Introducing new restaurants and food to the masses is a competitive, stressful and exciting job. If you enjoy tasting a wide variety of foods, wines, and writing, follow these steps to have a career as a food critic.
Step
Step 1. Improve your writing skills by working as a newspaper reporter
Even if you can taste and judge food accurately, you can't be a food critic if you don't speak your mind well.
- If you want to study at a university, choose a major in journalism, Indonesian literature, or English literature. Join a student activity unit (UKM) that deals with journalism and write as many articles on food and art as you can.
- If you can't go to university, you can take a course or do an internship at a local magazine or newspaper publisher.
Step 2. Learn the restaurant business
To be a food critic, you need to know how food is made and the intricacies of the restaurant business.
- Owning or co-founding a restaurant with other people is a common practice for food critics.
- If possible, try to work in a restaurant and thoroughly study how the restaurant operates. Ask lots of questions and study hard.
Step 3. Test your sense of taste to its limits
To be a food critic, you have to get your taste buds familiar with all kinds of food. In addition, your tongue must also be able to taste various flavors of food.
- Training the sense of taste is the same as training the muscles. You should be able to feel the nuances of flavor and spice in the food.
- Try to sample a wide variety of foods that you come across, no matter how unfamiliar they may appear. After that, write down your first impression as descriptively as possible when you taste the food.
- If you like taking risks, being adventurous, and having the courage to taste a variety of foods, you'll have no problem becoming a food critic. Being a food critic requires you to have the courage to taste all kinds of food.
Step 4. Study diligently to become a food expert
It's a good idea to have a goal of becoming a foodie master. Food should be a very important thing in your life.
- Read cookbooks written by professional chefs from around the world.
- Read and memorize food-related vocabulary. Visit the market regularly and learn about produce and herbs from around the world.
- Learn the art of cooking. Try to take cooking classes diligently. It's a good idea to aim for the same cooking skills as a professional chef.
- Try taking courses that study wine and visiting many wineries. Having a lot of knowledge about wine is very important because wine is a complement to food. Also, knowing how to taste wine can help train your sense of taste.
- Visit food and wine festivals, from one-of-a-kind festivals to festivals that most people don't know about. Study the trending food trends and ideas.
- Consider specializing in certain foods, such as dark chocolate, while building a career. Many food writers study the history and culture of food to improve the quality of their articles.
- Master a variety of languages that are very important in the culinary world, such as French, Spanish or Italian.
Step 5. Study the work of food critics and chefs
Studying the work of food critics and chefs is very important. Everyone has their own style of writing when it comes to food and you'll have to figure out your own. Try reading these food critics and chefs:
- Ruth Reichl
- M. F. K. Fisher
- A. J. Liebling
- Elizabeth David
- Calvin Trillin
- A A. Gill
- Guy Fieri
- Robert Courtine
Step 6. Write a review
Sign up for a free profile at www.dine.com and try reviewing restaurants near where you live. Gaining experience writing food reviews is critical to your career development. After that, try following these restaurant review methods:
- If you want to visit a new restaurant, take three friends with you. Make sure you bring a friend who can tell you various information related to certain types of cuisine. For example, if you are going to taste ethnic food, take someone who grew up in the area where the food originated.
- Ask your friends to order different foods, including appetizers and desserts. Eat two pieces of food for every available dish, including yours.
- After that, stop eating. There are two reasons why you should stop eating after tasting the entire dish. First, it can help you keep your weight in balance. Second, eating only two pieces of food for each dish can help you taste the entire dish without over-filling yourself. After all, you can ask the restaurant staff to wrap up unfinished food to take home. Friends can also finish dishes you don't.
- Each time you finish tasting each dish, try to memorize the taste and appearance of the dish. After that, memorize your first impression when tasting it.
- Don't take notes at the restaurant. Wait until you get home, on your way home, or in the shower. You should not tell restaurant staff that you are a food reviewer.
- Pay attention to the atmosphere of the restaurant and the quality of the work of the restaurant staff. Take note of anything that enhances or detracts from your enjoyment of a meal at the restaurant. Food critics often have checklists (lists of names, items, activities, and so on to consider or implement) that are used to assess the specialty of a dish. However, what food critics judge is not limited to the dishes. He will judge how the dish is served, the way the restaurant staff serves it, the atmosphere of the restaurant, and so on.
- After visiting a restaurant for the first time, visit the restaurant again. When you revisit a restaurant, it's a good idea for you and your friends to order dishes that you've never tasted before. To be a fair food critic, we recommend that you try a variety of different dishes before judging the restaurant.
Step 7. Don't be a recognizable person
Anonymity is very important in a food critic's career. If restaurant employees recognize you, they will go out of their way to make you enjoy the dish. While their efforts may please you, it can undermine your objectivity when reviewing food and undermine the credibility of your review. After all, your reviewers won't get the same treatment as you. Your job is to tell readers what they are getting as a regular consumer.
- Book a place using a fake name. Otherwise, restaurant employees may recognize your real name in newspaper reviews. Also, avoid the public spotlight by not going to social events, parties, etc.
- You should try not to appear on television or attend events as a guest. Also, don't accept the chef's invitation to taste the dish.
- Failing to maintain anonymity may lead readers to criticize your review.
Step 8. Create a portfolio
If you're planning to become a food critic, it's a good idea to write hard so you can have a sufficient portfolio to show editors.
- Make sure you include your 40 articles that cover food, wine, restaurants, chefs, food festivals, and more.
- Make a schedule to write an article each week. Keep writing until you have a collection of works to show off.
- Consider starting a blog.
Step 9. Apply to be a food columnist with different newspaper and magazine publishers
As a food critic, you will spend most of your time writing food-related articles for newspaper publishers.
- When you're just starting out, you generally don't get a job as a food critic right away. You have to start your career from the bottom. You may get a job that is not related to food. However, gradually the work will help you land a job as a food critic.
- If you get a job as a writer at a newspaper or magazine publisher, you can write about food-related things as a side job. By writing diligently, you may land a food critic position at the publisher of that newspaper or magazine.
Tips
- All food critics are food writers. However, not all food writers are food critic. Keep in mind that your job as a food critic requires you to test food and help readers know whether or not they will like the dish. If you write dish reviews inaccurately, people will be dissatisfied with your work.
- Enjoy your job as a food critic where you have to sample dishes from all over the world. Eating food is a way to learn about other cultures.
