Wouldn't we all like to say ‘get stuffed' sometimes?
Have you heard the one about the writer/critic/self-proclaimed media star who walked into a restaurant, was rude to the chef-proprietor/owner, got evicted and decided to make a fuss about it? No? Well, don't worry, judging by recent events, it's bound to happen in a bar/restaurant/hotel somewhere near you soon.
The story that hit the national newspapers last week about celebrated Times restaurant critic AA Gill and his guest Joan Collins being asked to leave Gordon Ramsay's restaurant was quickly followed by a report about TV political reporter Jeremy Paxman being banned from Hintlesham Hotel near Ipswich, Suffolk. Not wishing to be left out of the "celebrities banned" league table, the Sun newspaper's gossip columnist Jane Moore was quick to claim eviction from London's Teatro.
The crime that each of these luminaries is supposed to have committed is to have criticised the owners or their staff personally in print. It's the first rule of restaurant-reviewing etiquette. You can call the duck a disappointment or the vegetables overdone, but don't be rude about the people, or you might be asked (in the words of one headline this week) to "Get stuffed, Paxo".
Caterer has been sounding out what operators think about unpopular critics being turfed out of restaurants (see feature next week). The response is predictably noncommittal - the general gist being that "on rare occasions, a paying guest might be asked to leave". By and large, restaurateurs want an untroubled life, free from conflict.
But it's an ambiguous area. When customers fail to show up for reservations, restaurateurs are quick to claim breach of contract. If customers do turn up and get thrown out, isn't that breach of contract too? And what image does that give the industry as a whole?
Well, just remember with what the critics are charged. They are charged with deliberate and unnecessary rudeness; with having callous disregard for personal feelings; and with flaunting a privilege to criticise without redress.
This last point is the crucial one. If your neighbour came round one evening and said that they didn't like your sofa, you probably wouldn't ask them to come and sit in it again. The same goes for restaurants. Politely asking a critic to leave may be called "the right of reply".
In our heart of hearts, we are probably all pleased about what Ramsay said to Gill, or the Hintlesham manager said to Paxman or what Lee said to Moore. The customer may be king and most of the time the customer is always right, but sometimes, just occasionally, it's necessary and a pleasure to say "get stuffed".
Forbes Mutch
Editor
Caterer & Hotelkeeper
