Critics condemn Belfast restaurant libel victory February 12, 2007
Adam Lechmere
Restaurant critics throughout the UK are united in condemnation of a jury which upheld a libel action by a restaurateur.
Irish News restaurant critic Caroline Workman, in a 2000 review of Belfast's Goodfellas restaurant, described staff as unhelpful, the cola as flat and the chicken marsala as 'so sweet as to be inedible'.
Calling the review 'a hatchet job', Goodfellas owner Ciaran Convery sued. The jury agreed Workman's words were 'defamatory, damaging and hurtful' and awarded the restaurateur £25,000 in damages.
The paper is appealing the verdict and is backed by the National Union of Journalists.
Decanter's restaurant critic Brian St Pierre said, 'This says more about juries than about restaurants or critics. It's easier to convince a jury that a reviewer has been unfair than it is to argue the finer points of free speech.'
Guardian newspaper critic Matthew Norman said, 'To say there is an issue of free speech here is so blazingly obvious it almost goes without saying.'
St Pierre – along with other veteran critics like the Observer's Jay Rayner – said he would not be watering down his reviews as a result of this action.
'If AA Gill isn't getting sued then the rest of us are safe,' he said, referring to a critic famous for his acerbic reviews. He once described San Lorenzo as 'quite the worst restaurant in London, maybe the world... [serving] horrendous food, grudgingly…'
St Pierre added, 'The restaurant is asking for money. As long as we are paying them we have the right to comment. Sometimes I think perhaps this or that adverb is a bit strong, but this is free speech.'
Michelin-starred restaurateur Richard Corrigan of Lindsay House in London – described by critic Matthew Fort as 'one of the outstanding culinary talents of a generation' - agreed.
'We invite people to eat our food and we invite them to say what they feel. If critics fear to speak their minds then it is a very sad day for restaurant criticism,' he told decanter.com.
Corrigan had one caveat. 'I am happy to take a drubbing from the top critics. But if a stand-in reviewer out to make a reputation for himself said something I thought was unfair, I would go after him.'
Shaun Hill of the Glasshouse in Worcester, whose former restaurant the Merchant House in Ludlow garnered lavish praise (including being named Decanter's restaurant of the year), said he had had his share of 'kickings' from the critics.
'But I cannot imagine ever suing. A good writer can put you down without saying anything actionable. Criticism is part of the excitement of the whole business of running a restaurant. You have to take it on the chin.'
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Mr Ciaran Convery should have remained a "good fellow" and accepted this minor criticism - and that is all that is. Imagine if the critic found something really wrong with his establishment?
So what if his cola machine had a bloops, his waiters a bad night and the chef's hand a little heavy with the condiments. He should have looked to see where the real problems lay, rectified what he could, then invited the journalist back at some stage in the future.
Now anybody calling into Belfast will think twice about what a "good fellow" he is - especially in the light of the pettiness of the whole case seems to be. It is going to cost him a whole lot more in the long run to get people to be jolly in his restaurant - if I were eating there I would be worried about sending back a bottle of corked wine or the likes - for fear of being sued.
AK
The restaurant should have been sued for serving chicken marsala!
Chris Hackett
This report should receive the maximum publicity so that people can be warned of the unfriendly attitude that this restaurant has towards its diners. It has been said that few diners complain of poor service, bad food and doctored wines so that unscrupulous proprietors can make large profits. I have a particularly unpleasant experience of complaining about a dead wine that was produced in a Swiss restaurant and instead of swapping the bottle I and the party with me were thrown out onto the street! Maybe in the future such a complaint might be treated as actionable and diners may appear in court having complained of a bad bottle.
LGM
Surely criticism can only be to an advantage in the long term.
Gordon Andrews, Reading, UK
A number of things come to mind here: There are the already-cited issues of free speech and the ability (or necessity, or appropriateness) of the legal arm in such matters. It's another one of those "idiotic litigation" stories. One wonders if Mr. Convery extended even a bit of his wrath to his waiters, to his kitchen and to the bar staff that supposedly maintain the quality of his establishment's drinks.
The original story is from 2000. Is the restaurant still operating? If I'd followed the story at the time, a review such as Ms. Workman's would have at least thrown up a caution, had I been considering dining there. However, Mr. Convery's subsequent actions would have "sealed the deal" for me; I wouldn't have gone there if he offered dinner for free. It appears to be a first-class instance of his misspelling "wine" with an "h."
Steven Drotos
I have been a restaurant critic since 1977 and have had two serious complaints. Both were threats to my life, I ignored them because the offending words were my opinion. However one cannot ignore a £25,000 fine. Who paid the judge?
All restaurant or wine judgments are subjective and should be taken as such. Was this the script for Silly Ass Angel!
Antony le Ray-Cook
Those who can, do. Those who can't, criticise. Most of us in the hospitality business regard amateur restaurant and wine critics in much the same way as lamposts regard dogs. Informed and reasoned comment from hospitality professionals is welcome and acceptable.
Chris Baker
Chris Baker's remarks that, in effect, mean only culinary professionals can criticise the work of chefs is the same as saying only Oscar winning actors should be able to assess movies or star football players write about football. This is a trite argument. There are, in fact, many professional restaurant critics who, through the breadth of their experience, become very well informed about what makes a good restaurant – something many chefs do not know, and what constitutes a good dish whether classical or modern in its inspiration. You don't have to be an astronomer to be able to praise a good sunset.
Nigel Hopkins
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Mr Ciaran Convery should have remained a "good fellow" and accepted this minor criticism - and that is all that is. Imagine if the critic found something really wrong with his establishment?
