There's an article by Megan Miller about food bloggers in today's Herald Sun Food Extra liftout (pp30-31 – unfortunately they haven't put a copy online). In addition to featuring some of the best Melbourne food blogs (including Tummyrumbles, Breakfast Out, Eating with Jack, Fitzroyalty, Gourmet Husbands, Melbourne Gastronome, Totally Addicted to Taste and Where's the Beef?), Miller interviews George Calombaris - who takes the opportunity to take yet another swipe at food bloggers:
Celebrity chef George Calombaris believes online reviewers don't have the credibility of their mainstream counterparts and bloggers are unsympathetic if there's been a bad night on the floor, or the kitchen's understaffed.
Critics from newspapers and magazines generally visit a noshery at least twice before writing their review.
"They monitor it and see what's going on," Calombaris says. "These are trained professionals. These critics know what they're talking about. They've got a palate. They eat, that's their job, that's their living. (Bloggers) have no idea about restaurants. They've got no idea how they're run."
On the whole, I actually like George's restaurants. I've had very enjoyable meals at Press Club and Hellenic Republic. But his attitude towards food bloggers is completely bizarre.No, most food bloggers are not "trained professionals". But they are customers. (Customers who probably eat out a lot more than the average punter, for that matter.) Does that not qualify them to give an opinion?
Customers have no idea about how restaurants are run. And most of them don't care. Why should a paying customer be sympathetic about a bad night on the floor, or an understaffed kitchen? They are there to have a pleasant evening and a nice meal, and they pay for that experience. If you pay big bucks for a meal and it falls short, would you be inclined to revisit and pay more of your hard earned cash, just in case the kitchen was having an off night the first time?
As a business owner, George should understand that "unqualified" customers will come and judge his businesses every single day. Every person that comes through the door will form an opinion as to whether or not they like his food and his restaurant.
Some of them will tell their friends about whether it was good or bad. Some of them will never say anything but never return. If he's really lucky, some of them will blog about their experience so that he actually gets some feedback about what they liked and what they didn't like. If it was your business, wouldn't you rather know if someone had a bad time so that you can fix the problem for future customers?
Don't forget, George, it's we the average punters, not the professional critics, who are filling up your restaurants every night.
52 comments:
Great post. Your last sentence sums it up perfectly. But George doesn't like bloggers. So unfortunately the message probably won't reach him. I hope I am wrong.
And yes, I am a food blogger too.
Nice write up and agreed the last sentence sums it up perfectly. It's all about alternate view points, whether right or wrong.
I'd like to know what course or schools the 'professional' food journalists have been to that causes George to claim they are trained? Trained in journalism? Maybe, trained in food journalism? Highly unlikely. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Great post and follows my sentiments.
Anonymous, they have the same qualifications as food bloggers.
No matter how much George hates food bloggers, there is a definitely influence that bloggers have. In time, I am sure he will learn to appreciate and embrace us. I am glad that Matt Preston has a totally different view and hope that he can convince his TV co-host!
I've eaten at the Press Club to, and I'm untrained as a reviewer, but I know how restaurants are run (I was a dish pig thru uni).
I think Press Club was a total beat up. Too much OUZO FOAM.
FOAM? foam is the biggest indulgence there is that I've ever tasted.
For all the times I've heard this:
"You know what this dish needs?"
I've not once heard:
"GET ME THE FOAM!"
And bloggers are more likely to give an honest, blunt review rather than some hosh nosh journalists view. We are not being paid to give an opinion!
I guess the feeling is that they think of what we do as more like an amateur review than just a consumer voicing their opinion. In some cases, I don't think that thought is far off but for most I would say it is.
Nice post. I share the same views.
I figure if a blog review, in isolation, is significant enough to damage the livelihood or reputation of a restaurant on its own, they have far more important things to be focusing on and to be concerned about than a negative blog post. If a fair number of blog posts reflect a similar negative view, then that's something worthy of consideration, at least in my mind.
George should know better himself for being on the Masterchef show, a "reality" TV cooking show is no bigger difference than an amateur foodblog. People like to see the "live" cooking no matter whether it is a beautiful or hoping of a crash and burn moments. Because that's "REAL".
Just like restaurant reviews by foodbloggers, it is instant, real, and punters crave for that "reality" experience. We do need professional food critics to tell us where we should go to eat, but in the end is us who decide whether the experience really live up to one's personal taste.
We like our foodblogs just as much as we like George on Masterchef, do you really think we will even bother to watch it if is just another "beautified" cooking show and start pulling out a perfect looking dish that you have prepared earlier in the oven and convince us how delicious it is? I think not. Well, unless your name is Nigella Dawson.
Yup, great post and I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments. Food bloggers aren't necessarily ex-chefs or trained journalists (although some of us are) but then neither, as you so rightly point out, are most punters. Perhaps George takes blog opinions with a grain of salt, but what do the dining public do when they're researching a restaurant or trying to decide where to eat?
Ouch. I'm disappointed to discover as a food blogger that I have no idea what I'm talking about and I have no palate. Dare I ever review a Calombaris restaurant?
Absolutely agree with your views. Even if I wasn't blogging, I'd be telling all my friends and family to avoid a particular restaurant if I had a bad night there, no matter how hyped it is in The Good Food Guide.
Joyce. JUST PILLAR THE FOAM! It's expensive air.
Very good post, and I agree completely.
Anyway, the point is moot. Regardless of whether Mr Calombaris likes food bloggers or not, they're not going away.
Thanks everyone. I don't normally vent but I felt that George's comments were disrespectful to customers, not just bloggers.
I think also that people read blogs with an understanding that they are reading one person's opinion, same as if they asked a friend for a recommendation. Pretty sure nobody is reading this blog thinking my opinions are the word of God.
I'm underwhelmed by George. I pay for all my own meals and I think that gives me a better perspective on which to judge quality and value than a traditional journalist with an expense account.
The multiple reviews published by bloggers provide a greater depth and breadth of opinion than a single newspaper review. Informed readers will balance the different opinions for themselves to decide whether to try a new restaurant.
Some of us may be no more informed than an average diner, and some of us have considerable food industry or media industry experience.
I sometimes ask chefs what percentage of their budget is spent on produce; most admit about 30%. Those that refuse to reveal budget information and business plans tend to be the ones that go out of business.
Some blogs will outlast some restaurants!
I agree with pretty much everything everyone else has said on this issue. Although I'm surprised nobody else picked up on the "no right of reply" rubbish George was sprouting.
I (sometimes) agree than I am perhaps underqualified when placed next to people who have been in the food industry, or reviewing for many years. But I have a comments button on my site the same as every other blogger does. You want to reply? Go for it. Blogs are far more of a conversation than a published review will ever be.
Excellent summary. I don't think food bloggers are trying to be newspaper/magazine food critics, and I think the food critics and the public understand that too (I bet most of them are well tapped in to the food blogs to get extra intel!).
And, unlike the restaurant review websites where most of the posts are by the disgruntled public, food bloggers often write glowing reviews, and many respected bloggers (with loyal followres) have a wide range of depth and experience to back them up.
It's really just a matter of time before everyone 'gets it'. And in the meantime, I hope the good food bloggers aren't discouraged. Keep up the good work!
PS - I'm not a food blogger.
I'd say there's a fair few bloggers and blog readers that have more industry experience and better palates than a lot of food reviewers. No biggie. At the end of the day, you have to find people whose views are consonant with your own tastes and who seem competent. Doesn't matter where they write or if they are trained. It's not as if there is a TAFE course or bachelor's degree in food writing (that I've heard of or that most reviewers have done at least). Some food writers like everywhere I like, but they seem too kind and so it's hard to know whether to go to a new place they spin positively (Preston). Some seem spot on with my tastes (Lethlean, Durack) and some seem, well, to care more about things I care less about (Dubecki). There are equivalents to all these in the world of food blogs too. As far as Colombaris saying reviewers understand a bad night, fair enough. A restaurant will be judged by what it dishes out, but having worked in kitchens myself, it's important to realise you're dealing with humans. Some have off days, some factors are out of their control (a supplier had a traffic accident, they didn't know there was a film festival around the corner and are stretched way too far, etc). If you don't like the food or think it's flawed, let someone know. If you are clueless, you will be treated as such. If you knowledgable and respectful and are not treated well and the problem is not fixed... the restaurant sucks, no excuses. If you go to Embrasse or Attica and get upset about not getting steak and three veg, well that is not knowledgable, not respectful and exactly why some restaurants (with hats!) have NFI buttons on their tills. What's that? No... Idea... the middle word is a past participle meaning to procreate.
Another point is that blogs mean that far more restaurants get reviewed/featured than would be the case without blogs. There is finite space in the newspapers and food magazines for reviews, but the size of the blogosphere is limited only by the public's interest in participating. This means that a lot of restaurants are getting a lot of publicity that they otherwise wouldn't have had. If the restaurant is good, this is a good thing.
Blogs are even more important in somewhere like Perth, where we don't have the equivalent of Epicure, the West and Sunday Times run one review a week each, and Gourmet Traveller hasn't noticed we exist.
When will someone come up with a term we can use that categorizes people based on quality of their reviews rather than the medium through which they're delivered ?
Good writing is good writing, research is research. Broad sweeping statements, stale innocuous prose, and ill informed decisions based on misconceptions aren't helpful to anyone.
There are hundreds of food blogs out there writing reviews every day with horrible blurry little photos and wildly oscillating opinions on everything under the sun, that I would never take seriously.
There's also hundreds of hack journalists who've been handed the job of churning out restaurant reviews who have no idea about food or dining.
I think what George is more concerned about is that most blogs don't have an advertising department that he can pull his money out of when they write something he doesn't like.
George is just scared because he can hear food bloggers saying to chefs and restaurant owners: 'all your reputations are belong to us'.
Nice article. Thanks.
Excellent post!
You know what they say - 'there's no such thing as a wrong opinion', so we'll just have to take George's with a grain of salt; and keep on taking the time to blog ours.
i'm a chef not unlike george but not famous like him.. i get blogged about a bit a to be honest it's odd to think someone can be bothered to tell the whole world what they ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner, let alone take pictures of coffee and post it on the web. i understand freedom of speech but what about freedom from judgement? a customer that eats and pays the bill quietly is just as important as a critic or food blogger.
i don't know too many other industries that get judged by so many different people from a variety of professional backgrounds.
fitzroyalty what do you do for a living?
I dont thI think George is probably not honed up on the whole blogging thing, so i doubt his comments were meant to be quite as harsh, i'd question the journalists intent on highlighting them as much as George's motivation for making them.
Good blogs, no matter what the topic, add something to body of knowledge that already exists. I like to read food blogs, because you are more likely to read more detail about what was eaten due to the fact that there is no real restriction on number of words, you also quite often get a lot more pics and a bit more insight into the social aspects of the entire evening. These are the interesting blogs to read, the ones that think they are epicure and just blurt out some score are yawnsville. Bloggers that use social networking sites also make it easy to ask specific questions, which is invaluable when trying to pick a place to drop some of your hard earned bucks.
I think the anonymous second from above maybe also doesn't get it. The point is that we the community share our opinions and ideas to help each other.
All customers are important in service industries. Food bloggers make no claim to be more important than other customers; in fact most of us want to remain ordinary anonymous customers. We don't want our faces known or to get special treatment - this would not be authentic and would make our experiences less relevant to others.
All service businesses get judged, and always have been. The only difference is now it is written down, enabling word of mouth between strangers, whereas previously it was verbal opinions shared only between friends. There is no freedom from judgement.
In answer to your question about what I do, read my site and find out.
Its such a shame that George has this opinion. Weather you rave to your friends or post a blog post on the net, in the end isnt it just getting the word out there that you liked a place, or didnt? Does that mean that he doesnt like diners talking to their friends about a restaurant experience? coz in the end its the same...except blogging has a wider audience and a few pretty pictures.
Normal people make or break a restaurant. I listen to my friends and fellow food bloggers much more than some "professional" who follows trends and who knows who's pocket they're in. To hell with George.
thanks for a great post which has generated some great comments - I am a vegetarian food blogger who writes about places I eat out at occasionally - and there are very few journalists who review restaurants from a vegetarian view point - so I appreciate others who do.
I also note that George gets upset about some one reviewing on a bad night - but does he think it unfair if someone reviews on an unusually good night??? Swings and roundabouts!
Kate et al, I couldn't agree with you more! I'd like to add that bloggers are writing about food simply because we are passionate about it. Nobody is paying us to write reviews, so we don't have the same kind of external bias. We're simply people who love food so much that we feel the need to share our enthusiasm. What's so bad about that?
Fabulous post!
I read a similar comment in another of George's interviews; it's a pretty poor attitude to have. Bloggers have no idea how restaurants run? I've worked in quite a few restaurants and I would think a large percentage of us bloggers have spent plenty of time working in kitchens or on the floor.
<< originally posted by Hoover - edited to remove personal accusations >>
Hoover said...
As a restaurant manager part of my work is to sift through food blogs, partly to see what is being written about the restaurant that I manage, partly to know what is going on in my industry (I don't spend a lot of time in restaurants other than mine). I regard bloggers as interested members of the public that are working hard to promote the industry that I work in. I don't agree with George that blogger's opinions are less relevant than those in the print media. However, there must be a greater appreciation of the motivations and reasons behind the work that bloggers do. There are bloggers that have a genuine love of food and provide honest, balanced and useful information for their readers. Tomatom, melbournegastronome, eating with jack, stickyfingers, eating melbourne are examples of such bloggers. Then there are those that have an agenda to promote their online personas in the attempt to generate readership numbers. The way they do this is by creating a controversy, allowing unfounded slander of an establishment by another party on their site as comment, or focusing on themselves rather than the establishment. ... These self serving wanna be celebs can do a lot of a damage to the reputation of those in my industry that work very hard to do what they love. Those legitimate bloggers should recognise these individuals for what they are, and refrain from giving them the attention they crave so much.
Edited comments... interesting.. the irony of doing so in a blog about freedom of opinion.
I welcome freely expressed opinions but will remove anything slanderous. I blog for free, I can't afford to get sued :)
I think George is just sprouting off crap to impress the writer, of whom I question in her tactics in being bothered to include his PR chasing rants.
George obviously doesn't 'get' blogs and I know from personal experience that he doesn't respect bloggers, he told me personally when I met him earlier in the year during my MasterChef ordeal.
"I don't like bloggers but I might learn to like you" ha!
He is smart enough to know that some of us do know what's going on when it comes to food and restaurants but his PR chasing rants sell more newspapers and hence widen his already fat public persona.
I laughed out loud when I read it and reminded myself why I don't usually read the Herald Sun.
Jack
Reading this from London and I have to say well said. I think restauranteurs ignore bloggers at their peril as bloggers are people who are passionate about food - they should be your best customers! Interesting if someone would post the article online.
Now who's review would you take with a 'pinch of salt'?
The jovial Bob Hart being the first reviewer to eat in Hellenic Republic on the first weekend open... wait for it... at lunch time (before lunch services had begun) on his lonesome... being solely catered for by a few chefs and manager... gratis...
Or one of the many great Melbourne bloggers reviews during a busy service (cause it ain't ever not busy)...
The latter for mine...
You're so spot on with this post about us being the ones who are keeping restaurants full.
I always put more store by blogger reviews because they have gone on an ordinary night and are being treated like ordinary people. Also, I can easily access multiple blog review and therefore am not reliant on just one person's opinion.
AG Matt - haha about the advertising!
and what if you're a professional food writer who likes to keep a blog?
And you've trained in restaurants and studied to be a journalist.
What does that make you?
it has always been said that restaurants (most businesses) survive on word-of -mouth recommendations.
Blogging is the new word-of-mouth
Excellent post!
I wonder if George is aware of the fallout from his interview in the Herald Sun. Like other people have mentioned, George and others who own a restaurant better get used to foodbloggers - we are not going away, infact, the number of foodbloggers are growing. Foodbloggers are just like the customers who frequent his restaurant everyday - we just have a larger audience to mouth of to - but we are still a paying customer.
The spat he had with Winsor Dobbin didn't do him any favours either.
Maybe he dosen't like food bloggers because he can't tell when they are in his restaurants and therefore can't ensure that extra care is taken.
I also think it is a rather large and stupid assumption to suggest that food bloggers don't know how a restaurant runs. I reckon if we did a bit of a poll we would find a lot food related experience in many a person's past. He might want to apply that logic to his customers too.
I don't buy the whole "bad night on the kitchen floor" thing, or "being a man down in the kitchen" as well. The price and the prestige of the restaurant will dictate what the expectations are, and I'd expect that the better restaurants and staff would have strategies for dealing with that, either prior to, during or after service
P said...
"Maybe he dosen't like food bloggers because he can't tell when they are in his restaurants and therefore can't ensure that extra care is taken."
On this point, I'd say that many of us generally don't WANT extra care to be taken - as non-professionals we just want to report what the experience is like for the average punter.
Boy, is George copping it on this one. I wonder if I am going to be served at Hellenic later today when I go for my regular serve of taramasolata and a beer with my son Henry.
Great post
Tim
I just read another blog, Cooked and Bottled in Brunswick, and pretty much the same response as you. George is going to regret this one.
I wonder if the sichofants (sic) at The Age will comment on this.
Nice work.
Aiden
Great article. One response to poor sensitive George could be to stop blogging about him and his restaurants and anything related to him. Blog him out from existence and then enjoy the results.
When looking for a restaurant to dine at, I usually do my research online. I read 'professional' reviews as well as 'real-deal' customer reviews. There are a handful of Melbourne Food Blogs that I follow and enjoy reading, but along with the good, come the bad. There are a minority of blog posts and comments that set out to flame restaurants with cynical and inflamed descriptions.
Taken from a random www.eatability.com.au, post:
“So loud you can't hear yourself think let alone talk to you friends. Their pizzas are overrated, mine was awful, overpriced for what they offer so no value for your dollar. Go anywhere but here!”
It’s not very hard to find many posts similar to the one above, on various different ‘review’ sites.
The problem with writing negative reviews about a restaurant is that it paints an unfair picture of a restaurant, when by chance the bad experience may have been to extraneous factors. As a waiter, I’ve come across times where colleagues have fallen ill unexpectedly, or times when they are required to attend to very urgent family matters. When such times have occurred, I’ve always put in 200% effort to make sure I’m providing the best service possible, to make sure things run as smoothly as they can in such situation. Customers and diners don’t know this, and we’re not expected to play the ‘we’re understaffed card’ with patrons, but occasionally it happens. That’s when diners go home and write a bad review (sometimes a malicious attack) about service staff or any other member of the restaurant. It’s a complete slap in the face to someone who’s worked extra hard to make sure things didn’t fall to pieces. Sure restaurants are ‘out to make money’, but 95% of the time, those who work in the hospitality industry have a genuine interest in providing good food and good service to its customers, because I sure as hell do. That was the point George was trying to put across in his interview when he said customers don’t know what goes on behind the scenes.
Sure, every customer has their right to have their own opinion, but writing a negative blog about a restaurant shows that you’re making an effort to defame a business and detract customers. It’s analogous to standing in front of a restaurant and telling customers not to dine. The only difference is that you’re shielded behind a computer screen. Consider a scenario where a newly opened establishment provided impeccable service to 495 patrons, and 5 others felt that the restaurant fell short. What if the first three ‘blogger reviews’ were the ones who felt the restaurant fell short? It ends up portraying a false image of the restaurant’s true food and service.
Sure I’ve had bad dining experiences, but I don’t make an effort to blog about them. My mother always told me if I had nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Therefore I only share the good moments of food on my blog because that’s what food is all about. My point is that the hospitality industry as a whole aims to provide a pleasant experience to all of its customers.
At the same time, I’m not attacking food bloggers in general, but merely at those who write malicious reviews and label them as ‘their own opinion’. I’m sure that George was also referring to this minority group of bloggers and not the majority of talented writers.
Well that’s my 2cents in the matter, or 500cents by the looks of it. It is my own opinion though, and I’m sure not everyone agrees, but that’s the beauty of internet blogging... isn’t it?!
So incredibly rude! How can George Calombrais say for certain that bloggers have no knowledge or experience in the restaurant industry?!
I am not a food blogger myself, but I enjoy reading them. There have been many, many times that I have visited a resturant on the mention or recommendation of a food blogger.
A few points:
When a restaurant has had a bad night, no matter how much staff tried to compensate, has a manager ever gone out to the customers, apologised and reduced the bill? If not, then a review based on that bad night is as legitimate as one based on a good night in the kitchen.
Eating out is more than food, it's a whole experience - part of the entertainment industry in a way. The entertainment industry is reviewed all the time, so why should cafes and restaurants be excluded?
Regular readers of food blogs don't read the 'malicious ravers' more than once. I think that type of blog has been given far more credit than it deserves in terms of influence on the dining public. .... Or else readers of food blogs have been credited with being so stupid that one wonders why they would be welcome at any decent food establishment.
Reading food blogs has prompted me go to restaurants and cafes I'd never have heard of otherwise. That can't be bad.
It has also made me scratch from my list those that I have heard of and might have considered ... on the basis of a booking being too hard to get or having to wait too long in the case of the 'no bookings' policy. If places are full to the brim what do they lose?
Hi Kate 'Eating Melbourne', 'Pretty sure nobody is reading this blog thinking my opinions are the word of God' — Damn, I'm shocked, I thought it was ;-) Was an interesting read of all the comments. Thanks for posting. Perhaps one day in the future George will actually have he's own food blog about food bloggers? :-)
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