“It takes a minimum of fifteen years continuous focus to get good at all aspects of cooking,” Shewry writes. “It can take a food critic one sideways promotion to find themselves in a position where they are judging the results of that cooking.”
Ben Shewry after Attica was awarded with three hats in the 2015 Good Food Guide.Credit: Graham Denholm
In response to Shewry’s claims, head of Good Food Sarah Norris said the Good Food Guide, which includes more than 500 Victorian venues, was compiled according to a strict and robust scoring system which had been used to rate restaurants for more than 40 years.
She said guide, which is published by and operates in close collaboration with this masthead, was a service to diners – not chefs – and managed by an experienced panel of food editors with many decades of experience between them.
“We understand losing a hat is never easy,” she said.
Crocodile ribs at Attica. Credit: Simon Schluter
“Good Food absolutely does understand its heavy responsibility, which is why the Guide adheres to such vigorous protocols. Though we see our primary responsibility to the dining public, not to the chefs.”
Norris said the goal of the Good Food Guide’s reviews was to provide honest recommendations for diners so they can make an informed decision about where to visit.
“With money tighter than ever, this helps people decide where to spend their dollars, based on recommendations they can trust,” she said.
Uses For Obsession by Ben Shewry.Credit: Murdoch Books/Allen & Unwin
In his memoir, Shewry writes about the night when Attica lost a hat at the Good Food Guide awards in 2022, claiming the decision had a greater impact on his staff than him.
“There’s a part of me that always keeps my expectations in check, and I feel strangely freed by the demotion,” he claims in his book.
The next day, at Attica, Shewry recalls:
“The whole team feels they have failed the restaurant, the place that each and every one of them care so deeply about. I wish I could have done more to protect them.
“That same night, with a frankness that makes me laugh out loud, a senior staff member says: ‘F— the Good Food Guide. In fifteen years, Attica is still going to be around, and the Good Food Guide is not.’”
A photo of Ben Shewry from a Good Weekend story on keeping his restaurant alive during the COVID-19 lockdown.Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen
In a statement to The Age made through his publisher, Allen & Unwin, Shewry denied that the chapter was written because Attica was downgraded from three hats to two.
“It has absolutely nothing to do with losing a hat, and losing a hat has had no effect on our business,” he said.
He also stood by his wider condemnation of food reviewing, describing it as a self-congratulatory system that frequently forgets it would not exist without restaurants.
As part of his critique, Shewry also attacked the food media for failing to support restaurants during the COVID-19 lockdowns and for not abiding by a code of ethics, leading to conflicts of interest.
“It has no backbone, and within critiques, reviewers seemingly have little to no interest in covering any of the bigger questions about restaurants,” he told The Age.
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Norris said she was “extremely puzzled” by the assertion the industry was not supported during COVID or that the media was not covering serious issues in hospitality.
“A quick Google search will reveal weekly stories by the food media, particularly Good Food, on restaurants and their pivot to takeaway,” she said.
She also pointed to a number of stories that have addressed staff issues in hospitality, including investigations into underpayment, a symposium on issues in the restaurant industry, and a recent months-long investigation, which revealed damning allegations of sexual harassment, assault and drug use at the Swillhouse group.