Snoop Dogg Appoints Brisbane Violinist His First International Ice Cream Taster

Snoop Dogg's hunt for an ice cream taster has ended, as the legendary rapper has awarded the job to Annabelle Traves, a Brisbane-born, Dubai-based violinist.

The gig — which is for the rapper's Dr. Bombay brand — is a fully remote, three-month contract worth $30,000, or $10,000 a month. Hiring partner Deel named Traves the winner on Wednesday (October 28) and Snoop delivered the news personally in a video message recorded for her,

According to SmartCompany, Traves arrives with a serious résumé. She has played Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and Het Concertgebouw, served as concertmaster of Andre Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra from 2022 to 2025, and backed Delta Goodrem, Bruce Springsteen and Michael Bublé on tour. She also performed at this year's F1 Melbourne Grand Prix season opener.

Deel ran the search, which opened applications in late August and shut them down September 18. More than 350,000 people applied, and recruiters cut the pool to 50 finalists, interviewing each one.

Rather than faking expertise in how ice cream gets made, Traves built her pitch around music. "I've spent my life training my ear, so I'm hoping my palate holds up to the same standard!" she said.

Once she cracked the top 15, Traves and her grandmother teamed up on a violin version of "Young, Wild & Free." She went in with modest expectations: "I never thought I had a shot, firstly... But I definitely am the sort of person who, no matter if the odds aren't looking very good, I'm just gonna give it a go anyway."

Logistics gave her pause, too. As an Australian living in Dubai with no U.S. visa, she wondered whether she could even apply. Deel had her signed within 48 hours, "which was just insane," she said. "I've never been part of an onboarding process like that."

"It turns out Snoop's perfect ice cream taster is a violinist from Brisbane," said Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz, who also pointed to the turnaround. "Attracting, sifting through applications, hiring and onboarding talent for a challenge like this used to take months. Instead, we had Annabelle signed and ready to go just two days after she accepted the job."

Snoop and his son Cordell Broadus founded Dr. Bombay, which launched in 2023 and counts Lil Baby as an investor and co-founder.

The brand reportedly passed $10 million in revenue by December 2024, according to AfroTech. This year it opened its first storefront in Venice Beach in April and started selling at Carrefour in France and Belgium in May.

Dr. Maya Warren, the brand's in-house Ice Cream Scientist, said the search came down to curiosity. "We wanted someone who shares our curiosity and excitement for discovering the flavors, traditions and experiences that make ice cream special around the world. Annabelle brings that passion and fresh perspective, and we couldn't be more excited to welcome her to the Snoop and Dr. Bombay families."

Traves says it's "very early stages right now," with "a lot of travel" ahead as she helps Dr. Bombay come up with international flavors and an ice cream tied to Deel for new markets. She already has some Australian desserts in mind: "Lamington or pavlova, or something like that, could be really interesting to throw in the mix."