Rare professions: restaurant critic
Restaurant critic A rather unusual profession, of whichmany have learned only thanks to the Pixarovsky cartoon "Ratatouille". And the idea of this profession in our country is often rather vague. What is really engaged in a restaurant critic and how to become one?
Despite the fact that a restaurant critic in English is called a "food critic" (that is, a "food critic"), he criticizes not only and not so much the kitchen. The task of a restaurant critic is to write a professional review of a restaurant or other catering establishment. And this means that he should evaluate not only the kitchen, but also the wine card, the level of service, the interior and the general atmosphere of the establishment.
Why do we need restaurant critics at all? Will the usual visitor's response be more objective? No, it will not. Just the reviews of "ordinary people from the street" are usually seasoned with a fair share of subjectivism: as they say, "the taste and color of all the markers are different." A good restaurant critic should be objective and unbiased. Even if he does not like, say, Irish pubs, he is obliged to evaluate such a pub on objective criteria, without being guided by personal preferences.
How to become a restaurant critic? A restaurant critic is not a graduate of a culinary college. He should be an expert in the field of not only cooking, but also the restaurant business in general. In no particular institution of such specialists, of course, do not prepare, so the subtleties of the profession on personal experience are usually comprehended by journalists of periodical printed or online publications.
Therefore, to become a restaurant critic (and not just publish reviews of public catering establishments in his blog, and still get paid for it), you have to first come to journalism. You can become a journalist in many ways: someone has been devoting several years to studying at the Faculty of Journalism, and someone is learning to write on their own and upholstering the editions of editions. The main thing here is the result.
Which editions usually require restaurant critics? Often these are local publications focused onresidents and guests of a particular city. Restaurant critic, respectively, should review the institutions of this village. We need restaurant critics in glossy magazines of different levels. Also, a restaurant critic can get into Internet publications, usually this or city portals, or sites that specialize in reviews and reviews of various institutions.
Often in the publications there is no staff"Restaurant critic": writing a review as an editorial assignment can "load" any journalist. However, any task is best entrusted to those who are best able to cope with it. So over time, having gained experience in the field of restaurant criticism, it is possible to become a columnist and dispose of your own column, dedicated to criticism of catering establishments, at its discretion (within the format of the publication, of course).
As we have already said, the restaurant critic should be able to assess not only the cuisine, but the whole institution as a whole, as far as all its components fit together. Take, for example, two institutions in whichserve equally delicious sushi. Should they eventually receive an equally high rating? If we proceed only from the criterion of the kitchen, yes. And if you clarify that one of these institutions - a Japanese restaurant, and another - a pub? It is clear that in pubs, sushi should not be served, so this institution does not deserve high praise, even if its chef is a master in sushi making.
To many, the profession of a restaurant critic seems rather dust-free: came, ate at the editor's expense,review and salary still received. But, firstly, you do not need to think that the restaurant critic evaluates only luxury establishments: most likely, in the service of duty will have to be in a variety of places. Secondly, even delicacies become boring with time.
Also, the restaurant critic should be well developed not so much physiological as an aesthetic taste, because in addition to the kitchen, he will have to evaluateinterior and atmosphere, quality of service (and not only waiters, but also the head waiter, porter, even employees of the parking and cloakroom attendant). And in this case, one should not forget about objectivity for a second!
In the profession of a restaurant critic, like in any other, there are pitfalls, beginning with occupational diseases (mainly problems with the gastrointestinal tract) and ending with trials with discontented criticism of restaurant owners who received a low rating.
Restaurant critic - the profession is not simple, it goes beyond simple "tasted / tastelessly ate and wrote about it." Not for nothing recognized masters of restaurant criticism are only a few.
