Restaurateur hits out at online critics
Veteran chef, restaurateur and industry leader Russell Blaikie has urged hospitality businesses to "push back the tide of bile and madness" from internet-based restaurant ratings sites such as Urbanspoon and TripAdvisor.
Blaikie, co-owner of multiple award-winning Must Winebar in Highgate, is the keynote speaker at tonight's prestigious West Australian Good Food Guide awards at the State Theatre Centre.
He will tell the audience of top chefs and restaurateurs that a "free and open press works best for the restaurant sector".
"The more the industry engages with the 'serious' news media, the better our industry will become," he will say. "Reviews without transparency - whether ballet, literature, restaurants or cars - have no credibility."
The fact people post grievances anonymously is reason enough to ignore them but they cannot be ignored because they have influence and a following.
He believes the antidote is to fight back and engage often with serious, transparent, professional and ethical critics in newspapers, magazines and blog sites.
Awards will be presented tonight for restaurant, chef and wine list of the year. _The West Australian _Good Food Guide for 2014 will be released at the event.
