Hi Syd! To answer your questions:

-I was a pastry chef.

-All my reviews are anonymous – the restaurants don’t know I’m coming unless there’s a specific reason they need to know.

-Asking the staff and chef questions is generally well received. No special approach; I just try to have a casual conversation or, if the situation calls for it, a formal interview. People in the food industry generally love to talk about food. 🙂

-This is an interesting question. It’s important to remember that every person has a different experience and different tastes, plus some things can only be honed with experience and the writer may have a background you’re unaware of. Otherwise, when a writer is first starting out and they’re going to write about another culture’s food, they need to put in the due diligence to research it before submitting their work (which often can and should include a diversity review or a read-through by someone who is more experienced in that culture’s food). Food writing is a continual learning experience, and a writer needs to accommodate for that in their prep and research. It’s also important to remember that someone’s food story is not necessarily yours to tell – sometimes there are better equipped writers for the job, especially when the story deals with a specific cultural experience of a specific type of food.

Thanks for asking such thoughtful questions. I hope I was able to help.
Jen

3- I believe that she asks the chef and staff questions. How is she received generally? is there a special approach/method for that.

4- Finallly (and especially) what makes writers think, they have the knowledge/the sensorial ability (something that grows with the person) to write about other Peoples/Cultures/Ethnicities, cuisines?

I never read one of Jenifer’s reviews, but I have read some others, writing about foods that I know well and I am absolutely gobsmacked. In parts they are completely out of wack.

Your answers/comment would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Syd,
BACW Undergraduate.