Food Journalism: A Medium for Conflict

Styles of food journalism are defined by the audience that specific journals wish to attract. In the UK this has led to contrasting representations of food and catering in different forms of media,specifically those aimed at, on the one hand, catering professionals and on the other, amateurs who retain an interest in food. For“amateurs” interested in food, the images of catering work presented in magazines and other media targeted at them is understood to be“genuine”, while for those who work in the trade there is resentment at what are seen as sanitized images that are taken for “reality” by amateur audiences. This leads to a situation in the restaurant where differing views of the world of catering and the ownership of “expertise” about that world leads to conflict between patron and customer. Furthermore, this conflict is increasingly expressed by both groups, as a result of easier access to the media.