How To Become a Food Critic
There’s more to being a food critic than just sitting in restaurants and eating delicious palates. You have to learn various disciplines, such as writing, and you must also be knowledgeable about food and the restaurant business in general. If you’re thinking of going pursuing this type of career, here are several tips you might find helpful.
Hone Your Writing Skills
Remember this: a good food critic isn’t just a knowledgeable diner, but also a fantastic storyteller. Unless you learn to communicate well, you’ll never be a good food critic. Study different writing styles by taking up a journalism course, as well as a creative writing class. Polish your grammar skills and read different food articles written by different critics.
You should also develop your own style of food writing. Find your own voice and distinguish yourself from all the other critics out there. You wouldn’t want to be known as a second-rate version of another more popular food critic.
Become A Food Expert
You must be a fist-class cuisine connoisseur. Your goal is to educate yourself on some of the basic cuisines, then search for unique and delicious food finds. There are a hundred different cuisines around the world (Mediterranean, Italian, French, Japanese, American). While you won’t immediately learn all of them, you must at least familiarize yourself with a few popular ones. Widen your culinary knowledge by reading cookbooks from master chefs. Watching cooking shows is also a good idea.
Here are a few more tips.
Learn to cook. Getting a chef’s level is something you must strive for. Take cooking classes and cook at home.
Be knowledgeable on the culinary vocabulary. Find out names of different produce, herbs and ingredients, by going to different food markets.
Educate yourself on ****. Visit different wineries and learn how to taste **** properly.
Go to **** and food festivals, whether they’re obscure or first-class.
Be fluent in several different languages.
Familiarize Yourself With The Restaurant Business
Since you’ll be spending a lot of time in restaurants, it’s only right that you know how the business goes around. Study restaurant structure and management, learning how they operate behind the scene. Ask questions or befriend restaurant entrepreneurs. If possible, own or co-own a restaurant.
Start Critiquing
If you think you’re ready, start critiquing. Go to a restaurant and bring a companion who’s already familiar with the cuisine you’re tasting. Order different dishes, from appetizers to desserts. Take a couple of bites from every dish and take in the details: is the flavor bland or too powerful? Does it have the right texture? Consider its presentation too, as well as its quantity and price. The restaurant’s ambiance and service should also be critiqued.
Keep all the details in your mind. As much as possible, don’t take notes while eating. Do it in the bathroom or the car instead. Being anonymous means you’re treated the same way as everyone else, and your food is not given any special attention, meaning you can critic it without any bias. If making reservations, put it under a fake name.
Apply For The Position
When you have 40 or more articles on different restaurants, make a portfolio then give it out to various newspapers and magazines that feature food columns. If they deem your work satisfactory, they’ll hire you. Don’t expect to start out big immediately, though. You might need to start at the bottom, then move up the food critiquing ladder.
Appreciating and enjoying food can be very lucrative. Strive hard to learn to be a food critic, and soon you’ll find yourself as one of the most celebrated critics in the world of fine cuisine.