When she was a child, Rebecca Roberts loved helping out in the kitchen with her mum and nana.
From baking neenish tarts at Christmas to chocolate chip biscuits, "I loved creating food and then watching everyone enjoying it and it being a talking point," says the now 24-year-old.
These days Roberts has bigger plans for her gastronomic creations – and hopes they will be the talking point for thousands of people far beyond the family and friends of her childhood.
Roberts is already well on her way with these plans and has a product on supermarket shelves. As part of her Bachelor of Science with a major in Food Science at the University of Otago, Roberts and a group of four other students created a new bread product.
"The Food Product Development paper (FOSC311) was a highlight of my undergraduate degree," she says.
"We were asked to create a food product for a well-known New Zealand food company.
"Throughout the year, we progressed through research and development stages from initial concept screening to formulation trials, sensory and in-home testing, scale up, shelf life and marketing. This paper was a great way to combine the teachings of past papers and prepare us for a career in the food industry, which culminated in our very own food product hitting supermarket shelves," she says.
She can't talk about the product now – intellectual property is owned by the company that briefed them – but she is eloquent about how proud of it she is: "It's amazing. We were given a brief from the company and we always thought that, if we did a good enough job, it could go to market – but to actually be able to buy it was just awesome. I buy it all the time. It has a health claim on it and I can trust it's legit because I made it and I know what's in it."
During high school, Roberts always imagined her love of creating delicious food meant the only career option was to become a chef. But a careers day in Year 11 broadened her thinking.
"A Otago University graduate spoke about the Food Science degree, explained what it entailed and the job opportunities which could follow. It opened up a whole new world and ever since then I have had a goal to help produce healthy and sustainable food for everyday Kiwis."
If proof is needed that postgraduate study provides even more career options, look at Roberts' career which is tracking in an intriguing direction.
This month she leaves Dunedin to continue her PhD research in Italy, where she is collaborating with the Italian research and innovation centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM). Roberts will be at the cutting edge of food technology: "I will be conducting research in Italy using the Institute's Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometer – a machine that measures the compounds responsible for hop flavor and how they change in fermentation."
She says food science is a great choice of career because it has "awesome potential" and is a broad discipline – meaning you can work in lots of different areas including product development, health and safety to sensory.
Roberts encourages students not to stress in their first years of university because it's a great time to explore different areas: "It's great if you have an interest in food but you don't necessarily have to know what you are going to do straight away; eventually you'll find what you want.
"Food Science at Otago University is a great course with a broad selection of papers that will give you the background you need to start a career in the food industry."
Once her PhD is complete, Roberts will return home and hopes to work in the industry creating healthy food – not just for people but also for the environment: "I want to produce food that will improve New Zealanders' health without impacting the planet or consumers' wallets."
She believes up-cycling food that would otherwise be wasted could be the answer and is hoping to work in this field when she gets back home.
"The population is increasing, so we need to be smarter with food production. We need to do something with the waste, it's good for costing, you have to pay to dump food, so if that can go back into supply it makes sense.
"Food production is a large contributor to greenhouse gases so if we can reduce that it will help so much. The consumer wants it as well.
"I'm definitely excited to come home and try to make a small impact on the food industry. I hope to see more of my product on supermarket shelves in the future. I'm going to make a little scrapbook of all the labels of the food products I make. I have one right now, so hopefully I will fill it up."