Singapore food bloggers hit back at celebrity chef Jimmy Chok
by 11th February 2016
SINGAPORE’S food bloggers have hit back at high-profile chef Jimmy Chok after he criticised them in a Six-Six interview for their unprofessionalism and incompetence.
Raising an instance when a blogger brought four friends along when the invite was only for one person, then arguing with the restaurant about it, Chok says “they are all paid, they are doing it for the money”.
According to Chok, a lot of food bloggers are young people who are not qualified to eat. What they write, however, can affect a chef’s career.
“Don’t do it at other people’s expense,” he says.
Food bloggers have not taken this lying down. Calling him an “unappreciative idiot,” blogger Kenneth Lee points to several glowing reviews of Chok’s restaurants. These reviews are not paid for, he says. “’They are all paid’ is such a sweeping statement, I don’t think you’ve actually put any thought into it.” Lee adds.
Lee then rebuts Chok’s claim that 20-year-olds cannot eat well.
“Palates can be cultivated from a young age, especially if that palate has been around the world. At the same time, eating more doesn’t mean knowing more.”
Another food blogger, Johor Kaki, points out that sometimes restaurants want bloggers to bring their friends.
“‘Please bring your family and blogger friends along’ I am often told. It’s for very practical reasons – who is going to finish the food?”
At the same time, Johor Kaki adds that he respects Chok’s clarity and forthrightness. It is a “complex, multi faceted social media scene” he says.
But this is not the first time questions about the impartiality of food bloggers have been raised. If anything, it is their tendency to give good reviews, not bad ones, which leaves readers wondering whether or not they can be trusted.
One reader asked, “Every bloggers says the food is good. How can all restaurants be good?”
Perhaps a little enmity between chefs and bloggers is a good thing for the rest of us. Let the sniping begin.
