The Good Food Guide

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Smith, Drew (1984). Good Food Guide 1985. London: Consumers' Association and Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. p. 39.

Contents

The Good Food Guide is a guide to the best restaurants, pubs and cafés in Great Britain. The first edition was published in 1952 and covered the years 1951-1952. [1] Initially published once every two years, the Good Food Guide was then published annually from 1969 until 2000. [2]

In October 2021, Adam Hyman purchased The Good Food Guide [3] for an undisclosed sum from Waitrose & Partners. The Guide was relaunched in 2022 as a digital product. The Guide will no longer be published annually in print but will instead be published in an app that will be continuously updated with new Guide entries along with a The Good Food Guide Weekly digital newsletter, location guides and Club perks and offers.

According to the organisation, all reviews are based on the huge volume of feedback received from readers and this, together with anonymous expert inspections, ensures that every entry is assessed afresh. Every inspected meal is paid for, and Readers of the Guide are still actively encouraged to submit their reviews, via the Good Food Guide website, which are then considered for prospective inclusion in the Guide . [4]

Some guidebooks prior to Postgate's were, like his, based on readers' recommendations, but in the early 1950s, the majority were made up of the opinions of experts, or taste arbiters. They decided for their readership which restaurants were good and which were not. Other guidebooks might have advertised themselves as "independent," but many included listings for restaurants that paid them. [5]

Elizabeth Carter was appointed as editor of The Good Food Guide in November 2007. She has been an active restaurant inspector and contributor to the Guide since the 1990s, and has extensive experience in restaurant-related publishing and media. Previous roles have included editor of Les Routiers UK and Ireland Guide (2002-2004) and editor of the AA Restaurant Guide (1997-2000).

Chloë Hamilton works alongside Elizabeth Carter as co-editor. [6]

History

The Good Food Guide was first compiled by Raymond Postgate in 1951-52. Prior to that work, Postgate had published in the Leader Magazine (23 April 1949) an article entitled "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Food," stating that his new-found society rose from his frustration with the "horrifying things" he had witnessed in restaurants and urging interested readers to send him restaurant recommendations. [7] When Hulton, the Leader's publisher, abruptly closed the magazine down, Postgate worked with Lilliput to continue his project. [7] In November 1950, a neophyte version of what would become the Good Food Guide was published. This list of fifteen recommended restaurants was prefaced by Postgate's article, "The Good Food Club: Rules for Eating Out," including Rule One: "Read the menu outside. If there is no menu outside, don't go in." [8] Postgate's aims were simple, among them, ‘to raise the standard of cooking in Britain’ and ‘to do ourselves all a bit of good by making our holidays, travels and evenings-out in due course more enjoyable’. Following the success of The Good Food Club, readers' reports were compiled and the first Good Food Guide was published. It included 484 restaurants, hotels, and pubs. [9] One of the original compilers was food writer Margaret Costa who would become the regular Sunday Times food columnist. [10] Upon his retirement from the Good Food Guide in 1970, Postgate estimated that he had dealt with some 40,000 reader recommendations. [11]

Several editors have been associated with the Good Food Guide. Christopher Driver was appointed successor to Postgate in 1969-1970 and served in that role until 1982. [12] Driver's approach to editorship was characterized by Tom Jaine, himself a former editor of the Good Food Guide (1990-1994), as "galvanic." Driver "excoriated" many of the restaurants that he and Good Food Club members nonetheless deemed worthy of inclusion in the Guide, but which still suffered from "cupidity and the vain pretensions of their customers." Furthermore, Jaine continued, Driver "included with gusto and near-apostolic zeal Indian, Chinese and other ethnic restaurants which had hitherto been thought beneath a linen-and-crystal gourmand's notice." [12] Higher-end restaurateurs and chefs, including Kenneth Bell at Thornbury Castle, Gloucestershire, took offense at the Good Food Guide under Driver's editorship, launching letters to the Times as well as meeting with the Consumers' Association to whom Postgate had sold the Good Food Guide in 1963. [12] [13]

Drew Smith assumed the editorship in 1982 and brought on board Jeremy Round as his assistant editor, replacing Aileen Hall. [14] Round went on to become the first food columnist at the Independent, and during his tenure at the Good Food Guide, fellow Guide writer, David Mabey, credited Round with helping develop the Guide into "a mouthpiece for serious gastronomic debate." [15]

Characterizing Smith as "a lean, lanky, feisty chap," Mabey noted several campaigns that Smith launched, all of which had a significant effect on the British restaurant scene, British gastronomy, and diners. [15] The first was the "No Mortgage Needed" campaign launched in the 1983 Good Food Guide to address the high cost of dining out. Many restaurants responded to Smith's challenge to "provide a complete meal under £10," and many new addresses ended up in the 1984 Good Food Guide as a result. [16]

Smith was particularly critical of many so-called French restaurants, noted Michael Bateman, then food writer for the Independent on Sunday. Bateman quoted Smith as saying, "'You would recognize them by their use of frozen food, inept service, poor sauces, a big bill.'" [11] Partly in response, Smith inaugurated the "Real Food" campaign in the 1984 Good Food Guide. Restaurants that allowed the Guide a list of their suppliers to authenticate that indeed, the kitchen was free of processed, frozen, and ersatz products, were awarded a "Real Food" badge. In the 1985 Good Food Guide, Smith verified that the "Real Food" badge and campaign had been successful, that restaurateurs who had achieved the "Real Food" badge were actively "encouraging the growth of small food businesses in the area." [2]

Smith's essay in the 1987 Good Food Guide, "The British Revival," identified "a real gleam of hope. Our national cooking," Smith observed, "has reasserted itself. A new mood is evident. In the last year we have stumbled across what seems to be a phenomenon." Smith went on to write that initially, this phenomenon "appeared to take the shape of a resurgence of regional cooking in the Lake District, but it was soon apparent that other restaurants throughout the country had adopted the tack." [17] Labelling this new style "Modern British Cooking" or MBC, Smith identified five themes: Emphasis on regionality and sourcing ingredients as locally as possible to guarantee freshness and to also reward local craftsmen such as butchers for their product; the market itself, with menus reflecting what was best at local markets from day to day and hence, a focus on seasonality; relishes and spices that "revive the heart of British cooking" and that have traditionally been "used almost like punctuation, to give emphasis to the centerpiece," such as a joint of meat; the garden, especially the importance of an abundant use of vegetables and to a degree fruit that illustrate "the great wealth of British horticulture"; and finally, the tradition, especially chefs' attention to "traditional British puddings," from Sussex pond to jam roly-poly, treacle tart, clootie pudding, and Atholl brose. Equally important were chefs who called attention to a new generation of farmhouse cheesemakers who revived the production of languishing British cheeses. [17] Smith went on to stress that he and his staff "do not claim to have invented this modern British cooking, only to be recording it." [17] Twelve London restaurants, fifty-six English restaurants outside of London, thirteen Scottish, and six Welsh restaurants were given the "Modern British Cooking" badge. [18]

In August 2013, the guide was purchased and published by Waitrose & Partners. [19] The guide continued to be published annually, until May 2021.

Awards

In 2024, the Guide changed the format away from a ranked list, celebrating its newly formatted Good Food Guide Awards on the 30th of Jan 2024. [20]

This new format highlighted restaurants that are both World Class and Exceptional, [21] a reflection of the new scoring system of the Guide [22]

The event also awarded seven unique categories of awards [23]

Publications

References

  1. ↑ Postgate, Raymond, ed. (1952). The Good Food Guide, 1951-1952. Cassell & Co. Ltd.
  2. 1 2 Smith, Drew (1984). Good Food Guide 1985. London: Consumers' Association and Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. p. 39.
  3. ↑ "Good Food Guide bought by CODE Hospitality". The Caterer. 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  4. ↑ "ABOUT THE GOOD FOOD GUIDE". The Good Food Guide UK. 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  5. ↑ Howkins, Alun (14 December 1990). ""Eat Your Art Out: Alun Howkins on the Turbulent History of the Good Food Guide"". New Statesman. 3 (131): 32.
  6. ↑ "THE TEAM". The Good Food Guide UK. 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  7. 1 2 Driver, Christopher (1983). The British at Table, 1940-1980. London: Chatto & Windus. p. 51.
  8. ↑ Postgate, Raymond (November 1950). ""The Good Food Club: Rules for Eating Out"". Lilliput. 27 (5): 15–19.
  9. ↑ Sitwell, William (2020). The Restaurant: A 2,000-Year History of Dining Out. New York, New York: Diversion Books. p. 154.
  10. ↑ Slater, Nigel (13 August 1999). "Margaret Costa". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  11. 1 2 Bateman, Michael (15 January 1994). ""Undercover with a Guide Leader: 'The Good Food Guide' Is Famous for the Acerbity of Its Judgements."". Independent. Retrieved 26 November 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. 1 2 3 Jaine, Tom (22 February 1997). ""Obituary: Christopher Driver"". Independent. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  13. ↑ Jaine, Tom (27 August 2021). "Kenneth Bell Obituary". Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 Aug 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  14. ↑ Drew Smith. Email with author. 20 November 2025.
  15. 1 2 Mabey, David (12 December 2024). "Stirring the Pot: Memories of a Seasoned Guide Writer". The Good Food Guide. Archived from the original on 18 July 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  16. ↑ Smith, Drew (1984). Good Food Guide 1984. London: Consumers' Association, Hodder & Stoughton. p. 47.
  17. 1 2 3 Smith, Drew (1986). The Good Food Guide 1987. London: Consumers' Association and Hodder & Stoughton, Ltd. pp. 8–10.
  18. ↑ Warde, Alan (2009). ""Imagining British Cuisine: Representations of Culinary Identity in the Good Food Guide, 1951-2007"". Food, Culture and Society. 12 (2): 159.
  19. ↑ morningadvertiser.co.uk. "Investment in Waitrose Good Food Guide likely". morningadvertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  20. ↑ "THE GOOD FOOD GUIDE AWARDS 2024: THE WINNERS". The Good Food Guide. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  21. ↑ "Mountain and The Sportsman win best restaurant awards from The Good Food Guide 2024". Hot Dinners. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  22. ↑ "NEW SCORING SYSTEM". The Good Food Guide. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  23. ↑ "THE GOOD FOOD GUIDE AWARDS 2024: THE WINNERS". The Good Food Guide. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
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