British man wins 'world's best job' in Australian outback
A 34-year-old English father, Rich Keam, has been “employed” to eat and drink for six months as a food taster at outback restaurants, wineries and breweries on a £61,000 salary after winning Australia’s Best Jobs in the World competition.
Rich Keam will be joined by his fiancée Chrissy Batty, and five-month-old boy, George, during his job as official “taste master” in Western Australia Photo: AFP/Getty Images
By Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney
12:10PM BST 21 Jun 2013
Mr Keam, a film costume designer from Brighton who worked on the Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean films, was one of six winners who beat 330,000 contestants from 196 countries.
He will be joined by his fiancée Chrissy Batty, and five-month-old boy, George, during his job as official “taste master” in Western Australia from August.
Mr Keam, who will record his experiences on a blog, scoffed at suggestions his job might be something of a holiday.
“It will be hard work,” he told The Telegraph. “It is a big state, isn’t it? Well, I am sure there will be a lot of hard work but a lot of fun.”
Mr Keam said he was in tears when he was told that he had won at a ceremony in Sydney this morning.
“I was a bit shocked,” he said. “There was elation and emotion. I got a bit teary when I told Chrissy. She is super excited - she hasn’t been able to sleep all night. It is an absolutely amazing opportunity. It will be a big adventure.”
Other winners included Allan Dixon, 26, an Irish internet entrepreneur who will be paid to travel through the Northern Territory as an “outback adventurer”, which will involve camping and meeting Aborigines.
Mr Dixon, from Dublin, convinced adventurer Bear Grylls, sprinter Usain Bolt and actor Hugh Jackman to support a social media campaign as part of his competition entry.
The competition has become a global phenomenon and has proven a publicity dream for Tourism Australia.
The winner of a previous contest run by the state of Queensland in 2009 was Ben Southall, from Hampshire, whose job was to work as “caretaker” of Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef. Despite getting stung by a deadly Irukandji jellyfish, he revelled in the job and later did stints on television shows including a ten-minute slot on the Oprah Winfrey show.
Tourism Australia announced the winners after inviting the 18 finalists to Australia for a final selection process involving a series of adventure, nature-based, culinary, social media and photography challenges and assessments.
"It's been a once-in-a-lifetime experience and they've all embraced it with gusto,” said Tourism Australia’s managing director, Andrew McEvoy.
The winners included Andrew Smith, from the United States, who will work as “chief funster” and will attend VIP functions and parties in Sydney and across the state of New South Wales.
Elisa Detrez, from France, will work as a park ranger in Queensland, taking rainforest and beach walks and promoting local flora and fauna. A Brazilian, Roberto Seba, has been hired as a “lifestyle photographer” in Melbourne to document to document the city’s "cool cafes, hidden rooftop bars, hot air ballooning, major festivals and music events”. And Greg Snell, from Canada, will work as a wildlife caretaker, looking after dolphins, sea lions and kangaroos on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island.
Mr Keams said he is obsessed with food and is hoping to focus on Western Australia’s seafood.
“I am looking forward to getting up to the Kimberley for some barramundi,” he said.
“I’ll be travelling around the state for six months and telling the world about it – and just having a great time.”
Briton, 34, sees off competition from 300,000 applicants to land 'best job in the world', eating and drinking his way around Australia to find best bars and restaurants
Rich Kearn's six-month contract comes with a £61,000 pay cheque
He says 'love of food, travel and adventure' attracted him to the role
By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED: 10:54 GMT, 21 June 2013 | UPDATED: 12:20 GMT, 21 June 2013
Enter the tastemaster: Lucky Rich Keam's role will be to seek out the finest produce and find the best bars and restaurants the region has to offer
A British man has secured a post dubbed 'one of the best jobs in the world' which will see him eating his way around Western Australia.Rich Keam, 34, from Brighton was selected from over 330,000 applicants worldwide for the six-month contract which has a pay cheque of about £61,000.His role will be to seek out the finest produce and discover the best bars and restaurants the region has to offer.Mr Keam, a musician and costume designer, has spent the last week in Australia with 17 other international finalists.The competed in a series of adventure, nature-based, culinary, social media and photography challenges, as part of the competition run by Tourism Australia.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast from Sydney, Mr Keam said he believes his 'enthusiasm' got him the job, as well as his 'communication skills and creativity'.He added: 'It's just my love of food and travel and adventure that really attracted me to the role.'When asked about how food from home compared to the cuisine down under, he said: 'I love the UK. I love the UK's food, but Western Australia...the seafood is amazing, absolutely amazing.'I ate a prawn the other day that was more like the size of half a chicken.'Mr Keam said he was also looking forward to admiring the scenery of Western Australia, visiting the national parks and taking part in some snorkelling.
Irishman Allan Dixon, 27, from Dublin, was awarded the role of outback adventurer in the Northern Territory.Both he and Mr Keam are expected to take up their new jobs between August and December of this year.Tourism Australia's 'Best Jobs in the World' competition is part of an international marketing push to promote tourism opportunities provided by Australia's Working Holiday Maker (WHM) programme.
In the UK, there was a total of 41,712 Working Holiday Visas granted for the 12 month period ending June 2012 - an increase of 7 per cent compared to the same period the previous year. Andrew McEvoy, managing director of Tourism Australia, said the competition had been extremely tough, and said he hopes Mr Keam takes his 'talent, energy and desire' into his new role.
'I'd like to congratulate all of the 18 finalists for the tremendous enthusiasm and effort they have put into this competition.'Rich is among six successful candidates that have demonstrated incredible talent, energy and desire throughout the application process and will, I'm sure, take these positive attributes into the job with him.
'We're delighted to have another British winner this time round - after Ben Southall from Hampshire won the 'Best Job in the World' as island caretaker on Queensland's Barrier Reef in 2009.'We know Brits have a strong affiliation with Australia and we hope this competition will encourage more young people from the UK to consider a working holiday Down Under.'
The moment Mr Kearn's name was called out: The musician and costume designer from Brighton said he was also looking forward to admiring the scenery of Western Australia, visiting the national parks and doing some snorkelling
Jo Muskus from Scotland was another British finalist competing for the role of park ranger in Queensland but she lost out to Elisa Detrez from France.Holly Easterbrook from London was vying for the role of chief funster in New South Wales and travelled to Australia as one of the 18 finalists but had to withdraw due to an existing medical condition.The other roles included lifestyle photographer and wildlife caretaker.
All the winners: From left, Allan Dixon from Ireland, Rich Keam from England, Elisa Detrez from France, Roberto Seba from Brazil, Greg Snell from Canada and Andrew Smith from the U.S.
IS RICH'S NEW JOB REALLY THE BEST IN THE WORLD? OR SHOULD THAT ACCOLADE BE RESERVED FOR ONE OF THESE CUSHY NUMBERS?
Ben Southall from Petersfield, Hampshire, earned the envy of millions in 2009 when he secured a £70,000 six-month stint as 'caretaker' of Hamilton Island on the famous Great Barrier Reef. Despite hard work, a potentially deadly jellyfish sting and breaking up with his girlfriend, he enjoyed it so much that he excelled in the role and had its remit extended to to promote not just the reef but the whole of Queensland - including the outback, the rainforest and Gold Coast.
Seb Smith, 22, from Cheddar, Somerset, in April this year beat off competition from 2,000 applicants to fill the coveted role of international water slide tester with holiday firm First Choice. He is now spending the whole summer travelling to exotic locations across the globe where he will ride and rate the company's most exhilarating chutes.
For David Benton-Jones and his wife Lucy life is quite literally one big honeymoon - because their job is to test out the traditional post-wedding getaway. The couple have been on over 40 honeymoons in just 10 years, travelling from the depths of wild Africa to the luxury of the Caribbean experiencing the heights of romance - and all without paying a penny. As a pair they organise honeymoons for newlyweds and in return the resorts give them commission, free stays and the time of their lives.
The best jobs in the world don't necessarily involve holidays. Photographer Russell James earned the envy of men everywhere when he boasted on Twitter of tending to the beautiful, and scantily-clad, Miranda Kerr before a shoot. And for the ladies, one lucky woman's job was caught the imagination when she was photographed applying fake tan to the improbably buff Mark Wahlberg as he he stood on the balcony of his Miami hotel during filming of the bodybuilding movie Pain And Gain.
Finally we have probably the best job in the world - enjoyed by the man paid to drink Carlsberg for a living. Dane Morten Ibsen gets to drink five free pints a week as the lager giant's official taste tester. At Carlsberg HQ, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Mr Morten is in charge of testing barrel as well as packaged beer.
