Lifestyle: Chateau Impney whets the appetite with search for Taster in Residence

A WORCESTERSHIRE hotel has launched what it believes to be a UK first. The Chateau Impney Hotel in Droitwich is bidding to recruit the country’s first Taster in Residence.

The unique initiative will see one person selected to taste all the Chateau’s new dishes before they are added to its menus.

Every year, the landmark hotel serves well in excess of 50,000 meals across its restaurant, bars, weddings, and extensive conference and exhibition facilities. The selected taster will work with the hotel’s executive chef and his team on a monthly basis, testing and providing feedback on dishes that are constantly being developed for the hotel’s seasonally changing menus.

Applicants for the honorary role need no formal catering qualifications or experience of working in hotels, but rather a well-developed palate and a passion for food.

Would-be tasters can apply via an online entry form on the hotel’s website. A judging panel will then assess every application before whittling down the entries to just eight finalists.

Those shortlisted will be invited to Chateau Impney for a series of ‘taste battles’, where finalists will be pitted against each other in a number of assessments designed to put their palates to the test.

Ben Elder, the hotel’s general manager, said: “As a forward-thinking hotel, we are always exploring new ways to ensure we offer our diners the best possible experience. By appointing an honoraryTaster in Residence, the first such position in the UK, we hope that our guests will recognise just how seriously we take the quality of our food.”

As well as sampling the new dishes before they are added to the menus, the Taster in Residence will also be asked to recommend dishes to customers, meaning that those dining at the Chateau can benefit from the taster’s insider knowledge.

“The appointment of a Taster in Residence will give us independent input and feedback, which will help us to develop and test our menus for the benefit of our diners. Therefore, we are looking forward to going through all the applications and finding that special person who will become the UK’s first Taster in Residence,” added Elder.

The closing date for applications is Thursday July 3.