Food Critics

Getting paid to eat in expensive restaurants and write about the food is a tough job ....(yeah right). But how do you become a food critic??? By luck only. Most critics have fallen into the job by accident. Most of them are journalists and have been asked to write about a restaurant because the resident food critic has been out on leave etc.

So, what are we thinking about reviews???? I love reading reviews about restaurants I have been already to see how different we think of the food and restaurant. And I love the 'poetry' of some of the writers. Matthew Fort being my favourite. Okay okay, he is UK based but his words are so 'floral' that it is a pleasure to read his review.

Then others are using the pen as a sword and trash everything from the food to the service....(maybe they haven't been recognised and have been treated 'normal). That brings me to another point.....food critics these days are celebrities in their own world....how can you review a restaurant when everyone - from the waiter to the head chef - knows who you are??? If Matthew Fort goes into a restaurant.....nobody will believe that he is just there for a nice afternoon snack and they will work double as hard to impress the man then they would otherwise....so you can't really believe any reviews these days as you might not get the same treatment as the critic does. Fay Maschler has been one of the few who remained anonymous for years and I believed her reviews more than any other review...

What about the Irish critics??? The RTE show The restaurant includes the critics Paolo Tullio & Tom Doorley. Don't get me wrong...it is a risky business they are in but I find them boring. There is no imagination behind their opinions. Read Matthew's review on a geese farmer and you'll see what I mean...

Of course, we have other critics like A.A. Gills, Charles Campion, Jay Rayner, Terry Durack etc.....which critic do you value the most????