The Big Time Chef In The Age Of Citizen Journalism

Eater, a top NYC based food blog, has a guest column written by Mario Batali, titled Why I Hate Food Bloggers By Mario Batali #01 (as in there’s more to come?).

I think we can all agree that besides being an amazing chef, Mario is media savvy. He knows how to use the media to get and keep the attention on him and his restaurants.

And so he’s taken to guest blogging on a popular food blog and his topic is the irresponsible journalism that is allowed to exist on blogs but would never be tolerated by traditional media.

He nails home his point with a great rant on the incorrect and unfair characterization of the lease fight between him and his partners and the landlord at Del Posto. The blogs got it wrong and the misinformation propagated. Happens all day long in the blogs. What about the screwup that Engadget had on the iPhone that took a billion of market cap out of Apple stock in a single day?

But look beyond Mario’s post. He’s validating the very medium he’s critizing. A guest post on Eater by Mario Batali makes Eater bigger, will bring more readers, lets everyone know that Eater matters.

And Mario knows that too. But anyone who pays attention can see that blogs and review sites are gaining importance in the restaurant market. Dealing with user generated content is the reality of being a restaurant owner.

So Mario’s validating and critiquing at the same time. He’s in the conversation. Smart.