Restaurant critic’s departure reveals potential hazards of the job

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Category: Health

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. beat / bit / (n.) – the area or subject that someone, such as a reporter or police officer, is responsible for as part of their job
    Example:

    The journalist’s beat includes reporting on local government and city council meetings.


  2. intellectually / ˌɪn tlˈɛk tʃu ə li / (adv.) – in a way that involves thinking, understanding, and learning
    Example:

    She is intellectually curious and always eager to learn new things.


  3. stimulating / ˈstɪm yəˌleɪ tɪŋ / (adj.) – describing something that makes someone/something feel excited, interested, or active
    Example:

    The teacher gave a stimulating lecture that kept the students engaged and eager to learn more.


  4. sample / ˈsæm pəl / (v.) – to try or taste a small part of something, such as a product or food, to know if someone likes it or not
    Example:

    The chef asked everyone to sample the soup to make sure it tasted good.


  5. toll / toʊl / (n.) – the harm or damage caused by something
    Example:

    The stress of the job left a toll on his mental and physical health, causing him to feel sick and tired all the time.


Article

Read the text below.

Restaurant critics appear to have the best job in journalism, enjoying meals a few nights a week on someone else’s dime.


But New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells had painted a more complicated picture. In a recent column, Wells announced he’s leaving the beat because the constant eating has led to obesity and other health problems.


“Intellectually, it was still really stimulating, but my body started to rebel and say, ‘Enough is enough,’” Wells told The Associated Press.


To write a review, food critics usually make two or three visits to a restaurant and bring a handful of dining companions so they can taste as many dishes as possible. If the restaurant has a special focus on wine, cocktails, or desserts, they try those, too.


“You have to sample the full range of the menu,” said Ligaya Figueras, the senior food editor and lead dining critic for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “If I really felt like a salad today, I can’t just have the salad.”


Special features, like lists of the best places to get pizzas or hamburgers, may have critics eating the same fare for weeks. MacKenzie Chung Fegan, a restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, sampled Peking duck all over the city for a story about a restaurant that specialized in the dish.


“There was a two-week period where I was eating more duck than anyone’s doctor would advise,” Fegan said.


Wells isn’t the only restaurant critic to make a change in recent years. Adam Platt stopped covering restaurants for New York magazine in 2022, also citing the toll on his health. Wyatt Williams stopped covering restaurants for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2019, saying he had simply lost his appetite.


Wells said he will continue to go to restaurants and maybe even enjoy them more now that he’s not distracted by work. He said he will be sorry to lose touch with New York’s seemingly infinite restaurant scene, but glad to find more balance in his own life.


“Eating out constantly, you lose touch with your own normal appetite,” he said. “I didn’t know anymore what was normal for me.”


This article was provided by The Associated Press.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • What do you think are the best and worst aspects of being a restaurant critic? Do you believe it’s still a worthwhile career to pursue? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Wells said he’ll continue to go to restaurants and enjoy them without being distracted by his job, saying that he’s glad to find more balance in his own life. In your opinion, why is finding more balance in life important? How do you think people can achieve this (ex. by taking time to rest, by avoiding too much of something)? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • What do you think Pete Wells means by losing touch with his “normal appetite?” How do you think the experience of eating out changes when it becomes part of a job? Discuss.
  • What activities do you enjoy doing (ex. eating out, playing golf)? Would you consider doing that activity regularly as a job? Why or why not? Discuss.