2 minute read

I went to the Michelin starred OMA this week, a greek restaurant touted as the “best restaurant opening this year in London” by food critic Grace Dent. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. It was a classic example of marketing your way to a Michelin star, where aesthetics are valued above anything else. Don’t ask why the Giouvetsi stew has a beef bone with braised oxtail stuffed inside, just take a picture and share it. Unfortunately, having spent their time making food for Instagram, they forgot to actually make it taste of anything. Where did all that lovely bone marrow go? Because it certainly wasn’t in the stodgy mass below.

It was a similar story with lamb belly, whose taste did at least remind me of the animal, but was dry enough that the chef tried to hide their creation under a shroud of parsley.

The poor baker was unfortunately holding the entire restaurant on their back. The laffa were fluffy when ripped, satisfyingly chewy to eat and paired well with the mezze; the deconstructed spanakopita tasted good and the combination of vanilla ice cream on flatbread was the best thing we ate.

But the disconnect between my experience and glowing reviews has made me sad that my two favourite food writers, A.A. Gill and Anthony Bourdain, are no longer here to eviscerate places like this. The closest thing I have is A.A. Gill’s review of Greek cuisine where he suggested “if you must really eat Greek food, go to a Lebanese restaurant”.

So, to remind myself about food critique before the world of online hype, I wanted to list my favourite books, essays and videos from my favourite old-school influencers.

Table talk - A collection of food essays from A.A. Gill

  • Concert
  • Politics
  • Vegetarians
  • Army
  • Picnics
  • Nouvelle cuisine
  • Cabbage
  • Fish and chips
  • Countryside
  • Leeds
  • Isle of Man
  • Scotland
  • Elizabeth David
  • Fat
  • Corn
  • Chinese restaurant
  • Greece

The best of A.A. Gill:

  • Dinner parties
  • Vegetarians
  • Stow-on-the-Wold
  • Concert
  • Markets
  • Last suppers
  • Noma
  • Steak
  • Burger Pizza
  • Scotland

The Nasty Bits - Anthony Bourdain:

  • A commencement address no one asked for
  • Are you a crip or a blood?
  • Counter culture
  • Name dropping down under
  • My Manhattan
  • China syndrome
  • A drinking problem
  • Food terrorists
  • Pure and uncut luxury
  • Decoding Ferran Adria
  • The old, good stuff

Medium Raw - Anthony Bourdain:

  • The sit down
  • Heroes and Villians
  • It’s not you its me
  • My aim is true

As well as writing, Bourdain also created timeless food shows. My favourite episode covers the history of classical French cooking with Paul Bocuse, Maison Troigros and an eating society. Its just so French and I love it.

and here’s the two of them together:

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