Food critic

Ian Parker’s profile of Pete Wells, our restaurant critic, lays out the trials and tribulations of eating for a living, and underscores the pressures that job brings to bear on the critic’s psyche — and physical being. (It also breaks the news that The Times will be offering starred reviews of restaurants in cities beyond New York.) — Sam Sifton, Food Editor

Food critics aim to give the public a good idea of what to expect when visiting dining establishments. They must have a broad knowledge of food and be proficient in communicating their expertise through writing. Food critics must also be discrete and committed to objectivity in their reviews.

You might think it’s the best job in the world, but a former reviewer shows us what it’s really like—and what it takes to succeed.

One of the side effects of the Internet has unfortunately been the provision of a forum for the proverbial "experts who can't do anything." It is said that those who can do, those who can't teach and those who can't teach become critics. I think I may have been the one who said that. In any case, with the rise of the "comment" thread it seems everyone or at least most everyone, has taken it upon him or herself to lay into every book, movie, song, restaurant, sports team, or work of art, act…

San Francisco Professional Food and Restaurant Photography with Professional Photographer

Yeah, I grew up in Brooklyn, the epicenter of Italian-American food. But it wasn’t until I moved down South that I learned to truly appreciate the stuff.