This blog is unprofessional, according to the person behind chef Paul Wilson’s Twitter account – whether it is Paul himself or his wife Bec.
I’ve asked for an apology but they have chosen to ignore the request. And now I’m telling this story which encompasses how people fuck-up on Twitter, ethics and how and why reviews here are written.
So what happened? Well, I published a story about two Prahan pubs Morris Jones and The Smith that was unintentionally inaccurate and something obviously the Paul Wilson Twitter account didn’t like.
To wind back to 12 October, I was invited by a friend Rory Kent to have a free dinner with Morris Jones owner Hayden Burbank. Burbank toured me through the pub and talked me through the menu, introduced me to head chef Tony Milton.
He told me Paul Wilson had helped him out and with the direction of the menu, I’m pretty sure. So I reported that. Then came this rather bitchy Tweet:
I took that on-board and immediately corrected the error, which was that I reported that the menu was by the “ubiquitous” Paul Wilson. And he is ubiquitous, thanks to his consultancy to many venues prior to becoming a director of the Melbourne Pub Group, which limits him to 4 or 5 restaurants/pubs now.
And subsequent to posting this (12.10 Thursday), I received an email from Paul Kasteel (his name was mispelled in the Tweet):
“Whilst it is true l provided a lot of direction on the menu with Paul Wilson’s help and input as a consultant l am not a chef and did not write the menu. The correct spelling of my name is Paul Kasteel and the Head Chef at Morris Jones is Tony Milton.
We developed a brief for Tony with Paul’s help and l provided the direction on the sorts of dishes, desire to do something different with Cocottes and Crepes on the lunch menu, however, Tony wrote the menu for us and l think it is unfair to quote myself as the chef.”
When I write a review I try and make it interesting and in this case, coincidentally, The Smith had opened up the road and chef/owner Michael Lambie had been emailing me to come along. I did and I paid for my meal. And as Michael Lambie has been consultant to as many venues as Paul Wilson it was worth mentioning that he is now focusing on one.
Now I’m invited out the whole time. If I wanted I could eat and drink every night of the week for free. I only accept a few invitations and even when I do I wrestle morally as to whether or not and how I write about a venue and its food as I want this blog to be fiercely independent.
I thought I could overcome my concerns by the presentation of The Smith vs Morris Jones and it turns out I did it in a way that the Paul Wilson Twitter account didn’t like.
So what are the hidden messages in the review? It’s actually as I said: I prefer the modern style of food at The Smith vs the French style at Morris Jones. I also said I enjoyed the food and Morris Jones, which I did. I’d imagine most people would have no problem eating the food from either restaurant.
I also said that I preferred the design of Morris Jones to The Smith. It is my execution of the story that perhaps the PAul Wilson Twitter account can’t swallow.
To sum up, I made a minor mistake from something I’ pretty sure I heard the pub’s owner tell me – that Paul Wilson helped with the menu. I changed the post immediately when I was berated.
You judge what is unprofessional.
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