Cooking Food

As writers, we draw on our personal experiences, darkest nightmares, most lively thoughts and deepest passions to write meaningful stories. What underground desires do I tantalize my readers with? Tiramisu, roasted red pepper and sesame sauce, creamy gorgonzola dressings and pheasant stuffed with cherries and cream cheese.

I write a weekly bistro recap column.

Cooking Food

If your hunt for the exquisite meal interferes with your work, it’s time to convert jobs. As a bistro reviewer you’ll be paid to hunt for the exquisite pan-seared scallops, crackling duck confit, bread pudding.

Restaurant reviewers are a mixture of consumer advocate, culinary trainer and entertainer. The shop for food critics is occasion wider with the proliferation of foodie magazines, newsletters and websites. The good news continues: non-food linked magazines also need food critics. Newspapers and tourist-destination websites crave talented food writers.

Writers living in major cities nearby the world can place reviews in national and international magazines and websites. The rest of us need local markets for our reviews.

Contact the managing or features editor at the newspaper. If there is already a food critic, keep in mind that these critics tend to do three things – leave after 12 months, move up to a higher paying shop and job, or stay forever. It will never hurt you to make the contact and express your interest. Write to website administrators and pitch the idea of a food critic’s regular column. Send your report ideas of reviewing an historic inn or summertime beach meals to a local or regional magazine.

Qualifications for bistro reviewing varies from publication to publication; however, when researching my book on food writing, I spoke with editors who stated that writing skills are primary, food contact is secondary. The prevailing wisdom is that writers who love food will be able to learn about and effect food trends, but professional chefs or gastronome cooks cannot all the time recap that talent through the written word. The higher paying the job, i.e., the bigger the market, the more you, as a writer, will need definite food writing experience.

For example, a freelance writer who dreams not of jelly donuts, but of grilling cherrystone clams and dipping them in a cilantro butter sauce, followed by a glass of Louis Jadot Pouilly Fuisse 1994, can start locally by researching articles on local food trends. Story ideas contain reporting on the local farmer’s market, a new chef, the history of your beloved dish or a local tradition, reporting on the nearest lump of vineyards, seasonal dining or the food at the state fair.

Contact the local daily or weekly newspapers. Don’t forget the alternative weeklies that tend to list what’s happening in town. Once you’ve sold them that story on the dusty wine store at the angle of Sixth and Mulberry, they may be ready for your pitch for a weekly or monthly round-up of local restaurants.

Congratulations! You’ve built up your writing clips, your food writing samples and you’ve been given a green light by the traveler association to write bistro reviews for their website. Now what?

Listen to their needs. If your new manager gives you definite directions – 500 words, focus on food and list prices of everything you eat – do it. In a near-perfect world your editor will know your audience-to-be and what they are seeing for. While reviewers are often compelled to propose negative reviews, at least start with a certain review. Ask nearby or effect your editor’s leads.

Come ready to your first dinner. Bring a small notepad, pens, micro-cassette recorder – anyone you need to report your meal. Don’t assume you can memorize everything the first time; leave that for a time to come goal. Keep the pad and pen on your lap, covered with your napkin for surreptitious note-taking. Do not introduce yourself to anyone. Take at least one trip to the restroom (a safe place to fast write notes) to capture your impressions while you are still in the restaurant. If at all inherent swipe a copy of the menu. Don’t be shy; use your guests to help you grill the waiters, chef and owners.

Study the menu. Do the appetizers fall in the kind of bar food or will they whet the appetite? Ask about drink specials and the chef’s best dishes. Look over the list of specials. Does this bistro list low-priced meals or seasonal dishes as specials? While you are reviewing the menu, note the general price range. Keep track of lower priced entrees, children’s menu selections, vegetarian choices and mixture meals.

Once the food is delivered, your role as a necessary thinker and writer kicks in. Cut off and look at the food. Is it garnished, does it look appetizing, did it arrive with unasked-for substitutions? Drop your inhibitions and food phobias. Look at each dish with a certain objectivity. You may not like rack of lamb, but you need to know how it looks and tastes when ready properly. Your job is not to write up your personal preferences; your role is to recap how each dish is ready and offer a judgment on whether the preparation was approved or a failure.

Aside from food, keep track of the service: is it adequate, friendly, formal or non-existent? Was the decor comfortable, exquisite, eclectic? Is the bar for pre-dinner cocktails or hanging out with your posse? Was the meal worth the cost?

Each restaurant, whether implicitly or explicitly, makes promises to its diners. The ambiance will set up expectations: candles, upholstered seats and tuxedoed waiters promise an upscale dining experience. Ads boasting the best customer service, menus proclaiming homestyle dinners, and the name “Ed’s Diner” also categorize your dining expectations. Let your readers know what they will find at each place you review.

Restaurant reviewing is a growing and lively field. Following food trends, traveling abroad to taste other cuisines, studying wines and lasting culinary adventures at home will keep you busy and satisfied both as a writer and a lover of food.

Check Please!

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