Men wanted! Butterball looking to add men to its holiday turkey helpline for the first time in 32 years

For the first time, Butterball is enlisting the help of men for its Turkey Talk cooking-advice



The talk line has offered advice to people cooking turkeys for 32 years

Application for men to apply will appear its Facebook page

In 1980s 9 Percent Of Callers Were Male, Now 1 In 4

This year if you call Butterball's Turkey Talk Line for some cooking advice, you might get a male voice on the line.

For the first time, Butterball is enlisting the help of men as well as women for its Turkey Talk Line during the holidays. And the turkey seller is seeking the first male talk-line spokesman this year as well.

The talk line, which is 32 years old this year, has long offered advice to anyone overwhelmed by making the perfect turkey for Thanksgiving Day and the rest of the year-end holiday season.

Apply within: Men are being asked to apply for a position with Butterball during the holiday season when cooks are asking for help with turkeys

Manning up: The Butterball Turkey line has grown from six operators to about 60 since it launched in 1981, has never hired men until now

Men can cook: Butterball will begin offering an online application for men age 25 and up to apply to be the spokesman for the line or one of the operators

It has been improving its services, last year launching a smartphone app, Facebook live chats, Pinterest posts and other social media tools.

But the line, which has grown from six operators to about 60 since it launched in 1981, has never hired men before. The company says it wasn't specifically excluding men, but it usually relied on word-of-mouth to hire its talk line operators and its hires were always women.

A man's touch: The Butterball Turkey Talk Line has always had exclusively female operators, but that is about to change

Times are a-changing: In 1980s nine per cent Of callers were male. Now it is closer to twenty five per cent as men become more confident in the kitchen

Now, it's taking a more active approach.

'It's the perfect time, because we have seen more and more men involved in Thanksgiving dinner,' said Mary Clingman, director of the Butterball Turkey line. When the talk line started, only about 9 percent of calls that came in were from men. But now, about one in every four calls are from men, she says.

Butterball, based in Garner, N.C., will offer an online application for men age 25 and up to apply to be the spokesman for the line or one of the operators, via its Facebook page . The spokesman, who will man the help line and offer turkey tips via media appearances, can be based anywhere but hotline operators should live near Chicago, where the hotline is operated

The online application will be available beginning Monday and close October 20th.

Most operators have a background in food or nutrition and have culinary degrees or are dietitians, food stylists or scientists. They all take a crash course in turkey making at the Butterball University training program, as well.

But the main requirement: 'You have to want to help people,' Clingman says.