Let's take a look at this article by Zhao Toni, a travel writer, food critic and photographer. He will tell you
thank you for inviting me. In fact, the general public always has a Pygmalion-like fantasy about the position of food critic, thinking that all we do all day is to criticize all kinds of wine and food while sneering, then pull out the chef of the restaurant and scold him, then throw his hand over the table, and then walk out of the door with his head held high and get in the special car with a sneer at the tall female secretary. No way!
Dear, this is not our food critic. This domineering president is in love with the kitchen helper. As a matter of fact, food critics are more as a middleman to help the catering industry and the public media to negotiate and communicate better. On the one hand, food critics with relative quality in ingredients, cooking skills and food evaluation can help restaurants improve their food quality. On the other hand, critics with a certain level of writing and lens expression can also communicate better with the media for marketing and publicity.
however, the most difficult thing about the job of food critic is that there is no recognized industry standard, code of conduct or qualification certification to bind this group of foodies. Some people are born with a good tongue and make a huge name while eating, such as Cai Lan, Tang Lusun, or Yuan Mei (with chef bonus), while others are wives who have been in the catering industry for half a lifetime, or like Liang Wentao or Gordon Ramsay. So when they have been wandering around the Jianghu for many years, they finally say "Teacher X" in unison. However, the three ultimate questions that can make this group of gourmets go beyond the scope of mere eating and reach the realm of food critics ultimately depend on:
1. What is this dish
2. How is this dish made
3. How can it be made better?
Don't think that you can automatically be promoted to a food critic by repeating the above three questions for 511 times when you eat in the future. The so-called wonderful use is single-minded. After the theoretical class, let's talk about the specific application on the spot. Recently, due to the busy business of the company, food evaluation is rarely done. Recently, one of the few times was to go to Waldorf Astoria in Shanghai to help try vegetables.
A corner of the old hotel building
Waldorf Astoria is the top luxury hotel brand of Hilton Hotels Group. As the first Waldorf Astoria Shanghai in Asia in 2111, it just opened on No.2 Bund. At one end of the hotel is the old Shanghai General Association with a history of nearly 151 years, and at the other end, it is a new building that cost more than 311 million yuan. Even for now, The only comparable hotel brand in Shanghai is the Peninsula on the other side of the Bund (hengshan road No.12, sinan mansions and Banyan Tree are more luxury hotels). Then as far as the hotel itself is concerned, the comprehensive standards of several restaurants are not bad, such as Weijingge and Baiwei Garden for Chinese food, Pelham's for French food, and of course, Long Bar, which is known as the longest bar in Asia.
Baiwei Garden is the place where ordinary guests have breakfast.
when it comes to food tasting in hotel restaurants, there are generally two kinds. One is that every time the hotel has a new chef or when the season changes, the hotel will invite some hotel executives and chefs from other restaurants to try the food. This kind of food tasting is generally more rigorous and has a strong academic atmosphere. In addition to setting the main tone of the menu for the next season, it is also necessary to consider a series of issues such as raw material procurement and storage, food cost, division of labor in the kitchen, wine preparation and market promotion. This kind of food tasting is generally more common. On the other hand, when there is a major event arrangement, it is necessary to invite the person in charge of the social event and people from related industries to try the dishes before the event is held after the menu is finalized. This kind of food is easier than the previous one, and then the quality is generally guaranteed. First, everyone will take the opportunity to come out to relax and then socialize. After all, the industry is so big that they can't look up and see. Second, the chef himself will come to answer questions for the guests after trying the dishes, so the chef will follow the chicken blood below sous-chefs.
This is the private room where the dishes were tried that day, and then there are three hotel staff in charge that day. The blonde Dutch girl is a sommelier specially transferred from Waldorf Astoria, Amsterdam. The boy on the left is in charge of the dishes, and the manager on the right is the activity coordinator of the hotel.
this is the menu of the day, and the logo of Waldorf Astoria's classic WA is impressively printed on it. It is called Waldorf Astoria because the original founder William Wolsdorfastor opened the Waldorf Hotel at 33rd Street, Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, new york. Then his cousin Jacob Astor opened a more magnificent Astoria hotel opposite the hotel in anger, but no zuo no die, the Jacob Astor died in the shipwreck of Titanic. Since then, the two hotels have merged and set up a lounge called Peacock Alley on it to facilitate passage. Later, although the hotel moved to Park Avenue further east, the name Waldorf Astoria and the logo were preserved. Later, Waldorf Astoria in new york was acquired by Conrad Hilton in 1932 and became the top luxury hotel brand under the Hilton Group.
This is a pen with the hotel logo printed on it, so the question comes
Which excavator is better?
oh, no, it's trying a dish. why did you put a pen?
after the menu is opened, you can see the Chinese and English names of all the dishes today and the ingredient list on the left, while the blank on the right is reserved for each guest to write the evaluation of each dish, in case the wine you drink turns to fever and you forget how to eat.
The first appetizer, called Hors d'oeuvres in French, is usually a snack for everyone to satisfy their cravings at the cocktail reception before they are officially seated. The four kinds on that day are truffle scones with foie gras Mu Si. Tofu skin wraps with daikon and jelly fish salad, Chicken Tortilla Cumin Peppers, Guacemole (chicken tortilla with cumin and butter jam), and Deep-fried yellow croaker in soy sauce.
Champagne was poured first, probably because we didn't drink enough wine, so everyone seemed so unfamiliar that everyone put all their energy into trying the dishes. Before eating a few mouthfuls, the Japanese-style pickled radish jellyfish salad was immediately rejected by the organizers from new york, on the grounds that the tofu skin was too rough, and then the jellyfish was obviously fishy with champagne, and then the dishes were poorly sold. As soon as this sentence went down, the scene became cold. The person in charge of the hotel immediately said hello to the blonde sommelier beside him, and then she saw the girl turn around and go out with a calm face, presumably into the kitchen. As a result, five minutes later, the waiter brought a plate of Shanghai-style fried dumplings for emergency. As a result, the organizer directly put down the knife and fork and pointed directly at the blonde and asked: Do you know what canapé is? Do you think it's nice to let the guests hold a champagne glass in one hand and a steamed bun in the other at my dinner party? As soon as the words fell, everyone was embarrassed. This rhythm didn't match the good story. Fortunately, someone finally came out, carrying the freshly poured white wine and saying, Today's dry white wine is very good. Try it, where is the Chardonnay in 2111! Go ahead. After another toast, the organizer finally smiled drowsily.
fortunately, the next main courses were all good. The pasta was made enough al dente, and then the saffron flavor didn't overshadow the sauce itself. Although the fish was a little old, it was passable. The lamb chop was the best one. The sauce was Fonds de Mouton cooked with the raw juice of the lamb chop, and then the meat was wrapped in olive paste and fried a little, which was very brilliant. At this time, everyone also drank, and all kinds of jokes chatted.
On the same day, it was used to rehearse the huge food delivery team at the next banquet. The young man's hand is already a dessert. In fact, for a general banquet, the quality of the dishes is not required to be brilliant. On the contrary, it is more important that the speed of serving dishes is consistent with the quality of the dishes. After all, people don't ask for how good they eat at the banquet. On the contrary, it is embarrassing that some people are still eating salads.
One of the desserts of the day was chocolate cake with cranberry sauce, seasonal fruit and vanilla ice cream, and the other was mango sherbet with dried mango and nut sponge cake. The chocolate cake was not bad, but the mango sherbet was really boring. Since you called it Sorbet, it was foolish to put so much milk and sugar in it. Sure enough, it was cancelled in the end. However, the final Petit Fours, that is, the after-dinner snack, is quite amazing. macaroon's taste is very delicate. At first glance, the original almond protein paste has been sent away for a long time.
The last messy desktop, when the last dessert was served, the chef appeared in front of everyone with a particularly simple and honest smile, and then came over with a glass to say hello to everyone, and then naturally mingled with the organizer who enjoyed drinking ... And when everyone was full of wine and food, the trial dish ended smoothly in a peaceful atmosphere.
and me? Quietly picked up the menu that had just been corrected according to the organizer's opinion and handed it to the blonde sommelier beside him, waving his sleeves without taking away a cloud ...