You can tell by the name, this blog is about food … food from across the world: in terms of geography and cultures. The focus is on restaurant reviews – I love eating and there are just so many talented chefs out there creating amazing dishes. But, Gastro World also dabbles in all things delicious from food events, food products, food services and maybe even a recipe every now and again.
My Mission to be an Advisor
I hope to be your food advisor. Not an advocate or story teller but rather recount my meals in enough detail that you gain a view about the dishes. Taste is subjective so even though I don’t like something, read about the elements I didn’t fancy, you may find that you’ll still enjoy the dish.
Gastro World also hopes to support restaurants. It’s competitive in the culinary world and like other industries restaurants need to change and evolve to stay ahead. The hope is restaurants will appreciate my honest thoughts and not feel offended. Sometimes, I may point out things that could be tweaked and even offer suggestions on what I feel may make it better.
Of course, by no means am I an expert. As a chef or an owner of a restaurant just consider the feedback, you never know if could be helpful. After all, it’s much better to hear about it from me than to read about it later in a national newspaper or magazine when food critics are in town.
As an aside, Amy Pataki and Chris Nuttall-Smith if you ever find the time to have a meal with me I’d be ecstatic and promise never to reveal your identities. I love your reviews!
To Reveal or Not to Reveal?
In the beginning, I wanted to be anonymous, thinking this was the only way reviews could be fair and objective. Eventually, I realized it hindered my development as I had to turn down events which have proved to be invaluable to meeting fellow bloggers and gaining a deeper understanding about restaurants and what I’m eating.
So, although I’m not shouting my personal details from the rooftop, I’m also no longer hiding in the shadows. The majority of the meals are personally paid for and restaurants are not informed that I’m a food blogger when reservations are made. For those that are invited and complementary, I still believe in providing an honest opinion. After all, if I lied it’s really doing the restaurant a disservice as they won’t receive feedback which may help them evolve and stay competitive.
Other Things To Keep in Mind
All reviews are my personal opinion. As I mentioned, taste is a subjective thing so you may feel differently about a certain dish or restaurant.
I receive no compensation for restaurant reviews. Meals are paid out-of-pocket and if they are complimentary the post will indicate it. I receive no reimbursement from the restaurants to write about them. However, for food product or services I may charge for sponsored posts, which are identified. Rest assured, I would never agree to write a sponsored post if I hated something.
In the end, I hope you enjoy reading Gastro World as much as I love writing it. Please enjoy and I hope to entice you to try some of these places.
Bon appetit!
Food Bloggers of CanadaFoodie Tribe