The Bulletin: Whose restaurant rules?

My story about the egos and clashes behind the restaurant awards season appears in The Bulletin (that’s our local version of Newsweek) today.
The brief agreed with news editor Tim Blair was end of restaurant awards guide season, bruised egos etc.
Innocent questions stimulated an interesting response from the people behind The Age (our local daily broadsheet) Good Food Guide. Shannon Bennett’s Vue de Monde I’d heard was upgraded from two to three hats but The Age had only checked out the decor and not the food because the guide was one week away from deadline.
It also turned out that editor Roslyn Grundy had quit, which I emphasise was not connected to this in any way. Initially I couldn’t get hold of her but with a few well chosen questions she eventually wanted to speak to me – 8.45 one evening.
She thought that food critic Richard Cornish had visited it twice; Shannon Bennett told me he’d been once in the opening week and hadn’t eaten there.
My conversation with Cornish went something like his:
Tomato: “I just wanted to confirm if you visited Vue de Monde once or twice before upgrading it to three hats.”
RC: “Sorry, you’ll have to talk to them [Good Food Guide].
Tomato: “But she wasn’t sure and asked me to speak to you.”
RC: “Sorry, you’ll have to talk to her.”
Tomato: “But she doesn’t know.”
RC: “Sorry, you’ll have to talk to her.”
At this point things become very repetitive for about five minutes (I should have recorded it as a podcast). It was very funny.
Thankfully, Grundy was very helpful. She confirmed the number of visits with Richard and food critic John Lethlean, fast becoming the grand daddy of food reviewing in Melbourne.
Apparently, Cornish had visited the restaurant in the old premises and once in the new to check out the decor. He recommended that it be given two stars. But Lethlean, who had visited the restaurant three times (in a week?) – twice on behalf of Gourmet Traveller – recommended the upgrade.
It turns out that The Age really is the poor old Age and hasn’t the resources to give restaurant reviews the kind of attention that other guides give.
The Sydney Morning Herald, for example, visited Rockpool seven times before it was downgraded from three chefs hats to two.
Gourmet Traveller visited Vue de Monde six time before making it Restaurant of the Year.
Some chefs think that our GoofGood Food Guide has dented its reputation with it looking for its third editor in as many years.
I’m told a well-known food writer will be taking on the role. The money is on Lethlean getting the job.