S1: From the newsrooms of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
S1: This is the morning edition. I'm Samantha Selinger Morris. It's Monday,
S1: May 12th. For nearly 20 years, Becca Ruddell has used
S1: all kinds of schemes to hide who she is. And
S1: it's worked as a renowned anonymous food critic for The
S1: New York Times, the L.A. times and our mastheads, she's
S1: stripped away the artifice and marketing from restaurants offerings in
S1: order to judge their real value. And in doing so,
S1: she's reached the top of her industry, earning a James
S1: Beard Foundation Award, the so-called Oscar of the food world. Today,
S1: Becca Ruddell joins me to discuss why she's unmasking herself
S1: now and the confronting epiphany she's had about Australia since
S1: returning seven years ago. Becca, can you just start off
S1: by telling us how you got into food writing?
S2: Yeah, I got into food writing because I was working
S2: in hospitality and going to school for. Writing and literature. And, uh,
S2: you know, it was at a time when restaurant critics were.
S2: Mainly these kind of older white guys who, like, had
S2: been the, the real estate reporter or the. You know,
S2: Rome correspondent or somebody who had like a, um, an
S2: inn and wanted to get off of. Their beat, you know,
S2: or something along those lines. And most of the restaurant
S2: criticism was about fancy restaurants for wealthy people in big cities,
S2: and there was very little kind of exploration of immigrant
S2: food or things that were not at that fine dining level.
S2: And so, you know, yeah, I grew up with, um,
S2: great food. My family all great cooks. It's like, what
S2: are you having for dinner is still the best thing
S2: that we talk to each other about when we talk. Um,
S2: but they didn't understand my restaurant obsession at all. And they. Yeah,
S2: they really thought that I was a crazy person for
S2: being kind of this, you know, 20 year old Ratbag
S2: waitress living in New York City and like, you know,
S2: saving up my pennies to go eat at Danielle or
S2: taking the subway for two hours to get to Queens
S2: to find some Egyptian chicken hearts or whatever. And again,
S2: now that's a pretty, um, common cultural, um, obsession. Like
S2: young people are really into food now, but that just
S2: was not the case when I started out.
S1: And you've been writing for 20 years. So just tell us,
S1: why have you aimed to remain anonymous for all that time?
S2: Yeah. I mean, I think that we forget, um, how
S2: long ago, 20 years was because I didn't make a
S2: decision to be anonymous at that point. Everybody was anonymous.
S2: There wasn't any social media, and certainly cell phone cameras
S2: weren't around. Um, so and anonymity and food criticism was
S2: by far the standard at that point in time. So
S2: it was before it was, you know, this massive thing
S2: where everybody had their photo online. I just never did.
S2: And so I started really right before that changed. And um,
S2: and anonymity was the standard for restaurant critics. So I
S2: just followed that standard.
S1: And why was it such a precious tool, though? Tell
S1: us about why it's been so useful.
S2: Look, there is a lot of good arguments to be
S2: made that a restaurant cannot change the nature of who
S2: they are when you walk in the door. Um, and
S2: I think that that is true. They can't change the food.
S2: They can't change how, you know, they could maybe put
S2: their better server on for you or, you know, make
S2: sure that nothing bad happens to your table, um, give
S2: you the nice cut of meat, those types of things.
S2: But for me, it was much more about being able
S2: to not make people anxious to, like, have a, um,
S2: a meal that was very similar to anybody else. Um,
S2: and to, you know, No, not have that kind of
S2: strained interaction. I think the other real thing is that,
S2: you know, there are certain restaurants, especially at the very
S2: high end, that, um, a regular person might feel a
S2: little bit uncomfortable in. I think many readers can kind
S2: of imagine if you go to, you know, a kind
S2: of three hat type of experience. Um, and I spent
S2: a lot of my career, you know, I still I
S2: shop at op shops, like, I'm not a fancy person.
S2: So going to those types of restaurants kind of looking
S2: like the person who, um, couldn't afford to be there
S2: and therefore was probably there for a very special occasion. Right. Um,
S2: getting treated exceptionally well in those circumstances, um, even looking
S2: like the least VIP customer is, to me, the mark
S2: of an actually, like, world class restaurant when they try
S2: to make even the least important guest feel really special
S2: and wonderful. I'm going to lose that ability because they're
S2: going to try to make it wonderful for me no
S2: matter what I look like, probably. And then there's the opposite,
S2: which is the more obvious one, which is that, you know,
S2: there was certainly I think this was more an issue
S2: in Los Angeles than I hope it would be in Melbourne.
S2: But there was a long time in LA where I
S2: was reviewing at the same time as Jonathan Gold. And
S2: Jonathan was a very easily recognizable dude. And, um, and
S2: he had very different experiences to me. Um, and I
S2: think that that kind of like understanding when a restaurant
S2: is sorting people by importance and giving you two different experiences,
S2: even though you're both paying the same amount of money. Um,
S2: that's helpful too. Um, but look, really the main thing
S2: for me is just I would love to just be
S2: able to experience the restaurant the way that anybody else does.
S2: And I think that that is really helpful. And I'm
S2: going to keep trying. I mean, um, last night was
S2: my first night out after my photo had come out
S2: in a restaurant that I know that they follow me
S2: on Instagram. I know that, you know, they're probably looking
S2: out for me. They know that they're going to be
S2: reviewed soon. Um, I don't know if they recognized me
S2: or not, but, you know, I did certain things to
S2: try to make that less likely. I'm not going to
S2: go into what those things are. I don't want to
S2: give away my playbook. But, um, but, you know, I'm
S2: hoping to still kind of stay under the radar as
S2: much as possible.
S1: Okay. So I want to get into how your life
S1: is going to change dramatically. I would have thought, by
S1: unmasking yourself, but I just want you to take us through,
S1: I guess, how difficult it has been to remain anonymous
S1: for so long, because you have said that being anonymous
S1: is by far the most complicated and silliest part of
S1: my job. So how silly does it get? And tell
S1: us about some close calls.
S2: I mean, again, it happens all the time has happened
S2: since I started. You know, one of the I reviews
S2: that I wrote in Atlanta within the first year of
S2: being a critic, the manager came up to the table
S2: and said, hi, are you Bashar Adel? You know, and
S2: I played dumb and said, oh, who's that? And you know,
S2: which I don't do anymore. If somebody says hi, I'm
S2: just like, hi, you know.
S1: And I'm just curious, were you with anyone at the time?
S1: Were you were like, no, I'm not.
S2: I was, I was with my family. Yeah, I was
S2: with my family.
S1: And were your family like, nothing to see here?
S2: Yeah, they were, but they used to. I mean, they
S2: kind of. I have a 21 year old son who
S2: was a toddler when I started. Um, and, uh, they're
S2: used to it. Him and my husband just both are
S2: kind of like, I roll, like, my kid will be like, oh,
S2: they're gossiping in the corner. I think you've been made.
S2: I mean, I think that the silliest part of it
S2: is that kind of inherent. Either way you play it,
S2: it has a whiff of self-importance. So, you know, um,
S2: I have credit cards in multiple different names. I have
S2: multiple different emails, all of that stuff. But the stuff
S2: that's embarrassing is when you are going to your kid's
S2: school and they want to take photos of the class
S2: with their parents. And I'm like, no, sorry, I can't
S2: be in the photo. You know, my best friend got married, uh,
S2: a couple years ago. I was the maid of honor,
S2: and I had to be like, you know, I would
S2: love to do this, but you got to keep your
S2: wedding photos off the internet. Then, you know, at least
S2: the ones with your bridal party in it. Again, it's
S2: making her day about me and my job. Like, that's
S2: it's just it's embarrassing. And it also puts attention on me.
S2: It kind of presupposes that I want to tell everybody, oh,
S2: I'm a restaurant critic, you know, which I'm just like,
S2: I just can't be in the photo. Like, can we
S2: just leave it at that? You know.
S1: And wasn't there a campaign of sorts to out you
S1: in LA?
S2: There was. Um, so eater is, uh, now a very
S2: respected publication that I've written for and, um, you know,
S2: James Beard Award nominees came out and I think it
S2: got a bunch of them, as they usually do. But
S2: back in the day, they were a little bit more
S2: like kind of the TMZ of the food world. They
S2: kind of dabbled in that for a while, and they
S2: actually had a, um, like a column basically that was
S2: called To Catch a Critic, and they were trying to
S2: out restaurant critics. Um, a couple years later, they got
S2: their own anonymous restaurant critics. But for a little while, um,
S2: they were they were trying to out restaurant critics. And
S2: when I arrived in Los Angeles, it was kind of
S2: at the height of that. Um, the woman who was
S2: the editor of Ida La at that point was kind
S2: of into the reality TV world and stuff. So she
S2: was really into that kind of like, um, you know,
S2: high stakes, high drama stuff. And so they found a
S2: photo of me from a panel I had been on,
S2: and they put it on the website, and it was
S2: before I had even reviewed anything in LA. It was like,
S2: right when I got there and, um, yeah. And luckily
S2: the photographer asked them to take it down and they
S2: took it down. So it was only up for a
S2: little while. It was pretty blurry, and it was a
S2: very unflattering photo. Um, and then a couple of weeks later,
S2: they found a photo from a newspaper I'd worked for
S2: in North Carolina years before, and it was actually a
S2: photo that I had taken of one of my mother
S2: in law's friends. Um, but it had a photo credit
S2: that was mine, and they thought it was a caption.
S2: So they put up that picture, which is amazing because
S2: it was like this, you know, 55 year old southern
S2: woman with a mullet. It didn't look anything like me,
S2: and it made me feel really good because I was like, well,
S2: if they think that, that's what I possibly could look like,
S2: having seen the other photo, then I could look like
S2: any white lady between like 20 and 70, basically.
S1: And I betcha you moved back to Melbourne, where you
S1: were born about seven years ago. So what was it
S1: like until now? Of course, trying to be anonymous here.
S1: And did you have any close calls? Complaints. You know,
S1: what was it like trying to be anonymous here compared
S1: to other places?
S2: I mean, the interesting thing is, I think that every
S2: other city that I've lived in, the chef community in particular,
S2: actually really appreciated it, the anonymity and, um, you know,
S2: I think that a lot of them do here too. They,
S2: they understand why it, it it helps and is important
S2: and kind of all of that stuff. Um in Australia.
S2: I have had a lot more, um, kind of resistance
S2: to the whole idea of restaurant criticism as an act,
S2: almost as an act of journalism, honestly, you know. Um,
S2: and there's I think that there's something in Australian culture
S2: of overall that is, um, you know, you don't criticise people.
S2: You only say the nice thing. Um, and I think
S2: that the part of the reason for that, especially in
S2: the arts, is that Australia hasn't been given the respect
S2: that it deserves internationally for its food, for its art,
S2: for its literature. And so, you know, there's this kind
S2: of culture of boosterism where, you know, we all want
S2: to say, yes, Australia is fantastic. Um, let's let's celebrate
S2: it and not say anything bad about it ever, you know?
S2: But the reality is that I don't want to blow smoke.
S2: I don't I don't want to tell people. I don't
S2: think it helps to tell people that, you know, if
S2: their mum, their girlfriend or boyfriend, their the owner of
S2: the restaurant, everybody is going to be like, this is amazing.
S2: Your restaurant is so good. And yeah, you need that
S2: feedback too. But I'm not your mum, so I think
S2: it's okay for one person to say, yeah, really good.
S2: This is what's great about it. These are the things
S2: that I, you know, struggled with and that I think
S2: could be actually done better. And, and my whole hope
S2: is that, you know, they either take that advice and
S2: get better or it makes them think. And they're like, nah,
S2: she's wrong. I'm sticking to my guns. This is what
S2: I meant to do. And and there's value in that too,
S2: you know?
S1: We'll be right back. So better now you after so long.
S1: I think you were one of the last remaining anonymous
S1: food critics. But now you are revealing yourself. So why?
S1: Why are you showing your face now?
S2: So I have a book coming out. It's coming out
S2: June 17th in Australia. And I want I want to
S2: promote the book. I mean, it's a purely selfish reason.
S2: I have to say, you know, my bosses at The
S2: Age were not thrilled about it. They really wanted me
S2: to keep the anonymity, which I totally understood. We had
S2: a long back and forth about it, but I think
S2: they finally understood that for me, my life's work is
S2: not just this. This is a huge part of my
S2: life's work, and it is has been my life's work
S2: for the last 20 years. But I have more in me,
S2: you know, I have I have more to me, I think,
S2: than just being an anonymous restaurant critic. And I'm really
S2: proud of this book. And my publisher really wanted me
S2: to promote it. They wanted me to be able to
S2: go out and do events. Um, and, you know, I'm leaving, um, to,
S2: to go to the US to do a kind of
S2: mini book tour. And, and people are really excited about
S2: those events and that's really lovely. And so the, um, the,
S2: the real upside for me is that I hope that
S2: I can connect with my community and with readers in
S2: a more genuine way. I mean, I have a pretty
S2: good pen pal relationship with a lot of readers, but like, um,
S2: you know, getting to meet people in person, getting to
S2: sign books in person without this, again, the kind of
S2: silliness of a disguise or, um, some kind of way
S2: of hiding myself, which we definitely discussed as a possibility,
S2: but I just couldn't bear the kind of, again, inherent
S2: self-importance of playing that game anymore. I just felt like
S2: there has to be a reason that this is this
S2: is the reason. So time's up.
S1: Is there anything you're anxious about? I guess because I
S1: heard you say in an interview that you are very
S1: anxious about showing your face. You know that it's been
S1: a lovely blessing not to have your physical appearance, to
S1: be part of your brand in any way. And I've
S1: got to ask, like, are you worried about bumping into
S1: any of the chefs who, you know, whose reviews I'm
S1: thinking about? Bar patron by Rockpool. I'm going to quote here, uh,
S1: one of their tacos was wildly disappointing. The salsa tasted
S1: of cumin and water. That's obviously, you know, not even
S1: by far the harshest. But like, are you worried about
S1: bumping into Neil Perry?
S2: I'm not worried about bumping into Neil Perry at all.
S2: I think Neil Perry is one of those operators who
S2: actually is, is really smart and has been around the
S2: block to, you know, and would not have taken he
S2: wouldn't have liked that review, but I don't think that
S2: it would have made him hate my guts. I could
S2: be wrong, you know? But, you know, I'm I'm not
S2: worried about bumping into chefs who I have reviewed. I mean, um,
S2: I think, you know, that has happened again in the past.
S2: You know, I have I have met people who I've
S2: given harder reviews to. I mean, it's actually funny, again,
S2: in Los Angeles, more than I've experienced here more often.
S2: What would happen and what happened when I left LA
S2: is a lot of chefs reached out to me who
S2: I had been kind of harsh with and said, you know,
S2: it was actually really helpful. I mean, that's that's not everybody,
S2: but it certainly was my relationship with a lot of
S2: the chefs in LA who I did that thing of saying,
S2: you are very talented. This is a really interesting thing
S2: that you're trying to do, and here are the places
S2: where you know, your ego or some idea that you're
S2: sticking to or whatever is getting in the way, you know.
S2: And I mean, Curtis Stone was one of those people.
S2: He's talked about it quite publicly, where he had this restaurant, Gwen,
S2: that opened in Hollywood, and it was a prefix and
S2: it was a steakhouse, and a prefix was not right
S2: for being a steakhouse. It was too weird of a concept.
S2: And I said that and he was really disappointed. And
S2: then he was like, you were right. And I changed it.
S2: And it's better now, you know? So that's the relationship
S2: I hope to have with any chef, really, honestly or
S2: any operator that I've, um, written about. Um, but I
S2: also don't really plan on going out and like, being
S2: buddies with all of these folks. I'm still going to
S2: try to keep a kind of low profile. I'm not
S2: going to go to media dinners. I'm probably not going
S2: to become like the face of good food in the
S2: way that some previous critics have. Um, I don't go
S2: to the awards just because it just I don't want
S2: to I don't I don't want to socialize with folks
S2: that I am writing about. It just feels like a
S2: bit of a conflict. So I'm going to continue to,
S2: to do that.
S1: And now that we're talking about, you know, relationships between
S1: you and various restaurateurs, we've got to talk about your
S1: review in April of Melbourne restaurant Attica. This is obviously
S1: an internationally renowned establishment. It's your last anonymous review for
S1: good food. But it would also have to be I mean,
S1: correct me if I'm wrong, please. One of your most controversial.
S2: Oh, absolutely.
S1: Yeah. So tell me what this was all about and
S1: why you saved this one for last.
S2: The timing was actually completely random. Um, I had always
S2: wanted to review Attica in the 20th year that Ben
S2: Shourie had been operating it. I had planned on doing
S2: that for years ago. Um, and then I had a
S2: friend in town from LA who was eating at all
S2: of the kind of great Melbourne restaurants, and he wanted
S2: to go to Attica. And so I said, yeah, let's go.
S2: The downside of the timing is that Ben and I
S2: had just kind of had this kerfuffle. He has a
S2: book out in which he takes aim at restaurant critics
S2: in particular, really is unhappy with The Good Food Guide.
S1: I'm just going to interject here, he wrote in his book.
S1: I believe that it was damaging to the mental health
S1: of his staff, I think when reviewers are there. So
S1: he was sort of really taking issue with being reviewed, right?
S2: Yes, absolutely. And he said that he doesn't consent to
S2: being reviewed. And a lot of people have brought that up,
S2: especially on social media in the weeks since that review.
S2: That is the thing that keeps coming up is like, well,
S2: this guy didn't consent to this review. And you know,
S2: that isn't how journalism works, unfortunately. You know, and I
S2: and I think it's this kind of double edged sword
S2: because food people want to be taken seriously as artists,
S2: as tradespeople, as business people, and in which case they
S2: get held to the same kind of journalistic standards as
S2: we would judge a book or a piece of art
S2: or or any other business, you know.
S1: Well, just because the listeners might not have read this
S1: particular review, I do have to put one quote in
S1: because I haven't been there. But when you wrote that
S1: it has a map of Australia made from fish, I
S1: was like, I'm in. And then and then you said,
S1: and you said, and it tastes good. You're like a
S1: map of Australia made from fish is funny. And because
S1: it tastes good, it's also very fun. But when it's
S1: delivered with all the humor of a mathematics dissertation, you
S1: wonder if you misread the joke so that that's your
S1: problem there, wasn't it?
S2: Yeah, absolutely. And it's not a huge problem. I mean, again,
S2: this is a very strong two hat restaurant in my mind. And,
S2: you know, I think it's it's it's an experience that
S2: you just will not forget. It's absolutely worth having. Um, but,
S2: you know, I think it's worth pointing out, especially at
S2: an era in which, um, Australian hospitality at that high
S2: end is just so good right now and so fun.
S2: And because. Attica is part of the reason that that
S2: is the case, like they were some of the first
S2: people to bring in that style of service, and it's
S2: just gotten less fun and less warm over the years.
S2: And I'm not sure why.
S1: And I guess just to wrap up, why is critiquing
S1: what we eat important?
S2: I think that, you know, food, especially in a city
S2: like Melbourne or Sydney, is such a huge part of
S2: what makes a city a joyful place to live on
S2: a day to day basis. Because of that, it's really
S2: important to support our hospitality industry. And I think, again,
S2: very self-serving, but I believe it having good criticism in
S2: a city helps to maintain the health of that city's
S2: food scene. It just it creates a conversation around it.
S2: It creates, you know, people, people are People excited about it.
S2: And obviously there are a lot of voices out there.
S2: There's a lot of social media, a lot of TikTok,
S2: a lot of people in this space at this point,
S2: all of which is like super valid. And I am
S2: very happy that all of those voices exist. But I
S2: think it's a real public service on the part of
S2: a media organization to pay somebody to do it professionally
S2: so that, you know, that that person hasn't been bought off,
S2: isn't getting a free meal out of it. I mean,
S2: I'm so lucky because I get to say, oh, okay,
S2: here's this restaurant. Let me look at the history of
S2: the chef. Let me look at the history of this
S2: kind of cuisine. Let me look at how this cuisine
S2: has progressed in the world and in this city. You know,
S2: there's a lot of research that goes into it. So
S2: I just again, it's a self-serving thing, but I think
S2: it's important.
S1: Well, you're exposed now. Yeah, literally and figuratively. And we're
S1: privileged that you've done it here. So thank you so
S1: much for your time.
S2: Thank you so much for having me.
S1: And if you'd like to read more, Becca Odell's memoir,
S1: Hunger Like a Thirst, comes out in Australia on June 17th.
S1: Today's episode of The Morning Edition was produced by Josh
S1: Towers and Julia Carcasole. Our executive producer is Tammy Mills.
S1: Tom McKendrick is our head of audio. To listen to
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S1: your inbox every morning. Links are in the show. Notes.
S1: I'm Samantha Selinger. Morris. Thanks for listening.