Omnivore Atlanta

Have you always wanted to join the glamorous, high-paying world of people whose livelihood requires them to eat in usually mediocre-to-bad restaurants night after night?

Does your head swirl with adjectives and similes the moment food touches your tongue? Do you enjoy being told you have great taste when you like something you eat? Do you find it even more amusing to be called a picky elitist snob when you complain that there’s a band-aid in your soup?

Do you have $500 to spare?

If so, your dreams may soon come true!

(Image, “Death by Gluttony,” courtesy of Ninja Bunny.)

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This post just went up on the New York Times Diner’s Journal blog about the ethics of food blogging. In it, Kim Severson asks “Should a food blogger follow the same ethics as a traditional food journalist?”

I have so much to say on this topic I should probably muzzle myself to keep from making this an all-out rant. I will say that it must be difficult for non-professionals to navigate what’s ethical and what’s not when many traditional food journalists push the ethical boundaries (media dinners, freebies etc.). But disclosure is key, and I applaud any effort to give guidance on that front.

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A tsunami of outrage and confusion is traveling through the foodie community. Its cause is the announcement that the AJC’s management has taken John Kessler off the food beat and assigned him the gig of writing personality profiles for Sunday editions.

Our former dining editor Bill Addison has a post about the news on his Atlanta magazine blog. He pays tribute to John for his influence on his own career. You can read the reactions of foodies on John’s Facebook page.

What is not clear is whether John had any role in the decision. I wonder about this because it seems remarkably stupid to kick arguably your most popular writer off his beat. John was first hired at the AJC as dining critic and then, after about eight years, moved to the broader role of food writer. Perhaps moving to an even broader role appeals to him.

Still, he likely had no choice if he wants to stay at the AJC. The change, along with other surviving employees’ reassignments, was announced the day after the paper rid itself of 70-plus editorial staff members through “buy-outs,” including some major names. This follows several earlier rounds of layoffs, buyouts and early retirements. As far as I can tell, the paper’s arts coverage has been completely eviscerated.

The paper is also closing several suburban bureaus and shipping Cynthia Tucker off to DC to ruminate strictly about national-level politics. There’s been no word whether Cynthia, a Pulitzer winner, had a role in her new assignment, either.

I have to confess that when I was reading one of John’s recent pieces a few days ago, I wondered, “Why the hell is this man writing about donuts?” He is a gifted writer and maybe he can take inspiration from Frank Rich who ended his stint as theater critic at the New York Times by becoming its most controversial and engaging Sunday columnist.

Of course, the depth of John’s work will depend in great part on the license he is granted. Whatever happens, the culinary scene is worse for the change.

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Pete Wells writes about telling your kids where meat comes from in the New York Times. It’s an interesting subject, and one I’ve tackled in my own family with some of the same results Wells describes. Ever since my kid was old enough to understand, I’ve let him know that the meat he eats was once a living animal — I want him to understand the moral repercussions of what he consumes, be it food-related or otherwise. At this point, his response is “I don’t want the lamb to have to die. But it’s so gooood.” I hear ya, kid.

Michael Ruhlman writes incredibly well (as usual) about being a food writer. My favorite line (something I try, usually unsuccessfully, every semester to impart to my interns):

Perhaps the best general advice I got about writing was to always ask myself, “Why should a stranger be interested in what I have to say?” I think you should always be asking yourself this, whether you’re querying a magazine editor or blogging (though the blog is a new and unusual beast).

It’s been reported all week on other Atlanta blogs, but in case you missed it, here’s the link to Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chef article featuring our own Linton Hopkins. I do wonder what the magazine’s definition of “new” is, but I’m so happy Linton’s getting some much deserved recognition.

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