The awareness of taste

We live in the age of the net and of democracy of thought, in a time that makes it essential to redefine the difference between professionals and expert amateurs with stronger clarity. While it is true that today anyone can express an opinion and spread it for the benefit of all, with a click, it is also true that the specific knowledge of those who produce content becomes essential; especially in a sector such as that of food and wine, in which everyone (in a way) is experienced and feels they can express their opinion.

So how can one develop a palate/brain duo that will not waste the readers’ time, when writing about spaghetti, artichokes or sweetbreads? In other words, how do you become a critic? Let’s take the thoughts highlighted by Laura Lazzaroni in her precise article on the foundations of this profession as good, because they are, and let’s try to move forward, concretely analysing the necessary steps someone who wants to start this career needs to take.

I believe the first step is accepting that talent does exist, as in every field, but in this case its role is decisively secondary to the competence that one can reach through research and experience. I don’t believe in divine palates, I never have. On the contrary, I believe you learn to eat by eating and, though it may seem banal, you learn to drink by drinking. I’m always wary of those who pontificate from behind a keyboard and then go to the restaurant once a week, if we’re lucky, without ever moving further than 10 km away from home. Taste needs to be educated, trained, put to the test, adjusted. The matrix is the education you receive at home, by which I don’t mean the lucky ones who are often taken to the restaurant since an early age, but the habit of concentrating on the food that is served and spending a few words to understand it, even when you’re having your mother’s stew. One first of all needs to create the attitude.

Then you can start with the true training, in the field: travel, taste, ask for information, take notes, handle books, visit blogs; and finally write, write, write after eating, eating, eating. You need to work, without complaining about the effort before you have even started, you have to be respectful of a world that creates benevolent envy just because it is undervalued and not well researched. Being a critic is a blessing, but doing it properly can be a mission.

Vizzari is a good cook too, his paniscia is worth 3 Michelin stars (photo credits Witaly)

Credibility and authority cannot be bought, nor can you give them to yourself or to others arbitrarily, but they are legitimate goals to reach through commitment and intellectual honesty. In this, I do not see any difference between paper and web, because a stupid thought remains poisonous whether it is in a book or a blog, but a well reasoned judgement continues to please the reader and it is still the fortune of chefs that are clever enough to call themselves into question.

This is what critics are, and this is how they remain, no matter the century or the media. We are popularising judges, certainly not doctors or scientists, and we’re asked to recommend where to invest in order to receive a few hours of happiness for the palate. Our only task is thus that of eating and telling, paying attention not to get lost in unrequested philosophies or in the satisfaction of one’s own ego. Now and always, until the last mouthful.