Lots of scoops in a really cool job

Dreyer's ice-cream taster John Harrison, 55, has his taste buds insured for US$1 million (HK$7.73 million). He is a fourth-generation ice-cream taster and has created 75 different flavours, including Cookies N' Cream, in more than 30 years in the job. He received the Master Taster of the Year award from the American Tasting Institute last February.

He starts work in Oakland, California, at 7.30 am so that his taste buds are still fresh and tastes at least 60 cups a day. He has five children aged between 20 and 32. One of them, Ben, 21, will follow him as a fifth-generation taster.

What's on your mind? I want more people to try to really taste ice-cream. Many people eat ice-cream but they seldom take the time to taste it. Ice-cream tasting is not a subjective matter.

Can you eat hot and spicy food since your taste buds are insured? I eat some spicy food on Friday nights. But I won't do that on Saturday or Sundays as I have to prepare for the jobs the next week.

Do you eat ice-cream when you're on holidays? Yes, three scoops. I like eating ice-cream even though I am paid to eat every day. I don't get fed up with it as I don't really swallow the ice-cream when I am working. Besides ice-cream, I love cooking and eating candies. I have a sweet teeth. All my children also love ice-cream. My oldest daughter used to dig out all the nuts and cherries - I call it mining.

What's your favourite flavour? Like many Americans, my favourite is vanilla. The national ice-cream best seller in the US is vanilla, representing 29 per cent of the ice-cream market. And the flavour is the most difficult to make. I don't think any flavour can beat a good vanilla formula.