He’s baack! Hope you’re hungry because we’ve got another searing scribble from DLT‘s proudly-persnickety contributor, Eric Eats Out. Check back the first Wednesday of every month as Mr. Eats Out debates the moral compass of the food media industry.

Have you noticed lately that at least a third of diners at restaurants are taking pictures of their food before they eat it?  As former New Times food critic Michele Laudig so eloquently wrote, in the last few years “cooking caught new cachet.”  Ingredients once thought of as “exotic” are now commonplace.  Social media has made everyone a critic, including me.  Standards have never been higher because diners are always watching…with the cameras on their smart phones.  I have to surmise that restaurants are turning tables more slowly because so much damn time is being spent by diners staging the perfect photo of their Jidori Chicken.  I’m hyper-aware of the collective sigh at the dinner table when I pull out my camera.

Let’s face it: the barrier to entry to being a “food critic” is terribly low.  It’s easier to pretend you’re Howard Seftel than Stephen Hawking.  We all eat; it’s the ultimate common denominator.  Truthfully, I was late to the food blogging game.  I had been spending an inordinate amount of my time writing on Chowhound and, inspired by some local blogs, decided to create one of my own.  Seth Chadwick’s “Feasting in Phoenix” (www.feastinginphoenix.com) was my inspiration.  His volume of work, going back to 2005, was simply staggering.  His website didn’t take ads…and still doesn’t.  His prose was simple and direct, with no pretense.  His motives seemed totally pure.  I asked him if he wanted to have dinner and, to my surprise, he obliged.  We’re now friends, and I admire him even more now that I know him as a person…not just as a blogger.  He is smart and ethical.

Just as I’m disgusted when corporations and special interests buy influence in politics, I’m equally concerned when restaurants – or any type of business – buy the public’s favor with “free stuff.”  In case you weren’t aware, many restaurant openings include media dinners, wherein food writers, bloggers and “key influencers” are invited to an event where the establishment showcases its offerings…for free.  Naturally, they’re hoping that it generates positive press.  Advertising is expensive and profit margins get slimmer by the day whereas word-of-mouth is cheap and effective.  I’m a businessman; I get it.

I don’t blame the restaurant for doing it, and I don’t blame the media for attending.  Although I usually choose not to attend these events, it’s more because I’m very uncomfortable in these social situations.  My blog is a hobby, not a business.  I am not, and don’t want to be, the food blogger’s moral compass.  Read some of the things I’ve written and that will be abundantly clear.  I have eaten for free, and I’ve disclosed that information.  I’ve made friends in the public relations business and procured hard-to-get reservations.  I’ve even used the word “bestiality” in a food review.

But where do we draw the line between editorial and infomercial, especially as it pertains to food?  Fortunately, the Federal Trade Commission has mandated that websites must disclose when they receive free products.  Besides having a moral obligation to do so, we have a legal obligation as well.  I think that’s good for everyone, and it raises the collective bar.  But I still believe that getting something for free shapes one’s opinion.  You’re a lot more likely to lose sleep when you paid $40 for a terrible steak than when the same steak was gratis.  Why do you think restaurants comp entrees, or entire meals, when they screw up?  Because it takes away the sting, that’s why.  It’s Human Behavior 101.

I believe that the water gets muddy when money changes hands…when blogging becomes a business rather than a hobby.  Accepting advertising and sponsorships changes everything.  Suddenly, the same people you’re writing about are also your source of income.  The person who coined the expression “don’t bite the hand that feeds you” probably didn’t have much distinction between advertising and editorial.

I realize that I’ve raised more questions than answers.  I’m not out to discredit any of the many sources of food information that are out there.  In fact, I think you should absorb as much information as possible before you decide where and how to spend your hard-earned dollars.  Marvel at the attention to detail and incredible food knowledge at SkilletDoux.com.  The knowledge of food at PenandFork.com is amazing.  Check out UrbanSpoon.com, EaterAZ.com and FeastinginPhoenix.com.  And bookmark DesertLivingToday.com and EricEatsOut.com.  There are many others, too.  Seek them out.  Quality and good writing always rise to the top.

Things taste better when they’re free.  But sometimes they need a grain of salt.

Tweet