The Illusion of Democracy in Online Consumer Restaurant Reviews

Abstract

Food has long served as a form of cultural capital, and historically it was an elite few food critics who held the power to ascribe status to dining experiences. The rise of social and digital media arguably allows anybody to adopt the role of critic. Lowered barriers associated with digital technologies, coupled with the contemporary 'foodatainment' boom have opened the floodgates for amateurs to weigh into the critical culinary discourse. The tendency for contemporary high-status dining experiences to include casual, rustic and simple foods suggests that the age of food snobbery is in the past. However, this notion of 'omnivorousness' can be viewed as an alternative means of establishing rules surrounding high-status foods. Johnston and Baumann's US research reveals two frames used in food writing to valorise foods in an omnivorous age: authenticity and exoticism. In this project, Johnston and Baumann's methodology is developed and applied to Australian professional and amateur reviews. Results show that Australian professional reviews frequently employ frames of distinction whereas amateur reviews do not; it concludes that the contribution by amateurs to the critical culinary discourse is limited.