Participants compete in a recruitment fair to select crayfish tasters in Nanjing City, East China’s Jiangsu Province, July 1, 2018. The newly created position - crayfish taster - will have an annual salary of 500,000 yuan ($75,000). Crayfish is a popular dish in China. (Photo: China News Service/Li Ke)
(ECNS) -- More than 100 applicants competed in a recruitment fair to be selected as an official crayfish taster in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, with the winner expected to earn an annual salary of 500,000 yuan ($75,000), local media reported.
The lobster-like creature topped a list of the country's 10 most-ordered dishes on Chinese consumer app Meituan-Dianping, according to a food consumption report by the China Cuisine Association early this year.
The job requirements appeared to be unconventional. The applicant must be able to eat at least 2.5 kg of crayfish with ease, determine all ingredients in the product by smell, strip an entire crayfish in three seconds, distinguish the species and breeding environment, and decide if a crayfish is edible or not just by looking at it. The organizer also required applicants to have a pleasant image and good temperament, with no pimples on their face.
The competition was popular among university students, many of whom had received an overseas education. Three young people from Kazakhstan also took part, with nine hopefuls making it through to a second round.
After passing a series of lengthy, rigorous checks, the final winner will also share in the dividends of a 100-mu (6.6 hectares) crayfish farm for five years.
The successful applicant also needs an education background in supply chain management or food sciences, with sound English communication skills, and two years or more business management experience are preferred, according to the company Bingkudaxia’s CEO Ding Wen.
The position will be responsible for quality control over crayfish products, proposing suggestions for improvement based on customer feedback, recording in detail the shape, color, taste and spiciness of each batch of crayfish, the company said.
Simply claiming to be a huge fan of crayfish, as many applicants did in their resumes, did not guarantee success.
