This time of year heralds many fine noises: jingling bells, carol singers, the slightly panicky gobble of turkeys and the distinct sound of knives being sharpened as the awards season grinds into gear. Up and down the land, sales and PR bods wear their fingerpads to the bone conference-calling favoured and not-so-favoured clients, wooing them with promises of shiny gold statues – or perhaps carrots – to display in reception, testament to their excellence in toilet hygiene or decor aesthetics. But, frankly, does it make a difference to you?
Forgive us if we sound a little weary, but can the award system be getting a little, well, out of hand? We've all heard of Michelin and The Good Food Guide and The AA and theoretically, they give us a benchmark, a set of standards we can trust to deliver us a fine meal. But why stop there? What about The National Restaurant Awards? The World's 50 Best Restaurants? The Scottish/North-East/Eat Sheffield/Kent Restaurant Awards? Have you any idea who wins? Do you follow it religiously, hoping each podium winner will reveal another hidden gem to uncover near you? Even your local takeaway has no doubt started displaying numerous stickers on their windows, announcing their membership of some allegedly bona fide organisation of quality to encourage you to order their sweet-and-sour. It is with interest we note the Sustainable Restaurant Awards holds its inaugural ceremony next year; a worthy and at least unique event and perhaps of interest to a few, but will it influence where you go for dinner?
The question is, is it worth taking any notice? Aren't all these award ceremonies undermining the ones determining genuine quality? We've blogged before on whether Michelin and its ilk are still relevant in the UK's restaurant scene, but they have spawned a flotilla of PR-initiated, PR-hungry functions that seem to be little more than industry back-slapping and that very few customers are even aware of, let alone follow. If the customers aren't particularly interested, what, we ask, is the point? It's simply a barrage of largely pointless information that doesn't inform the customer of the standards the restaurant had to reach, the height of the bar, so to speak or give any clue what the restaurant achieved and how. If we don't know the standards in the competition, how can we judge the winner?
Over to you. Have you ever sought out a restaurant that won an award? Do they mean anything to you or are you just in search of a good meal? Isn't it time the industry got rid of some of the flim-flam and simply got down to trying to be the best rather than telling itself it is?
