Guidebooks
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About three-and-a-half years ago we bought the Green Inn restaurant in Ballater, Aberdeenshire. Under the previous owners the restaurant had achieved a two-rosette rating in the AA Restaurant Guide.
Posted: 19 January 2006 | 00:00
Travel guide publisher Lonely Planet has praised the quality of capital’s hotels and restaurants in its latest London guide.
Posted: 17 January 2006 | 16:19
Why does unpretentious food never achieve top marks in the guidebooks? wonders food writer Simon Wright
Posted: 01 December 2005 | 00:00
Online reviews can't entirely replace guidebooks and grading systems, says hotel industry consultant Melvin Gold
Posted: 24 November 2005 | 00:00
The humble British gastropub now surpasses the French bistro in both culinary and service standards, according to veteran restaurant critic Egon Ronay.
Posted: 24 November 2005 | 00:00
Michelin's first Red Guide for New York has provoked controversy on both sides of the pond. Rosalind Mullen investigates what all the fuss is about
Posted: 17 November 2005 | 01:00
A better informed public means that restaurant guides are increasingly irrelevant, says David Smolt
Posted: 20 October 2005 | 00:15
RAC hotel guidebook bows out after more than a century
Posted: 20 October 2005 | 00:00
One of the AA guide's top hotels has renounced its listing, claiming the publication is "past its sell-by date". Martin Cummings, owner of Amberley Castle in West Sussex, told Caterer: "I think the AA ought to go and be replaced with marketing consortia. We can't trace any business from the AA and they don't understand us."
Posted: 17 October 2005 | 10:52
Gordon Ramsay's flagship London restaurant on Royal Hospital Road has fallen off the top spot in the 2006 Good Food Guide, published next week (20 October).
Posted: 13 October 2005 | 12:15
Details of the new rating system by which all hotels and B&Bs across the UK will be judged are announced today exclusively in Caterer.
Posted: 13 October 2005 | 10:45
There are still too many hotel restaurants in the AA Restaurant Guide for it to be credible, believes restaurateur and writer Simon Wright
Posted: 22 September 2005 | 00:00
More than half of the UK consumers do not use a guide book to help them choose a restaurant or hotel, according to exclusive Caterer research.
Posted: 29 July 2005 | 11:47
When was the guide established? It was launched in 1951 and has been published by Which? since 1962.
Who created it and why? Author and wine enthusiast Raymond Postgate began the guide. It grew out of a series of magazine articles in the 1940s and was a response to the general poor standard of cooking found in UK restaurants.
What method of rating does it use? Editor Andy Turvil says: “Every establishment listed is visited by an inspector before gaining entry, and then on a regular basis thereafter. Feedback from readers is also incorporated, with each entry based on all the feedback we have received over a given year.”
How does a venue get included in the guide? Reader recommendation is the most common route to gaining entry into the guide.
If I want to be included, who should I contact? Andy Turvil, by post to the Good Food Guide, 2 Marylebone Road, L
Posted: 28 July 2005 | 11:26
When was the guide established? The original London guide was founded in 1991.
Who created it and why? Brothers Richard and Peter Harden quit their jobs in finance after witnessing the success of customer-survey guides in New York and Düsseldorf.
What method of rating does it use? A consumer survey. Harden’s claims that for the 2006 guide 8,000 people contributed more than 90,000 individual reports. Peter Harden comments: “We have a 40,000-strong mailing list of interested people, and it is this self-selecting group of reporters who take part. An analysis of the surveys generates the ratings in the books”.
How does a venue get included in the guide? Selection is determined by the survey.
Is there any payment required to be included? No.
If I want to be included, who should I contact? Information can be sent to:
Posted: 28 July 2005 | 11:08
When was the guide established? Original French Red Guide began in 1900. Great Britain and Ireland version launched in 1974.
Who created it and why? Published by French tyre company Michelin to aid travelling motorists.
What method of rating does it use? A group of full-time inspectors visit anonymously. Inspectors have at least a HND catering qualification or equivalent, plus restaurant or hotel experience and six months’ training with an established inspector. It famously awards one to three stars for its top-rated venues. Michelin will not confirm its exact number of inspectors, but says there are 70 across Europe who move around “as and when needed”. Last inspections are in late November, the guide goes to press in December and is published in January.
How does a venue get included in the guide? In-house research, reader recommendations and venues requesting a visit.
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Posted: 28 July 2005 | 11:00
When was the guide established? The AA began inspecting hotels in 1912. The 2005 Restaurant Guide is its 12th edition and was originally part of the AA Hotel Guide. The awards, a range of 1 to 5 rosettes, began in 1991.
Who created it and why? A group of motoring enthusiasts formed the Automobile Association in 1905. The guide was created to aid the motorist because of the increasing popularity of touring by car.
What method of rating does it use? The rosette ratings are given by a team of 30 full-time professional inspectors, who visit anonymously. The AA states: “Our inspectors have a food and beverage background within the hotel and restaurant industry. Much more important, however, is that they have all been trained to benchmark to the AA’s rosette standards.”
How does a venue get included in the guide? Through the knowledge of inspectors and research by the editorial team, pl
Posted: 28 July 2005 | 10:56
When was the guide established? Its first guide was the UK & Ireland Hotel Collection, in October 2003.
Who created it and why? James Lohan and Tamara Heber Percy, who, as company legend puts it “were sitting together in yet another average hotel, trying to get enthused about their ‘romantic weekend’ away, when they decided it was time to take action”.
What method of rating does it use? Hotels are researched by “the Mr and Mrs Smith” team of four and then a shortlist is compiled. Each hotel from the shortlist is visited in person, to include a guided tour and overnight stay. Finally, the hotel is reviewed anonymously by “a selected panel of credible opinion leaders”.
How does a venue get included in the guide? In-house research, plus direct contact from the establishment.
If I want to be included, who should I contact? Katy McCann on
Posted: 28 July 2005 | 10:53
They're little understood and often mistrusted by the trade, but influential enough to make or break many businesses. Phil Pemberton goes inside the world of the guidebooks
Posted: 28 July 2005 | 00:00
When was the guide established? 1979.
Who created it and why? Native New Yorkers Tim and Nina Zagat believed that rating a restaurant on the basis of thousands of experiences was inherently more accurate than relying on one reviewer.
What method of rating does it use? Consumer reviews. A questionnaire is compiled by Zagat and is posted on Zagat’s website, where consumers give their ratings and reviews. An independent data processor compiles the votes. The published reviews are based on these questionnaires, with numerical ratings reflecting the average scores given and text based on direct quotes from participants’ comments.
How does a venue get included in the guide? Selection is determined by consumer reviews.
If I want to be included, who should I contact? Survey Research, Zagat Survey, 4 Columbus Circle, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10019,
Posted: 28 July 2005 | 00:00
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