![]() ![]() “The review dared to touch an idol, Massimo Bottura, a man who can never be questioned,” she says. “It is not their duty to share, but I’ve noticed that, if they don't get a very high rating or a flood of compliments, they never do.”Ĭavalleris said that one of the most concerning incidents of food press bootlicking she’s come across happened when her site published a negative review of Osteria Francescana, a three-Michelin-star restaurant based in the northern city of Modena, owned by celebrity chef Massimo Bottura. But choosing not to praise a restaurant in an article might also cost you traffic to your site. “Obviously, extremely positive or totally negative reviews work well on social media – they add colour,” Cavalleris continues. The resulting reviews are positive – except in very rare cases – with food writers trying to sneak in criticism without rocking the boat too much. “The sector is burdened by press dinners that are inevitably followed by positive critiques,” she says. But for Chiara Cavalleris, editor in chief of the Italian food news site Dissapore (“Distaste”), this too is a problem. This is how many food writers tend to work: public praise and private criticism. To avoid that, Zanatta says he tends to “give his criticism in private”. In his experience, chefs nowadays are more willing to listen, provided that the criticism they’re receiving is not just a pretext for a food critic to flaunt their knowledge and opinions. “We’re now paying more attention not only to the food but to all the other aspects that make a restaurant a restaurant,” he says. However, Zanatta also thinks this chef-centric approach to food writing is slowly dying out. “No wonder they’re intolerant to criticism! They had never been on such a pedestal." It was only with France’s nouvelle cuisine movement of the 60s, which revolutionised international cooking, that chefs have become famous and “even achieved celebrity status over the last two decades,” Zanatta explains. Zanatta thinks that’s because cooks have historically been mostly hidden figures. “There are few chefs who respond well and in kind to criticism,” says food journalist Gabriele Zanatta, who writes for the Italian web magazine Identità Golose (“Glutton Identities”). In reality, writers like Rayner are an exception in an industry plagued by celebratory hyperbole and easy enthusiasm. This certainly conforms to the stereotype of a food critic. Some choose to build their following on sarcasm – think of British food critic Jay Rayner and his book Wasted Calories and Ruined Nights, once described as creating a “ blood sport out of destroying culinary reputations”. I've never felt the pressure to praise anything or anyone.”įor many other food writers, things aren’t quite as straightforward. ![]() “In my three years as a food critic at a newspaper, I have only been bullied a handful of times by a restaurant owner or chef on social media. And I write it down, even when I’ve been invited ,” Miglio says. Journalists who get a steady salary and their expenses covered can be a lot freer when writing their review, but they are certainly the exception rather than the rule in the industry.įood writer Paola Miglio, editor of Peruvian website El Trinche, says she’s always made a point to be uncompromising with her opinions. Of course, Sajovic is mostly talking about freelancers and food bloggers. ![]()
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