What kind of job is a food critic?

Look at this article by travel writer, food critic and photographer Tony Zhao. He will tell you.

Thank you for inviting me. In fact, the general public always has a Pygmalion fantasy about the position of food critic. They think that all we do all day is criticize all kinds of food and wine while sneering, then pull out the chef of the restaurant and scold him, then throw his hand on the table, and then strut out the door and get on the bus and sneer at the tall female secretary. Should I recommend him for this level? No way!

Honey, this is not our food critic. This is a domineering president who loves kitchen helpers. In fact, food critics are more as intermediaries to help the catering industry and the mass media negotiate and communicate better. On the one hand, food critics who are relatively qualified in ingredients, cooking and food evaluation can help restaurants improve food quality. On the other hand, critics who have a certain level of writing and lens expression can also better communicate with the media and conduct marketing and publicity.

However, the most difficult part of the job of food critic is that there is no recognized industry standard, code of conduct or qualification certification to restrain this group of foodies. Some people are naturally eloquent and famous when eating, such as Tang, or Yuan Mei (with a chef's bonus), while others have been wives in the catering industry for half their lives, or like Liang or. So when they have been wandering the rivers and lakes for many years, they finally said "Teacher X" in unison. However, in the end, it depends on the following three ultimate questions, so that this group of gourmets can go beyond the scope of simply eating goods and reach the realm of food critics:

1. What is this dish?

2. How is this dish cooked?

How to make it better.

Don't think that you can automatically be promoted to a food critic by meditating the above three questions 500 times when you eat. The so-called magical effect is single-mindedness. After the theory class, let's talk about the specific application on the spot. Recently, due to the busy business of the company, food evaluation is rarely done. Recently, one of the few times was to go to waldorf to help try vegetables.

A corner of the old hotel building

Waldorf is the top luxury hotel brand under the Hilton Hotel Group. /kloc-in 0/0, waldorf, as the first waldorf in Asia, just opened on No.2 Bund. At one end of the hotel is the old Shanghai General Association with a history of nearly 150 years, and at the other end is a new building costing more than 300 million yuan. Even now, the only comparable hotel brand in Shanghai is Peninsula Hotel across the Bund (hengshan road 12, sinan mansions and Banyan Tree are more luxurious hotels). Then, as far as the hotel itself is concerned, the comprehensive standards of several restaurants are not bad, such as Metropark Pavilion and Baiwei Garden for Chinese food, Pelham's for French food, and of course, Long Bar, the longest bar in Asia.

Baiwei Garden is the place where ordinary guests have breakfast.

When it comes to food tasting in hotel restaurants, there are generally two kinds. One is that every time the hotel has a new chef or changes seasons, the hotel will invite some hotel executives and chefs from other restaurants to try it. This kind of American food is generally rigorous and has a strong academic atmosphere. In addition to setting the main tone of the next season's menu, we need to consider a series of issues such as raw material procurement and storage, food cost, division of labor after cooking, wine distribution, marketing and so on. This kind of food is usually tasted regularly, usually once every three months. On the other hand, when there is a major event arrangement, it is necessary to invite the person in charge of social activities and people in related industries to try the dishes after the menu is finalized and before the event is held. This kind of food is easier than the last one, and then the quality is generally guaranteed. First, people will take the opportunity to relax and socialize. After all, the industry is so big, they can't look up and see it. Second, the chef himself will come over to answer questions for the guests after trying the dishes, so the chef will follow the assistant chef with the chicken blood.

This is the private room where the dishes were tried that day, and then three hotel staff were in charge that day. Dutch girl with blonde hair and blue eyes is a sommelier specially transferred from Amsterdam waldorf. The boy on the left is in charge of the dishes, and the manager on the right is the activity coordinator of the hotel.

This is the menu of the day, with the logo of Waldorf classic WA printed on it. It is called waldorf because the original founder William Vosdorf opened the waldorf on the 33rd Street of Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, new york. Then his cousin Jacob Astor angrily opened a more magnificent Astoria hotel opposite the hotel, but Jacob Astor died in the shipwreck of Titanic. Since then, the two hotels have merged, and a lounge named Peacock Lane has been set up on it for easy access. Later, although the hotel moved to Park Avenue further east, waldorf's name and logo were preserved. Later, new york waldorf was acquired by Conrad Hilton with 1932 and became the top luxury hotel brand under the Hilton Group.

This is a pen with the hotel logo on it, so the problem comes.

Which excavator school ranks first?

Oh, no, it's trying a dish. Why did you put a pen in it?

After the menu is opened, the Chinese and English names and ingredient lists of all the dishes today can be seen on the left, while the blank on the right is reserved for each guest to write comments on each dish in case the wine he drinks turns into a fever and forgets to eat.

The appetizer at the beginning, called Hors' oeuvres in French, is usually a snack for everyone to satisfy their appetite at a cocktail party before they are officially seated. The four kinds on that day were truffle scones with foie gras Mu Si (truffle scones with foie gras Mu Si). Bean curd skin is wrapped in daikon and jellyfish salad, chicken tortillas with cumin pepper, Guacemole (chicken tortillas with cumin and butter jam), and fried yellow croaker sauce.

We poured champagne first, probably because we haven't had enough wine. I'm too unfamiliar. After a few bites, everyone put all their energy into trying the dishes. Japanese pickled radish jellyfish salad was immediately rejected by the organizer from new york on the grounds that the tofu skin was too rough, and then the jellyfish obviously smelled of champagne, and then the food sold badly. As soon as this sentence went down, the scene became cold. The person in charge of the hotel immediately said hello to the blonde sommelier next to him, and then he saw the girl turn out with a calm face. She must have entered the kitchen. Results Five minutes later, the waiter brought a plate of fried dumplings with Shanghai flavor for emergency. As a result, the organizer directly put down his knife and fork and pointed at the blonde and asked, do you know what canapé is? Do you think it's nice to let guests hold champagne glasses in one hand and steamed bread in the other at my dinner party? As soon as the words fell, everyone was embarrassed. This rhythm doesn't match the good story. Fortunately, someone finally came out, holding the freshly poured white wine and saying that today's dry white wine is very good. Try it, where is the 0 1 Chardonnay! Go ahead. After another toast, the organizer finally smiled drowsily.

Fortunately, the next main course is good. The pasta is very chewy, and the smell of saffron does not mask the taste of the sauce itself. Although this fish is a little old, it is ok. Lamb chop is the best. The sauce is Mouton hot pot cooked with the raw juice of lamb chops, and then the meat is wrapped in olive paste and slightly fried, which is very brilliant. At this time, everyone also drank, and all kinds of jokes chatted.

The day was used to practice the huge food delivery team at the next banquet. Young people's hands are already desserts. In fact, for the general banquet, the quality of the dishes is not required. On the contrary, it is more important that the speed of serving is consistent with the quality of the food. After all, people don't ask for good food at banquets. On the contrary, it is embarrassing that some people are still eating salads.

One of the desserts of the day was chocolate cake with cranberry sauce, seasonal fruit and vanilla ice cream, and the other was mango sherbet with dried mango and nut sponge cake. Chocolate cake is not bad, but mango sherbet is really boring. Since you call it sorbet, it would be foolish to put so much milk and sugar in it, and it was finally cancelled. But the last Petit Fours, which is dessert after dinner, is still quite amazing. The taste of almond cake is very delicate. At first glance, it turns out that almond protein paste has been sent away for a long time.

Finally, the messy desktop, when the last dessert was served, the chef appeared in front of everyone with a particularly simple and honest smile, and then came over with a glass of wine to greet everyone, and then naturally mingled with the organizer who had a good drink ... and when everyone was full, the trial ended smoothly in a peaceful atmosphere.

What about me? Quietly picked up the menu just modified according to the organizer's opinion, handed it to the blonde sommelier beside him, and waved his sleeves without taking away a cloud. ...