FoodMayhem

Heavyweight celebrity chef Mario Batali has gone on record (twice, actually) stating that he hates food bloggers. On the Eater.com page, the comments swing back and forth discussing about whether he hates bloggers or not, he is still a talented chef. In a recent BlogSoop post the point is made that most bloggers heavily favor the talented Italiano. Overall Batali’s comments are hypocritical, generic, and baseless, as I will discuss further below; but it’s ok, because he is acting exactly as I described in my review of celebrity chefs: “pompous, condescending, and extremely pedantic.”

Batali on his ThroneThere is so much wrong with what Batali says, that it seems to me the easiest way is to bullet point quotes from him and then quickly indicate the problems (I’ll stick to the bigger issues):

• “Blogs live by different rules” – Than who? Is Batali saying the best thing to do is conform? Is that what he does? And which rules are the right ones?
• Blogs vs. Journalism – Batali is upset that the popularity of blogs has overtaken that of traditional journalism. Mario is up on his Italian history, but apparently not American. The history of journalism, particularly in America is a rocky one; and most give credit to Captain John Smith, who started it all with his one-man-show newsletter Newes from Virginia. I’m sure he had fact checkers, lawyers, etc., right Mario? Journalists are people and even the recent history of large news organizations is marred with lies, allegations, fraud, doctored images, plagiarism, etc. Perhaps this is why people are turning to blogs– the “Newes from Blogosphere”
• “…the casual and serious reader alike cannot possibly hold the anonymous blogosphere accountable.” – Not understanding the nature of the Internet doesn’t make it bad. Batali comes from big business, millions of dollars are spent building and marketing his restaurants. It’s money that frequently distinguishes his restaurants from others (yes, yes, I know food helps, but not as much as it should, especially in NYC). And so, it’s likely that he uses that as a basis for analyzing the blogosphere. But blogs, which are rarely marketed (unless sponsored by the traditional press he so endears), grow readership based on merit. Readers are more savvy than Batali thinks, and are learning to gauge fact from fiction, particularly because the blogs are online.
• “vituperative” – Batali uses this word twice, in the Eater article and the NY Magazine roundtable. Then he says that bloggers use “peculiar vocabuliary” — when was the last time you heard anyone use the term vituperative. I’ve already called him pedantic, so I won’t do it again. Mind you that I don’t mind the correct use of language, just don’t make fun of others while doing it yourself.

So at the end of the day, I’m not sure what the man is whining on about. Bloggers are treating him well, the future seems to include a big place for bloggers, and his entire argument is not thought out well. Stick to food Mario, keep the media discussion to your public relations team.