Got my finger on the pulse

That's right. People just know that when you need to find out what the likes, dislikes, wants, and needs of our culture are - you come to me. That's why I was invited to take part in a focus group for Fazoli's to evaluate some possible new menu items. Not really. I just happened to be in a Fazoli's and filled out a survey. But either way, I got paid to eat some food and tell them what I thought about it. Not a bad gig.

So at the test kitchen, I heard one of the employees (a 'food engineer') talking to another person about his background. Seems that he started as a pharmacy major and then made the apparently easy transition to food science. This was because, as he explained, the fields are very similar.

Now I'm not completely naive. I know that we eat a ton of stuff that is mass produced and is full of who knows what kind of chemicals, preservatives, etc. We are talking about manufacturing here, not home-cooking. But hearing the ex-pharmacy student turned food engineer talk for some reason really made that sink in for a moment. Of course, I completely forgot all about that as soon as the food started showing up. I mean, I did have a job to do after all.

(By the way, if you need paid evaluations of any of the following:
new golf courses
all-inclusive vacation resorts
Oreos

... then I'm your man!)

-Jeff