Ramblings

Ezra Klein posted a critical review of Per Se over at the Internet Food Association, which attracted a bunch of responses and some criticism itself:

This whole enterprise makes me question if you know what you are talking about in your day job’s blog. I sure hope so. For the record, I read several IFA author’s primary blogs and other writings and I love you guys. But while you might be into food, you aren’t real cooks or proper critics. Stick to what you [hopefully] know.

First of all, you’re right; you’re not educated enough about food to criticize a dish like oysters and pearls (which is perfect, and not just decadent). In fact, the IFA, while amusing, is all very amateurish. Please, no more posts about Ben Miller’s kitchen efforts. He’s clearly still not a good cook.

Them's fightin' words.

First of all, anyone who reads Ezra Klein's "day job" blog probably wouldn't dare imply that Klein isn't a knowledgeable person about health policy.

Second, this attitude of "leave X to the professionals" is infuriating. The IFA carves out a specific niche. The exceedingly simple Wordpress template and the banner photograph make clear that these guys aren't doing this professionally. But more importantly, professionals are lashing out at the wrong people for the rise of the amateur content creator. Whether it's restaurant reviews, photography, or news commentary, the entrenched interests seem to be fighting a futile battle against the amateur. A chef shouldn't rail against the food bloggers if the rise of food blogging actually increases the aggregate demand for the chef's skills.

The internet allows like-minded people to seek each other out. Imagine a scenario where first time parents share lessons learned and funny anecdotes on a website. Maybe even some amateur baby pictures, complete with bad lighting and poor focus. Now imagine that some PhD-wielding childcare expert showed up and started commenting on the whole unscientific nature of the whole affair - saying stuff like "you are clearly not familiar enough with the scientific literature on child development to be talking about childcare techniques anyway; it's clear that you should stick with your day job." The "amateur" parents would probably tell him to fuck off.

In any case, I honestly trust Ezra Klein's review more than I would Frank Bruni. For one, I am not a professional food critic or a very rich person. If a dish requires enough "education about food" to fully appreciate, and is part of a $275 9-course dinner, it probably isn't for me.

In any case, the professional food writers who I do enjoy reading most are Michael Ruhlman and Mark Bittman, in large part because they know what they're talking about but aren't at all condescending about it. And besides, if you're going to do condescending, do it right.