Right to Reply?

I originally wrote this post in 2016, but was reminded of it today when a restaurant hit out on social media at a critic for giving them what was actually a broadly positive, if in places luke-warm, review, and then for calling them out for plating a dish very differently for the newspaper’s photographer than for the critic. While I think the latter criticism is somewhat unfair* - it stands to reason that a chef would want their food to be looking its absolute best in a national newspaper - how you respond to criticism, fair or otherwise, is incredibly important…

*Update, 20/01/2020: The critic in question - Jay Rayner, for it was he - kindly took the time to clarify why he’d made his original comment about the photography, which I’m happy to share here .

The right to reply is fundamental to the freedom of speech. Say whatever you like about me to whomsoever you choose, the thinking goes, provided I can freely say to you and them what I think of your view in return. But is it always right to reply, if in so doing you fan the flames of a fire which – starved of fuel, heat or oxygen, as chemistry tells us – would otherwise go out?

I ask this as there have been a few examples recently of chefs and restaurateurs responding very publicly to reviews from critics and customers at which they’ve taken umbrage, and while on the one hand I admire that kind of scrappy determination, on the other I can’t help feeling that an aggressive response to a review has the risk to do greater reputational damage than the review itself, as well as bringing it to the attention of people who might otherwise not have read it.

Criticism hurts. Creating something, whether it’s fashion, film, literature, art or, for our purposes, food, is a labour of love, and it’s human nature to want to be rewarded for our labours. To put your heart into something, and then share it with people in the hope that they will appreciate it, lays bear the vulnerabilities and insecurities of even the most confident of creators. And while receiving good reviews, whether from professional critics or punters, can be as good for the soul as for sales, bad ones can have the opposite effect on both morale and the bottom line.

(If at this point you’re rolling your eyes and muttering, “Oh for goodness’ sakes, it’s just food not the Sistine Chapel!”, allow me to ask if you shouted, “That’s so cruel!” at the telly the last time Paul Hollywood criticised a Bake Off contestant’s crème-patt for being too loose? Imagine how a professional chef must feel having that done to them in print or online. Not so trivial now, is it?)

So what, then, should a chef or restaurateur do, faced with a bad review – especially one where they feel the criticism within is unfair, extreme or ill-informed? Should they sit back and take it, accepting that reviews are part and parcel of running a restaurant, and move on? Or should they come out fighting, in defence of their craft, their team and their reputation?

My advice would be that there’s a middle ground which allows for them to make their voice heard and feelings known, without further fanning the flames. If you consider that there are serious factual inaccuracies, contact the publisher directly as they’ll want to correct them (it may be too late to do so in print but can easily be done online, which was fortunate in the case of one review I once read in which the name of the really-rather-famous restaurateur was written wrongly throughout).

If you’re using a PR, speak to them first; tell them what aspects of the review you’re upset about and ask them to write a response for you to approve. Listen to what they have to say about your issues with the review; it may be that they can bring a new perspective to the critic’s comments whereby they don’t sting as badly as they did at first. There’s also no reason why you shouldn’t contact the reviewer personally – many critics give their email address or Twitter handles after their reviews, most blogs will have a ‘Contact Me’ tab and online reviews can usually be replied to – but it’s important before doing so to think really carefully about what you’re going to say.

Thank them for taking the time to review your business – they’re doing their job, the same as you’re doing yours. Say why you’re writing – is it to put right specific inaccuracies (that was hake not cod; the soup was meant to be cold…), explain why something they criticised went wrong (in haste, you overseasoned the salad) or simply to tell them that you don’t think the review was fair? Be polite, even if you feel that they weren’t. Don’t be sarcastic, even if they were.

And don’t whatever you do get personal; implying that a critic’s right to criticise might be impaired by their age, for example, or gender, is ageism or sexism, a far worse offence than someone whose job it is to do so saying they didn’t think your amuse-bouche was all that. Calling that TripAdvisor troll ‘a clueless moron’ might feel good and have your mates elevate you to the status of Bantersaurus Cum Laude, but to potential paying customers it just makes you look like a bully, and who wants a bully cooking their tea?

Finally, before you hit ‘send’ – sleep on it, or at least walk away from your phone or computer for an hour or so while you think about whether you really want to say what you’re about to say, in the way you’re about to say it. Reading back to yourself with a calmer, clearer head something you probably originally wrote in haste and anger, you will most likely find that, actually, you could put it a lot better – or just as likely, will no longer feel the need to say it at all.

So, by all means exercise your right to reply, but be sure you go about it the right way, and think carefully about what what you say says about you. It could be critical.