Mimi Sheraton on Trends, Taste & Being a Critic
Food author and former NY Times food critic Mimi Sheraton at Gotham on a Plate, co-sponsored by Culinest!
Mimi Sheraton shared her frank, amusing and deeply insightful thoughts on food trends, personal taste, being a critic and more at the recent Gotham on a Plate conference hosted by the New School, and happily co-sponsored by us!
On Food Trends
- “In the next 2-3 years we’ll hear about West Africa way more on the food scene.”
- “Expect to see fusion of Mexican, Thai, SE Asian: limi, chili, cilantro (think bahn mi on a taco).”
- “Unfortunately, supermarkets and specialty stores have more prepared foods, less staff, less time spent with customers – because serving customers and spending time with them hurts margins.”
- “I think too much attention is paid to the goals of the chef, not to the achievements of the chef. You don’t have to understand it, it’s dinner!”
On Being a Critic
- “Perfection is the prize. It’s not easy to achieve – and there’s no margin for error.”
- “Restaurant PR firms will fight it when they get a negative review soon after opening. In my opinion, as soon as a restaurant charges full price, they’re fair game!“
- There’s no point in giving an unknown restaurant a bad review – you’re saying, “Don’t go to this place you’ve never heard of.”
On Her Personal Tastes
- “Kale? Hate it!”
- “I tend to like the best, if I can get it. I like a little exotica from far away.”
- “I don’t like to go downstairs to go shopping – what am I doing in this basement for a box of Wheateena?”
