Bigham's founder insures his senses for £12m Mr Bigham, who paid himself a £545,000 dividend, almost double the previous year, said the performance was "satisfactory" in difficult trading conditions. He added: "We have lots of opportunities to grow with existing and new customers, across all ranges, and we will do our best to take advantage of these by providing the highest quality food and best possible service to all our customers." The insurance deal follows a similar move in 2009 by Gennaro Pelliccia, who tests coffee for Costa Coffee. Mr Bigham said he tastes more than 9,000 ingredients and 6,000 dishes every year. He added: "I've always been very passionate about food and aware of the different tastes, textures and combinations of ingredients." Last year Bigham's announced that Allan Leighton, the former Asda boss, had joined as a non-executive director.