While some people can only dream of wining and dining at the finest hotels and restaurants across America, Rachel Owens* does it for a living -- and gets an annual budget of nearly $2 million to do so.

As a restaurant and hotel inspector for Mobil Travel Guide (MTG), a travel adviser similar to Zagat, her job is to literally live the life of luxury. Unlike Zagat, however, MTG conducts secret and unannounced inspections to provide the public with more accurate ratings. Because of this, Owens' job is so top secret, we can't even reveal her true identity.

Going Undercover
"We have a number of different names we use, with credit cards to match," says Owens. "We never go back to the same place twice, and as a precaution, we don't put up a big fuss if something goes wrong -- we complain mildly." As an incognito inspector, Owens goes through the entire process of either dining at a restaurant, or spending the night at a hotel, as if she were an average consumer. "We book our own reservations over the phone and stay in standard rooms at a standard rate."

Owens also tests every aspect of a meal or hotel stay, from the bar and wine service to the graciousness of the staff, housekeeping, and room service. "We're looking for the average consumer's experience," she explains. "We're not food critics; we're performing an objective evaluation based on all components of the dining experience.

Traveling Up the Food Chain
Owens has a master's degree in food studies and food management from New York University (New York, NY), and she's a certified Sommelier, which means she has an extensive knowledge of wine and food pairings. "I also have a lot of industry experience," she says.

Working almost every job in the restaurant business, from waitressing to kitchen management, and completing five different internships in the field, makes Owens well-qualified for the job. "The experience I've gathered has built up an aggregation of knowledge for what I use in my job today." For example, as an intern at the Food TV Network, Owens learned how food media works, how food TV shows are developed and produced, and about food styling and presentation. "How they get it to look on TV, and how it really looks is very different." Check out the dozens of food industry careers today!

* Name has been changed to conceal subject's identity.