable/streaming networks instead of a single website.
Making your TV show takes a lot of work and ingenuity, but if you have the drive and resources for it, you never know what you could create, e.g., a culinary contest, eating contests, talk show, etc.
34. Recipe Tester
- Income Potential: $200 to $500 per test
Did you know that food companies pay people like you to try their recipes before releasing them to the public?
Your job would be to gather and mix the ingredients of a dish, then sample it.
35. Food E-book Writer
- Income Potential: Varies
If you’re a food connoisseur who loves to write, you could publish an e-book about any food-related topic.
You could pen a cookbook or a book about fond food memories with loved ones.
36. Cheesemonger
- Income Potential: Varies
This is a cheesy job, and I mean that in a good way.
What would you do?
As a cheesemonger, you would collect cheese and aid customers in selecting the right kind of cheese.
37. Restaurant Owner
- Income Potential: Varies
If you always wanted your own business, owning a restaurant might be a great place to start.
It takes a lot of work because you need to manage staff, keep customers satisfied, and ensure day-to-day operations go smoothly.
But, it allows you to specialize in your favorite food niches, like pizza or seafood.
38. Baker
- Income Potential: $21,000 to $50,000 a year
As a baker, you get to make bread, cakes, and other goods.
Work for a pastry company or start your own business.
39. Research Chef
- Income Potential: Varies
Being a research chef allows you to blend scientific research and food.
This position gives you free rein over the types of dishes you could invent, like ice cream that doesn’t melt in the fridge.
Getting Paid to Eat FAQ
Look over these frequently asked questions about eating for money.
Why do businesses hire people to taste food?
Businesses recruit people to taste food because they’re accessing foodstuffs for flavors, aromas, and texture and want to test it on volunteers before releasing products to the market.
Taste testers share what they like and don’t like about a certain food, which prompts businesses to make changes accordingly.
Which option makes the most money from eating?
It looks like competitive eating makes the most since competitors earn six-figure salaries from stuffing their faces.
That said, you could make seven figures or more if you have a popular food blog, YouTube channel, or TV show.
What do I have to do to become a professional chef?
If you’re interested in pursuing a career as a chef, here are a few ways to prepare:
- Get a job at a restaurant
- Take an accredited cooking course
- Enroll in culinary school
- Experiment with various recipes alone or under the guidance of a mentor
I have food allergies/intolerances. can I still earn a living from eating?
Most taste-testing centers don’t allow people with food allergies or intolerances to participate in studies to protect them from endangering their health, which is very understandable.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a food-related side hustle or job.
For example, you could create an e-book, blog, or YouTube channel dedicated to gluten-free, non-dairy, or other allergen-free foods. (You would do a big favor for those looking for recipes that suit their dietary needs.)
Get Paid to Eat: Turn Your Love for Food into Cash
Eating isn’t just necessary to live; it could be a big cash cow, too.
Some of the jobs listed are ones I haven’t heard of until now, like live-stream eating and recipe testing.
Now that you know about these unique food-based jobs, it’s time to turn your passion for food into a paycheck. Don’t miss out on these tasty opportunities to get paid to eat.
Bon appetit!
