18 Real Ways To Get Paid To Eat: Earn Easy Cash For Eating
You might find it hard to believe, but the opportunity to get paid to eat is now a legitimate way to earn. There is no need to wake up from your dream and face the reality anymore:
Instead, you can grab drinks with friends at your favorite bar to celebrate the fact you can get cash each time you indulge your sweet tooth or devour a delicious dish. It doesn’t matter where you live:
Nowadays, you don’t have to visit a place like Gelato Messina or Nene Chicken to reward your stomach and wallet. Besides, the platforms that will allow you to make money eating don’t care if you live in New York, the Hunt Valley, or anywhere else:
Most ways to earn for eating are available worldwide. Whether you prefer fast food or a gourmet meal, filling your stomach can bring you a paycheck.
Today, I’ll show you the best ways to receive cash while eating, including working as a mystery shopper at your favorite restaurants, monetizing a food blog, or becoming a food critic. You’ll see how to get cashback if you don’t order takeout and get a quick pickup meal at certain places instead.
This post may contain affiliate links – read my disclosure for more info.
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What Job Should I Do If I Love Food?
How To Get Paid To Eat
1) Become A Food Blogger
Nowadays, many ways exist to make money eating. Let me tell you why becoming a food blogger is at the top of the list:
Launching a food website is an excellent way to get paid to eat online. It will allow you to make money while doing what you love – cooking or only eating!
Bloggers monetize their content in different ways, such as affiliate marketing (promoting high-quality food items for a commission), sponsored posts, or selling their physical or digital products.
Starting a local food blog can be more than a side hustle. Once you develop it and build an audience, that blog will become a full-time income source.
In recent years, visiting your favorite restaurants and getting a free meal in exchange for a review has become the new normal for food bloggers. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of that opportunity!
Turning a new food blog into a successful online business takes time and effort – the sooner you begin, the better. Choose a catchy domain name and get an affordable web hosting service with BigScoots to start your dream job!
2) Become A Food Tester
A food tester (or taster) gets paid to sample new food products and meals. Having a superior sense of taste is not enough to become a food tester:
Food testing is for people who can describe any food precisely by utilizing their taste and odor recognition skills. The job won’t suit you if you have different food allergies.
Each food tester must be at least 21 to score a gig. Securing a food-tasting job will be easier if you live near the testing location.
How much money can you make as a food tester? Typically, a food testing gig offers rewards you can exchange for gift cards. You can still earn cash, though:
The paying food testing positions are full-time jobs – you may see them when you stumble across a job description like sensory panelist, taste tester, or food scientist. Professional food tasters earn $16-$20 an hour.
See Also: Easy Jobs That Pay $40 an Hour
3) Become A Restaurant Mystery Shopper
Assuming there is some room in your future social calendar, sparing time to act as a restaurant mystery shopper is worth considering. But what does a mystery shopper do?
Mystery shoppers are workers who become customers at a local place of business for money. They must visit that place, take photos of the products, fill out a report, and send it to the mystery shopper agency they work for.
Next, mystery shoppers receive compensation for the effort (cash or free food). I should mention that these workers are getting paid by the agency, not the restaurant owner.
Working as a restaurant mystery shopper is a great way to get paid to dine out. Are you the type of person suitable for the job?
Most restaurant mystery shopper agencies have requirements you must meet before they hire you. For instance, they’ll approve you as a successful candidate if you showcase good communication skills and attention to detail.
Where can you find mystery shopping companies to join? Feel free to become a mystery eater through BestMark, MarketForce, or the Coyle Hospitality Group.
4) Start A YouTube Channel
Do you know how to get paid to eat and travel? A simple way to do that is to start a YouTube channel.
The most successful food YouTubers live an incredible lifestyle – they have the opportunity to travel the world and indulge in magnificent culinary experiences from different cultures.
Who in their right mind would say no to that? Although building a successful YouTube channel requires effort and patience, the venture will be worth it:
Uploading high-quality content and staying consistent on YouTube will allow you to monetize your channel through the YouTube Partner Program. Of course, you must meet its requirements (at least 1,000 subscribers & over 4,000 watch hours in the last year).
Other ways to monetize your food-related YouTube videos are through affiliate marketing and direct sponsorships. Each is a great way to earn extra money as a food vlogger.
Related: Top Ways To Get Paid To Travel
5) Start A Food Podcast
So many celebrities are getting into podcasting these days and that’s not by accident. Podcasts provide one of the best ways to get paid to eat online.
You don’t have to be famous to start a food podcast and transform it into a lucrative business. However, you must be comfortable with the idea of discussing food through a microphone!
What should your food podcast be about? That depends on you – you can create episodes that cover why people often indulge in comfort food or how to keep your energy levels up through nutrition (examples).
I recommend waiting to monetize your podcast until you attract a large enough audience. Once that happens, you can make money podcasting by selling your product, doing affiliate marketing, or accepting sponsorships.
Launching a podcast has limitless income potential and low start-up costs – a laptop, microphone, and basic software are enough to get you going.
6) Get Cashback For Food Purchases And Eating Out
Many ways exist to earn cashback when dining out or buying food groceries. Here is everything you need to know about that:
Firstly, you can download a get-paid-to-eat app. Such a mobile app will allow you to scan your receipts every single time you purchase groceries online and receive some of your money back.
Secondly, you can use cash-back cards when dining out – these cards will return at least 1% of your total expense to you.
See the best cashback apps and reward programs to earn money while eating out or spending cash at grocery stores online:
- Drop: Drop offers huge rewards to its users (up to 40% cashback from many of your favorite restaurants).
- Swagbucks: Swagbucks is one of the highest-paying survey sites. However, the Swagbucks Local Program earns money by simply tagging your card (read my in-depth Swagbucks Review for more info).
- Dosh: Dosh is a popular cashback site you should use if you enjoy visiting the best restaurants nearby often.
- Rakuten: Rakuten offers even bigger bonuses and rewards than most cashback apps. Expect to earn up to 30% cashback on your purchases.
- Seated: The Seated App brings you reward points each time you dine at a new restaurant. Unfortunately, the app is only available in the United States.
7) Get Paid To Eat On Camera
Are you familiar with Mukbang? That trend started in South Korea – the term combines two words (eating & broadcasting).
Mukbang is a live-streaming process where a person eats large amounts of food on camera and interacts with an online audience. But how do you get paid to eat on camera that way?
Demonstrating your ability to eat large meals live can earn you cash in many ways. For instance, you can charge people to view your content, display ads, or accept sponsorships.
Eating that much at once is not the healthiest thing to do – you might want to keep that in mind before making Mukbang your primary source of income. Still, if you wish to broadcast your meals, feel free to do it on live-streaming platforms like Facebook Live, YouTube Live, or Twitch.
8) Become A Food Influencer
Making some noise in the food industry as a social media influencer is probably the ultimate dream of many. After all, famous food influencers get to attend food product launches, restaurant openings, and other luxury parties.
Becoming a food influencer can be a lucrative work-at-home job – many popular influencers make tens of thousands of dollars for uploading a sponsored post.
On the downside, earning cash through influencing is not the best way to make money fast. It takes time to build a large social media presence and attract millions of followers.
Do you have impressive numbers on social media already? Then, don’t hesitate to profit from brand sponsorship deals and other profitable collaborations.
Work hard on your Facebook Page, learn how to dominate the Instagram feed, and pencil in TikTok – make short videos to post on the platform.
9) Become A Food Critic
Can you think of a better way to get paid to eat than working as a food critic? After all, food critics earn money for reviewing restaurants and indulging in free meals for a living.
But what does a food critic do? As you can probably guess, a food critic must visit a restaurant, order specialties, consume them, and offer honest feedback.
Typically, a food critic has to share an opinion about the quality of food, the professionalism of service staff, and the establishment’s atmosphere. Restaurant owners go above and beyond to make a good impression on that person:
Negative critic reviews can get a restaurant out of business fast. That’s why people who get paid to review restaurants always get the VIP treatment.
What skills do you need to provide an in-depth, professional restaurant review? You can’t discuss food quality without understanding it. Also, any food critic must have knowledge and expertise in culinary arts.
10) Become A Freelance Writer
Are you wondering what freelance writing and making money eating have in common? I’ll tell you:
Combining your writing and eating skills will allow you to earn money while doing what you love. How do you go about that?
Nowadays, becoming a freelance writer is one of the easiest ways to make money online. More importantly, you don’t need a Bachelor’s Degree to get paid to write.
So, why not start a freelance writing career by reviewing new products, providing nutrition tips, or discussing the pleasure of rewarding your taste buds? You’ll reach your target audience and build a customer base faster than you think.
I recommend creating a professional portfolio you can show to potential clients. A food freelance writer can be a part-time job you do at night time if you don’t want to quit your current full-time employment.
Related Read:
- 40 Websites To Join To Make Money Writing Reviews
- 100 Sites That Pay You To Write
- 110 Magazines That Hire Writers
11) Write A Food Book/eBook
Shall we take the concept of freelance writing and push it up a notch? Let’s do this:
Experienced writers can build a passive income source by publishing an eBook about food. That eBook can reflect your experience from many different angles:
For instance, your eBook might have a fresh approach to food science or the importance of eating right to good health. Of course, that’s only one example:
Do some research before you begin the writing process. Check what else is on the market and find a less competitive niche.
Once you write your food eBook, you can sell it multiple times to thousands of readers. Offer your book for sale on platforms like Amazon KDP or Shopify (the second option is for people who want to have an online store).
12) Participate In Food Studies
Chances are, you already know that participating in some research studies pays more than well. For instance, Respondent offers over $100 an hour (learn more about the opportunity from my Respondent review).
What’s the situation with food studies? Do they pay enough to make it worth your while?
Nowadays, many universities conduct food-based studies. Keep your eyes open if you’re a college student who wants to earn by devouring delicious food.
13) Get Paid To Take Food Photography
Let’s see how many aspiring photographers want to know how to get paid to eat:
First and foremost, you don’t have to be a professional photographer to sell your food images online. As long as your photos are of high quality, selling them on the web will not be an issue:
Many ways exist to earn by selling photos online. And the best part is that most websites buying stock photography images offer instant payments.
You’ll make money each time someone licenses or downloads your image. Besides, most freelance stock photographers receive royalty rewards, too.
Feel free to list your food images for sale on platforms like Alamy, Getty Images, and Shutterstock.
14) Become A Recipe Tester
Recipe testing deserves a spot on all lists of odd jobs that pay a lot. Nowadays, a recipe tester earns up to $500 per gig – more than a decent income!
So, what does a recipe tester do? Most recipe testers must get the necessary ingredients, measure them, and cook them by following specific instructions.
Next, they provide notes and make suggestions about how a recipe can use an improvement. Who hires recipe testers?
That can be any restaurant or establishment planning on releasing a new dish. Someone has to test the recipe to ensure that anyone following it can cook an outstanding meal.
15) Competitive Eater
Next on the list of legit ways to get paid to eat, we find competitive eating. All food lovers worldwide will go crazy about this money-making idea:
Are you aware that winning a competitive eating event can bring you amazing rewards? I’m talking about the opportunity to earn up to $10,000!
While eating competitively is an excellent way to make money when you need it urgently, doing it professionally is not for everyone. Think about it:
Pro-competitive eaters often train for months before going to an event. They learn different techniques to help them increase their stomach capacities to digest large amounts of food at once.
16) Get Paid To Eat Healthy
By all means, the best-case scenario anyone could wish for is to make money eating while staying as healthy as possible. But is that even an option?
Yes, it is – people use applications like the Liven App to keep a healthy lifestyle by improving their eating habits. Why should you download Liven today?
Liven can help you take care of your overall well-being. More importantly, the app will allow you to earn:
Once you create a Liven wallet (to accept Livenpay), you can make up to 30% of your bill when ordering takeout or grabbing a drink.
See Also: Best Apps To Make Money Fast
17) Work With Frozen Food Companies
Not everyone fancies the companies selling frozen foods – most people don’t see their products as the best foods they can buy.
Be that as it may, millions rely on frozen food to save them when they don’t have the time to cook another meal. So, how can you earn while working in the industry?
Many frozen food brands hire testers or consultants to help them improve the quality of their products. On average, frozen food testers make around $90,000 annually.
18) Become A Research Chef
Do you have any idea where new meals and recipes come from? Let me satisfy the curiosity of those who don’t know:
Research chefs are the ones who invent brand-new and unique recipes. Their job is to use their imagination to combine ingredients and flavors to create something no one else has thought of yet.
You can work as a research chef part-time or full-time. The money you’ll make depends on different factors – being a research chef for a living can bring you up to $10,000 monthly.
Legit Ways To Get Paid To Eat: My Closing
As you can see, you can make money eating in so many different ways! Earning cash while eating is a legitimate income opportunity:
While most ways to make money by devouring meals (or bonus food) won’t allow you to quit your full-time job, they are still worthy of your consideration.
What questions do you have about this topic? Is there something you need me to clarify further?
Assuming there is, the comments section is here for you!
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