ICATS IFEAT, 2019-2020 Medal-winning student Marta Garcia Cantón shares her aroma and flavour-filled career path and her reasons for studying with ICATS.

‘…it has given me the opportunity to learn with the support of great and expert professionals in the sector and I am very grateful and proud to receive this award from excellent professionals recognising my hard work.’

Since I was a little girl, I have always liked to smell everything around me and to taste all kinds of food. I remember playing a guessing game trying to name the ingredients that my mother used in her meals. As a teenager I had in mind to work in the Flavours and Fragrances sector and that's why I focused on studying chemistry. As the world of chemistry is so broad, I declined internship opportunities in the laboratories of several important companies in the pharmaceutical sector, to begin my internship at Lluch Essence, a leading company in the distribution of essential oils and aroma chemicals. At the end of my internship, I continued working in this company where I acquired extensive knowledge about the raw materials used in the Flavours and Fragrance Industry.

During the 8 years I worked at Lluch Essence, I carried out several tasks in the R&D and Quality Control department. Furthermore, during this period I continued to expand my studies to support the knowledge I was acquiring. I did a Master’s degree in Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry at the IUCT which allowed me to learn more about how to develop and optimize chromatographic methods to achieve better and faster results in analysis. Later I did a postgrad in aromas at the UPC which gave me the necessary tools to understand the formulation and application of flavours for the food industry. And finally, Lluch Essence as member of IFEAT let me know about the Aroma Trades course at ICATS, so I decided study the Fragrances pathway, but in 2015, I began working as a flavourist in EFF Spain, the flavour production centre within the EFF group, so I decided to switch to the flavour pathway.

The course has complemented my knowledge and know-how in the different areas of the Food Industry including Operations, Logistics, and Quality Assurance. Thanks to this, I am able to put into practice everything learned and I can relate my acquired knowledge to the demands of the clients, always seeking to offer them the best quality and service. In addition, it has given me the opportunity to learn with the support of great and expert professionals in the sector and I am very grateful and proud to receive this award from excellent professionals recognising my hard work.

Many of the courses are face-to-face and are not compatible with working and family life. So ICATS gave me the opportunity to study through its specialized, flexible and rigorous course. Additionally, I was impressed by the expertise of the authors and tutors, as well as the accreditation of the course by IFEAT and the endorsement from IFRA UK, the British Society of Flavours and the British Flavour Association. All these facts inspired me to undertake the ICATS course, along with my desire to learn more about fragrances and the fragrance industry.

Working and studying at the same time is never easy, but it has been worth spending time expanding my knowledge of the fascinating food industry and consolidating the theoretical foundations for flavouring. I encourage everyone who is as attracted to this sector as I am to improve their talent doing this course.