Become a food critic. Rare professions: restaurant critic

In modern films, you can often see the opening of a restaurant, to which many guests are invited. Among them are not only friends, acquaintances and relatives of the owner. There are also special visitors here.

In particular, those who will either create a positive image for the establishment and give a ticket to a long journey called “cooking”. Or maybe, on the contrary, those who “cut down” the initiative in the bud. And the name of this “villain” is a restaurant critic.

What is a restaurant critic?

A restaurant critic can be a journalist from print, electronic and online media. After visiting catering establishments, he gives them a rating. In this case, the conversation is not about the banal “tasty - tasteless”, “good - bad”. Here you need to be a real expert in this area.

Quite often, editorial offices do not have a restaurant critic position. And his responsibilities are assigned to ordinary representatives of the writing fraternity. However, you cannot do without experience and special knowledge in this area. Therefore, over time, a person who begins to work in this direction masters the topic and receives a separate column. Within its limits, he freely expresses his own thoughts and exposes them to readers in the form of reviews. In addition, this person may create his own television program in the future. There is work for him on the World Wide Web. And in the future, he will have the opportunity to publish his own magazine or thematic newspaper.

Responsibilities of a Restaurant Critic

The work of this specialist is quite multifaceted. Therefore, you should not be mistaken about the cheerful and idle life that consists of going to places of entertainment. The range of responsibilities here is much wider than it seems.

1. A restaurant critic evaluates the restaurant’s cuisine. To do this you need to have basic knowledge of cooking. This specialist must be able to distinguish broth that is cooked on the bone from its brother from a cube.

2. A restaurant critic should evaluate the menu and wine list. Their design and content. After all, these attributes are the face of the establishment. And depending on how they look, visitors will get an overall impression.

3. A restaurant critic evaluates the level of service. Starting from the wardrobe and ending with the waiters. After all, high-quality service is the main condition for the stardom of an institution.

4. A restaurant critic is also required to make a conclusion about the internal and external design of the establishment. After all, this is a very important point, because theater always begins with a hanger.

As you can see, a restaurant critic is obliged to thoroughly and comprehensively study the object entrusted to him. And only then draw some conclusions. Under no circumstances should a restaurant critic write in a review that everything is fine here. After all, this will not be high-quality analytics, but advertising. Such an approach is unacceptable here; there are PR agencies for this. It is also impossible to write completely negatively, that everything is bad. Trying to raise your own rating by slinging mud in this area is unacceptable. After all, readers will still find out the truth, and critics will be left to waste, as they say. Therefore, in this case, it is important to comprehensively study the situation and only then write a review.

Who can become a restaurant critic?

They don't teach you how to be a restaurant critic at university. Therefore, in this case, it is important to love your job and understand the intricacies. And having a diploma is the fifth thing.

1. A person who has the profession of a journalist can become a restaurant critic. It is important to learn the intricacies of the restaurant industry and have excellent taste and olfactory qualities. Because a specialist who cannot distinguish yesterday’s cutlets from freshly cooked ones will probably not stay here long.

2. A person who graduated from a technical school with a degree in culinary arts can also become a restaurant critic. The fact that he understands restaurant issues is clear. Another thing is that if you evaluate his literary abilities, the result will be similar - “the bear stepped on his ear.” Then it’s difficult to do anything. Talent, as they say, cannot be bought or sold.

3. If we talk about the abilities and qualities that a critic should have, then we can safely say that this specialist must be principled and have his own opinion on a number of issues. In addition, honesty and integrity are also encouraged. In addition, it is important for him to be able to correctly express his thoughts. In some cases, oratory skills and clear diction will not create interference. There should also be some ambition. Otherwise, it will be extremely difficult to draw conclusions about the work of the institution.

These are the main qualities. In any case, a restaurant critic must be competent and truthful. After all, if a specialist makes a mistake in his work, he is unlikely to be taken seriously. And this will negatively affect the image of the journalist and the publication. Therefore, the ability to bear responsibility for every spoken word is a great talent.

40.1

For friends!

Reference

The history of Ancient Greece mentions some thinkers, public figures and even politicians who from time to time assessed the theatrical performances that were popular at that time, on which the fame of the actors or a particular production depended.

Any creator is interested in knowing a reasonable, adequate opinion about his works. But this should be the assessment of an expert who understands any area of ​​culture no worse than the creators of the subject under discussion. Such experts are called critics. The profession of “critic” is relevant, its representatives are in great demand, moreover, they are able to influence the formation of public opinion.

Description of activity

The critic performs the function of an objective evaluator of a particular product of creative activity: a film, a music album, a painting exhibition or a new novel. Unlike an ordinary viewer or listener, a critic evaluates on the merits and without much emotion, having behind him a solid store of knowledge on the topic under consideration. There are several categories of critics: film critics, theater critics, literary critics, music critics and fine arts critics. Recently, there have also been professionals specializing in exhibition and restaurant activities, as well as computer games.

Wage

average for Russia:Moscow average:average for St. Petersburg:

Job responsibilities

A critic must analyze, analyze, discuss any works of culture or literature for a specific purpose, and evaluate them. He points out the shortcomings and advantages of the object of study and speaks of cultural value. If necessary, carries out research, scientific verification of the reliability and authenticity of something. A critic must form an opinion among listeners, readers, and spectators, but in no case give harsh, unfounded assessments. He presents the picture as it is, demonstrating it from all sides.

Features of career growth

The specialty “Criticism” does not exist in universities. Creative and humanitarian institutes have departments of theory and art history, the graduates of which can well be considered professional critics. They usually specialize in one of five areas of art: literature, music, cinema, visual arts, theater.

This is not a very common profession, but it is necessary for society; it forms people’s opinions and helps them understand what they themselves do not understand.

Critics can work in newspapers, magazines, museums, and on television.

Career and salary depend on the critic’s specialization, place of work, experience, and authority.

Employee characteristics

To discuss the work of others, you need to compare it with something. Therefore, representatives of this profession must have a good understanding of their field of activity: music, literature, cinema, for example. Fairness is a quality without which no critic can be imagined. A representative of this profession has no right to give a negative assessment of a particular work just because he does not like its author.

Communication skills and the ability to defend one’s point of view are needed by critics in order to substantiate their opinions and prove their correctness.

A critic is the owner of a good memory, which is the custodian of information about various areas of knowledge. This is what amazes many people and makes them respect a representative of this profession.

In addition, a sense of taste and style distinguishes a critic from many different people. From the height of his knowledge, he seems to illuminate people with new, previously unheard of information.

Many people love representatives of this profession, but even more people do not have the warmest feelings towards them and are even afraid of them. Critics are very brave people by nature; they can express dissatisfaction with a phenomenon that causes delight in everyone and speak with admiration about something that not everyone accepts and understands.

A restaurant critic is a journalist, an expert in cooking and the restaurant business, who writes essays about the work of catering establishments. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in world artistic culture and Russian language and literature (see choosing a profession based on interest in school subjects).

Features of the profession

A restaurant critic goes to restaurants, tries the food and drinks served there, and then writes about his impressions in reviews.

First of all, he is interested in the quality of the cuisine and wine list, as well as the atmosphere of the establishment and the level of service. These reviews can be published in the form of magazine columns, radio and television programs, as well as in special reference books for gourmets - in restaurant guides.

As much as this professional loves food, he is by no means a glutton. He's a gourmet. He is distinguished not by excess weight, but by his refined taste and keen sense of smell, sensitivity to the spirit of the establishment and the beauty of serving. A true restaurant critic always senses when the recipe of a dish is grossly violated.

A food critic should not be confused with a food writer, who specializes in recipe descriptions. This is on the one hand. On the other hand, you need to distinguish a critic from an advertiser. Just because someone writes about restaurants does not in itself make them a restaurant critic.

Restaurant criticism is a real analysis of specific restaurants and the dishes served there. An article by a restaurant critic must include an assessment of the service, wine list, restaurant cuisine and the atmosphere prevailing in it. If there is none of this in the essay, but only praise and admiration, then we have before us an ordinary advertising article.

A true restaurant critic is incorruptible. If he praises a restaurant that serves yesterday's vinaigrette and the day before yesterday's overcooked cutlets, his articles will not be trusted. Open hostility and, especially, slander against the establishment also do not bode well for criticism. In countries with a well-developed judicial system, such behavior is severely punished with fines and large payments in favor of the injured party.

For example, when Italian restaurant critic Eduardo Raspelli called McDonald's Big Mac food in 2003, he was sued for $20 million. However, criticism of fast food from McDonald's does not surprise anyone. The English radio station BBC even awarded the concern the “Moldy Pork Pie” award with the wording “for undermining the foundations of high-quality, timely and original food.” McDonald's refused such an offensive bonus because... considered the opinion of restaurant experts unfair.

In Russia, the works of a restaurant critic are relevant only to a narrow circle of people. In developed countries, where visiting a cafe or restaurant is not something out of the ordinary, restaurant reviews are read by the general public.

The famous British restaurant critic Egon Roney (1915-2010) said that his goal was to make delicious food accessible to every Briton, not just the elite. He believed that this could be achieved by talking in detail about how to distinguish a truly exquisite dish from a mediocre one.

He was said to have helped restore the richness of the traditional British meal after years of wartime poverty. For some time, Egon Roni worked as a restaurant manager, then opened his own business. A little later he began writing about food for The Daily Telegraph. And in 1957 he created the Egon Ronay's Seagram Guide, the first guide to London restaurants. Later, the geography of the directory expanded greatly.

In the mid-1990s, it already covered Eastern Europe. For 30 years, this authoritative independent guide has been recommending the best hotels and restaurants. It is published in England and distributed not only in Europe, but also in America and Australia.

Such a success of the restaurant guide was possible solely due to trust in what was written in it. The directory is developed by specialists who conduct independent inspections of hotels and restaurants. As restaurateurs rightly believe, the recommendations of the guidebook are not for sale, but are expensive.

Egon Roney himself, already the head of a successful enterprise, was in no hurry to retire. In 1993, he even insured his palate, which he considered his work tool, for $350,000.

Workplace

A restaurant critic can collaborate with periodicals, Internet sites that publish reviews of restaurants, bars, etc. He can conduct thematic programs on radio or television.

Important qualities

The profession of a restaurant critic requires an interest in cooking, a good sense of smell, tasting abilities, competent expressive speech, goodwill combined with honesty, and sociability.

Knowledge and skills

A restaurant critic needs knowledge in the field of cooking and restaurant business. He must be skilled in tasting various dishes. In any case, he has no right to confuse the meat broth and the liquid with a dissolved bouillon cube. He must also know a lot about table setting and quality service.

And he should be able to describe his impressions in articles.

Salary

Salary as of 04/17/2019

Russia 36000—37000 ₽

Where do they teach

A restaurant critic can be either a certified journalist who graduated from the Faculty of Journalism or a culinary specialist who graduated from a college or university with a degree in culinary arts.

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How to become a realistic dreaming critic?

My name is Dmitry. I work as a marketing director in a trading company. We recently changed owners. They have “grand” plans. They demanded ideas and proposals from me and other top managers of the company regarding a radical change in the business. However, my proposals do not suit them. Like, nothing new, too narrow and mundane. I tried to explain to them that marketing is, first of all, analysis, planning and practical recommendations. And I don’t have to experiment and generate ideas. But they believe that these are outdated ideas and that for my position the main thing is a combination of the qualities of an analyst, a practitioner, a creative and a strategist.

They also don’t like the fact that at meetings I “only criticize the proposals of others” and my criticism is “unconstructive.” In general, I feel that if I don’t come up with some “brilliant” idea soon, I will have to leave the company.

I (and not only me) consider myself a good practitioner, I know the market, and I know how to effectively promote our products. Before they arrived, my “outdated” ideas were generating good profits for the company. Most likely, by putting forward too high demands, they just want to get rid of me and are looking for a reason.

After all, a specialist cannot be equally effective both as a strategist and as a tactician, and even be “creative” under pressure?!

I don’t presume to judge how the new owners treat Dmitry, but it is clear that in the place of marketing director they need a person with a pronounced archetype of the Seeker, the Creator, corresponding to their “grand” plans. Even if Dmitry is right in his assumptions about the owners’ desire to get rid of him, this decision probably did not come about right away.

At first, they expected new ideas from Dmitry - they did not receive them, moreover, he, apparently, took the position of a critic of what was new that other colleagues proposed, and actively defended the old systemic approaches.

And yet, can “a specialist be equally effective both as a strategist and as a tactician, and even be ‘creative’ under pressure”? I answer: yes, it can. You just need to learn how to use your states and skillfully apply different styles of thinking.

My client Valery worked as the head of the advertising and marketing department in a small bank. For a long time, his main responsibilities were advertising placement, media planning, monitoring and relations with advertising agencies. But when the management of the bank changed and a course was taken to reorganize and reprofile the institution, it was decided that cooperation with advertising agencies was expensive and ineffective. They demanded creativity and “non-standard” ideas from Valery, which became an unpleasant surprise for him, as well as for Dmitry...

Why is generating ideas a pleasure for some, but a punishment for others? It's all about the prevailing style of thinking. In each of us there lives a Dreamer, a Critic and a Realist, who make themselves felt in various situations and contexts. For example, Dmitry at a meeting, apparently - Critic looking for potential problems. But after the meeting, when the decision is made, he becomes Realist implementing decisions and developing action plans and business processes. And Dmitry’s problem is that he cannot activate in himself Dreamer, which experiments, generates and selects a target state, a vision of the project as a whole, and determines all possible alternatives.

Who will you be?

Often in a team, these roles are deliberately or accidentally distributed depending on what psychotype a particular employee belongs to and, accordingly, what type of thinking prevails in him.

For example, Innovators And Masterminds They have good intuition and strive to have a high level of IQ (intelligence quotient). They prefer to deal with global problems. These are ideological individuals with radical and original thinking. This role requires a high level of strategic thinking, the ability to carry out long-term forecasting and the ability to model any situations and problems that arise during the work of the organization. But such people are not suitable for solving tactical, routine tasks.

Implementers transform ideas into technologies and do not accept untested and unrealistic proposals. These are reliable and purposeful organizers and performers who need a stable structure and material and technical base. They lack flexibility and the ability to adapt to new conditions, and they experience difficulties when emotional and psychological problems arise.

Systematizers are able to organize incoming information. Objectively evaluate the qualities of a partner - both positive and negative; methodical, consistent. Everything started is completed. But they cannot generate new ideas themselves.

There are also other psychotypes, which in their orientation belong either to the Dreamer, or to the Realist, or to the Critic.

However, the team does not always have employees with distinct thinking styles. Moreover, sometimes Dreamers have to, for example, criticize, Critics have to implement, and Realists have to dream and “be creative.” It is clear that in this case they are ineffective, since their weak role functions are in demand, and their creative, mental and business potential is practically not realized.

In addition, at each stage of business development, different thinking styles are predominantly in demand. In Dmitry’s case, apparently, the new owners are starting to reorganize the business; it is important for them to strengthen the block of Dreamers who propose new ideas and are ready for experiments and fundamental changes.

What should Dmitry do? Since Valery found himself in approximately the same situation, I’ll tell you what actions he took.

Well, firstly, Valery convincingly proved to management that generating ideas is the first stage, and then these ideas will need to be implemented. Moreover, implementation can be effective only if ideas are previously analyzed, risks are calculated, and erroneous strategies are discarded. And this is where a strong Critic and Realist in the person of Valery can come in handy.

At the same time, we decided that it was extremely important for him to develop the Dreamer within himself and thereby balance all three styles of thinking that he could apply depending on tasks and situations.

Thinking styles

We used the system of R. Dilts, who described these three states, which are given below.

How to enter each state? Through physiology, the pose with which the description begins. The principle here is simple, it is taught in acting schools: flinch - scream - get scared. Accordingly, in order to dream, you need to take a relaxed pose, characteristic of dreamers, and then muscle memory will help to recreate the state of uninhibited fantasy and uninhibited ideas. After all, it was difficult for Valery to become a Dreamer only in the context of the restrictions of his work at the bank. But he had a hobby: he wrote computer game programs. And it was there that his creativity was fully manifested...

Dreamer: “I want that”

Physiology: head and eyes raised up; the pose is symmetrical and free.

Focus level: What.

Cognitive style: V And vision - definition of the "big picture"; creativity.

Installation: everything is possible.

Basic Micro Strategy: synthesis and combination of feelings.

Defining a specific, positively formulated goal and the benefits of its implementation.

1. What do you want to do? (But not what you want to avoid or not do.)

2. Why do you want to do this? What is your intention?

3. What are the effects/benefits of this?

4. How will you know that you have received them? (“The proof will be ____________________.”)

5. When do you expect to see the effect?

6. Where should/could this idea lead you in the future?

7. Who do you want to be or resemble when presenting this idea?

Realist: “how”

Physiology: head oriented straight; gaze directed in front of you or slightly into the distance; the pose is symmetrical, the body is tilted slightly forward.

Focus level: How.

Cognitive style: action - identifying short-term steps.

Installation: Acting “as if” the dream were achievable.

Basic Micro Strategy: relationship, specific actions.

Establishment of temporary s x frames (frameworks) and main milestones of the path. Confirmation of readiness to start a project with the help of a specific team and obtaining evidence in sensory experience.

1. When can the final goal be achieved?

2. Who exactly will be involved in this? (Assign responsibilities and ensure commitment on the part of the people who will do the work.)

3. How exactly will the project be implemented? What will be the first step? Second? Third?

4. What feedback will let you know whether you are moving towards or away from your goal?

5. How will you know that the goal has been achieved?

Critic: "change to"

Physiology: eyes look down. The head is tilted down and slightly turned; angular pose.

Focus level: Why.

Cognitive style: Logic - avoid problems by figuring out what's missing.

Installation: reasoning - “what if” problems arise.

Basic Micro Strategy: View from the audience's perspective.

Obtaining assurance that the plan preserves any positive by-products of the current way of achieving the goal.

1. Who might be affected by this idea, and who might make it more or less effective?

2. What are their needs and benefits?

3. For what reasons might someone object to this plan or idea?

4. What are the advantages of the current way of doing things?

6. When and where might you not want to implement this plan or idea?

7. What now needs to be added (missed) to the plan?

Thinking styles

One of the new owners’ complaints against Dmitry is that his “criticism is not constructive.” Therefore, he needs to learn to turn a critic into an adviser.

How to turn a critic into an adviser?

So, let me remind you, a critic is view from the outside from his point of view adaptation to consumers.

Evaluation of the project as a whole: are there any inconsistencies in it?

Assessing the actors and relationships: are they correctly selected, structured, and motivated?

Evaluating specific actions: will they be effective?

Being in the Critic's position, we usually look for problems, mistakes (negativity, shortcomings).

Critics should imitate good herding dogs: they lead, stop, tame, bark, but don't bite.

P. Buast

In becoming a Critical Adviser, we should not limit ourselves to comments or objections like: “This proposal is too weak, superficial and does not suit us!” Such phrases are usually characteristic of an unconstructive Critic.

The critic-adviser must answer the following questions for himself.

1. What positive intention is behind my remark? What do I want to achieve with criticism?

For example: “Radical and fundamental changes in the project, in which previous developments and resources will not be affected.”

2. What would be the question with the words HOW or WHAT that reveals this intention?

For example: “How can we ensure that the adoption of this proposal creates the conditions necessary for radical and fundamental change? What resources are needed for this? In what time frame will this be implemented?

In this case, our criticism will be constructive and will help develop specific solutions.

The described system of thinking styles is quite simple and accessible to almost everyone. By the way, Valery succeeded. The management is quite happy with them...

Exercise

Try on the roles of Critic, Dreamer, Realist.

Which one are you comfortable in and which one are you not? Where do you feel strong energy and where do you feel helpless? Why?

Do you understand your growth zones? Then get to work!

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No matter how trite it may sound, you need to watch a lot of movies. If you have not been interested in this topic at all before, then it is better not to start with very distant classics, even universally recognized ones, or art house. Focus on modern popular culture and cinema as part of it, follow all significant premieres, prepare before the show by watching several previous works of the director and actors of the film.

After watching, try to characterize for yourself the pros and cons of the film, going beyond the philistine “this actor played a very cool role and the plot has an unexpected twist, so the film is 10 out of 10.” Form your own general opinion and learn to argue for it. Don’t be afraid to express your opinion about the film, don’t pay close attention to the ratings of movie search and other similar services. Movie perception is a purely subjective thing, and the fact that you don't like a movie that has an 8.5 rating, for example, is not a sign of your ignorance. Just learn to competently justify why you personally didn’t like the film.

Read reviews. Not user reviews, but reviews from authors of specialized publications. In my opinion, the best Russian-language movie reviews are published on the website of the former Afisha magazine, now Afisha Daily (authors Stanislav Zelvensky and Anton Dolin). You can find other critics whose opinions about the film often coincide with yours, take a closer look at how exactly they argue for it in the text. It is useful to read polar reviews, figure out in your mind whether you agree with an opinion different from yours or think that the author “writes complete nonsense,” and think about how exactly you would challenge his statements.

If you want to start writing reviews, then get into the habit of expressing your opinion in text after each movie you watch, no matter where and how: to friends in private on VKontakte, on Twitter, on your blog, just save it in a notepad. If it seems that there are no thoughts after the film and the most you can say is “well, okay,” then read what professional critics write, highlight what you also noticed while watching and try to express the same thought in your own words.

When you begin to write solid, literate texts, try sending them to the publications you like. Nowadays they write about cinema even where it is far from the main focus, so finding a resource that suits you and is open to cooperation will not be very difficult. The main thing is not to think that there are all professional film critics around, and no one will listen to your opinion. I’ll tell you a secret - most of the authors of thematic publications are just simple film buffs like you; very often their main profession and education have nothing to do with cinema. It’s just that one day they didn’t hesitate to say “I can write to you about cinema, this topic is interesting to me,” that’s all.