--- title: The ice cream man whose taste buds are insured for $1m - The Hustle description: John Harrison was so good at his job -- tasting ice cream -- that Dreyer’s once insured his taste buds for $1m. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1486943185-News-Brief_2021-08-03T232340.988Z.webp --- # The ice cream man whose taste buds are insured for $1m ![Jacob Cohen](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG_5670-1-modified-768x768.png?width=48&height=48&name=IMG_5670-1-modified-768x768.png) [Jacob Cohen](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/jacob-cohen) [Jacob Cohen Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/ImJacobCohen) Published: August 04, 2021 Updated: October 11, 2023 *John Harrison licking ice cream off his gold plated spoon (Source: YouTube / WISH-TV)* ![The ice cream man whose taste buds are insured for $1m](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1486943185-News-Brief_2021-08-03T232340.988Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1486943185-News-Brief_2021-08-03T232340.988Z.webp) Currently, there are [~30k](https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/people/?keywords=taster&origin=CLUSTER_EXPANSION) self-identified pro “tasters” on LinkedIn. But it’s safe to say few have a story like [John Harrison’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harrison_(ice_cream_taster)#cite_note-World_1-1). **It starts in 1880**, when Harrison’s great-grandfather [opened](https://web.archive.org/web/20181026104240/https://world.wng.org/2009/08/the_ice_cream_man) 2 ice cream parlors in New York. Some time later, his grandfather started the 1st dairy co-op in Tennessee. - After that, his father owned an Atlanta-based dairy factory, and his uncle owned a Memphis-based ice cream factory. #### **Harrison started out as an assistant taster for his uncle** Eventually, in 1980, Harrison joined Dreyer’s (known as Edy’s in the eastern US) as the company’s head taster, where he retired in 2010. **In his time at Dreyer’s**, Harrison [claimed](https://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/meet-the-chef/the-man-with-the-million-dollar-taste-buds) he tasted (but rarely swallowed) a few hundred million gallons of ice cream. - Harrison also claimed he co-invented cookies and cream and could immediately tell the difference between 12% and 11.5% fat in a product. #### **According to Harrison, it’s all in the taste buds** Harrison’s insight was so valuable to Dreyer’s business, they had his buds insured for $1m. **Here’s what Harrison told** the [*LA Times*](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-22-fi-264-story.html) in 1991: “My taste buds… are not necessarily better than anyone else’s, they’ve just been trained.” Wanna see Harrison in action? Check out [this clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYtFH2bFCfg). We guarantee you’ve never seen anyone eat or speak about ice cream so eloquently. Topics: [Food](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/food) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Holy smokes, there may actually be a limit to Texans’ love of barbecue](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1244337807-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Texas-BBQ_20230928210924.webp) ### Holy smokes, there may actually be a limit to Texans’ love of barbecue - ![Think your industry is weird? Get a load of the beaded ice cream business](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/908447747-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-dippindots_20231002233115.webp) ### Think your industry is weird? 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