You are running the hottest new restaurant in town. Two people arrive for lunch. One is a neatly-dressed, well-known writer. The other is a Z-grade celebrity wearing shorts and thongs (flip-flops to our cousins across the water).
Who do you throw out? In earlier times you would have thrown out the latter. Nobody wants to look at someone's toenails, even Z-grade celebrity toenails.
But no. They showed the writer the door.
Steven Downes didn't like being shown the door.
That's fine. Writers write better when they're angry. And hungry.
UPDATE
Downes comments further, saying he isn't the only one angry at being thrown out. His newspaper's features editor was also told to take the air. The features editor of the country's largest selling newspaper is not a great choice of guys to throw out of your joint (as long as he is behaving, of course. And isn't wearing thongs.) Downes:
The Herald Sun – to which I contribute a weekly restaurant review column — is hopping mad. Australia’s biggest-selling newspaper contributed significantly to the hype around the Oliver caravan. Now, its critic has been booted out when he tried to review it. His companion, moreover, was the paper’s features editor.
More fireworks to come, no doubt.
Who do you throw out? In earlier times you would have thrown out the latter. Nobody wants to look at someone's toenails, even Z-grade celebrity toenails.
But no. They showed the writer the door.
Steven Downes didn't like being shown the door.
That's fine. Writers write better when they're angry. And hungry.
UPDATE
Downes comments further, saying he isn't the only one angry at being thrown out. His newspaper's features editor was also told to take the air. The features editor of the country's largest selling newspaper is not a great choice of guys to throw out of your joint (as long as he is behaving, of course. And isn't wearing thongs.) Downes:
The Herald Sun – to which I contribute a weekly restaurant review column — is hopping mad. Australia’s biggest-selling newspaper contributed significantly to the hype around the Oliver caravan. Now, its critic has been booted out when he tried to review it. His companion, moreover, was the paper’s features editor.
More fireworks to come, no doubt.
Maybe it's just me, but if your restaurant is so weak that a bad review--even one from a respected critic--is damaging, you might ought to find another line of work.
ReplyDeleteOr, you know, make better food.
Indeed, Terry. By the sound of the article there were more managers and spin doctors out there in the kitchen than actual chefs. Maybe that's the problem.
ReplyDeleteIt's a tough life being a food writer. Let's hope he's not a fan of The Sopranos, or his bad day would've really continued :).
ReplyDeleteMaybe this trend could continue - perhaps with banning film critics from seeing new films?...
I do love a good scathing film review, Ian. Clark Forbes in the Sunday Herald Sun has written some beauties.
ReplyDelete