In Defence of Foodbloggers

I have just been called baseless, faceless and contradictory. It is not the first time and – surprisingly enough – it is not by a female ninja. Over the past few months, I have noted a growing trend amongst the established press, a trend which involves the denigration, condescension and general bad-mouthing of food bloggers and their dirty kin. The latest of these has finally incited me to respond. I generally prefer stealth and subterfuge, but a public assault – upon both my and my comrades’ integrity and innocence – should be dealt with in a similarly public fashion. Hence, my defence of who we are, what we do, and the role we play in a new and delicious world.

Those who wish to raze our cyber-estates claim we are nothing but white noise to their learned words of wisdom. They claim we are untrustworthy, vapid, and in all aspects tasteless (pun most definitely intended). Our opponents, the Professionals and “Real Foodies” (as I quote Mr Ozersky), claim that we lack perspective, that they are the trees of cultured experience and wisdom to whom we ought to kowtow. I could – and perhaps should – throw volumes of Barthes and Heidegger and McLuhan at them, in order to convince them that there is no reason to venerate one form over another, no reason to worship the newspaper and spit on the blog. But I fear there is no convincing these people, not even with high-velocity academia.

So I will say this, in defence of food bloggers: We do not claim to have all the answers. We do not claim to be the wise oracles of the food world, who can say definitively what restaurant is “good” and what restaurant is not. For we are people too, who recognise that not everyone will share the same opinion, that not everyone will like what another person does – no matter how allegedly well-cultured or authoritative they may be. Our taste-buds are just like yours or any others’: fickle, tempestuous and utterly unique.

So why do what we do? We blog to share our experiences, to stimulate discussion and debate about one of the most important topics to mankind – what we put in our mouths and bellies. Sometimes we sing harmonious praises, sometimes our voices are a cacaphony of disagreement and innuendo-laced sarcasm. Sometimes we rant, and sometimes we rave. And this is why people listen to us. Not because we are right, or wise, or even good, but because we make them think and make them drool.

Ultimately, we just love food. And we want to share this love. That’s what we do.

So I ask our opponents this: what gives you the right to dictate what is good and what is not? What is authority worth in a world which is ultimately made up solely of opinion? And when the waves of pluralism wash away your ivory towers, what shall you do then?

I say to the Professionals, the Real Foodies and the Establishment: We do not wish to fight with you. We respect your experience, and your status, and your anecdotes of humorously awkward incidents in the kitchen. We want to work with you, learn from you, share our love of food so that our souls and waistlines may grow together.