Avoiding Cameras While Training the Lens on Food

As a photographer for the Daily News, (way back when...) I was assigned a 'food' story when the turkey industry was coming with the 'healthy' alternative to beef. So, there was this massive display of turkey products and there was a woman picking and tasting so I took a photograph. She went ballistic!!! Being the arrogant photog that I was, I politely (well, not so) told her where she could go. Hey. it was a press event. Got back to my office and the phones were ringing.... It was Mimi Sheridan. I said who??? When I repeated the story to an unnamed press rep, he said I could have sold the photo to restaurants for thousands!....(sigh).....staff photographer on salary..... No, we did not use the photo......

Along with putting the address on the home page, if the restaurant is on an Avenue they should include the cross streets. I see takeout menus all the time with no cross streets. I shouldn't have to pull up Google Maps to find where the restaurant is actually located.

Although I just recently took a workshop in staging food, fruit and vegetables for photography, the last thing I would bother doing when dining out is take time to photograph my plate. I just dig right in! My eyes have already recorded all necessary information and my tongue is impatient.

From the article and the comments . , . It's become a bizarre world. Maybe that's why Trump fits it like a glove.

Are chefs the new dentists?

Why do we need professional restaurant critics in the time of online user reviews? Online reviews are generally uncontrived, authentic, and on the whole, reliable. No two people are going to have the exact same experience in a restaurant, so why use one person's review instead of a sampling of the population's? Zagat ratings are also more relevant.

Betcha' Thomas Keller and David Chang know exactly what Pete Wells looks like.

Nice article. But does Mr. Wells really think these photos conceal his identity? His age, hair color and style, skin tone, body type and even most of his face are clearly visible. Unless this is a double mind-bend (like, these photos are actually not him at all) it seems rather bizarre that he's posting such obvious images of himself while talking about staying unrecognized.

I worked in the ad dept of the NY Times for many yrs. One of the treats was a off premise sales conference we had every yr. By hook or crook we managed to snare some of the leading NY Times food/wine critics, foreign correspondents, sports reporters and other to give 1/2 hr breakout sessions to the ad staff re their professions. I never forgot Ruth Reichl. She brought in a bag of disguises she would wear to alter her appearance. The wine critic stole the show though. (forgot his name, it was awhile ago). Somebody in the audience asked him what his greatest challenge was as a wine critic and he calmly said not getting plastered. He actually used more colorful language. Robert Lip., the sports reporter sessions were legendary. The doors were locked after the session started and all PC went out the window re arguments and typical sports debates. Yes female employees were present. The foreign correspondent sobered us up when she told us her profession's greatest challenge was not staying sober like the wine critic but not coming down with a deadly disease when in Africa or the Far East. They all had SAT phones.

How long before restaurants are being sold facial recognition software to spot people like you? Besides who knows what other useful information about their clients.

This is 100% correct: website designers who don’t put the restaurant’s address and phone number and hours right on the home page should be sued for malpractice.

Pete, anyone who sees the lead photo in the article knows what you look like. NY Times, why did you even bother trying to "chop up" the photo? I'm not even a foodie, but I'd recognize Pete if I saw him on the street.

Bravo, Mr. Wells, for being able to remain Invisible Man while sampling food in restaurants, for the benefit of NYT readers. I never use Yelp, nor any other platforms, written by self-named food critics of unknown credentials. As to photographing food, perhaps it gives good or bad memories to the restaurant clients, but it detracts from the main purpose of a restaurant visit: to enjoy the food in a place where the decor does not turn one's stomach.

I bet a good Photoshopper could mosaic and un-warp that in 15 minutes. I just tried it in Microsoft Paint and got a pretty decent result.

You are right about YELP content and their business model so I find TripAdvisor a good alternative

This biggest criticism nowadays with restaurants has less to do with the food and more with the user experience. Restaurants have become so loud, they are no longer a pleasure to dine in. I am old enough to remember, not that long ago, that a fine restaurant (and many middling joints) where quiet, comfortable, and acoustically soft place. All you heard was gentle conversation and the clink of forks and knives on plates. But many (most?) current restaurants are noisy, active, bright, and only interested in rushing you out. This is why I have dined out far far less then I did 10 or 20+ years ago. A quiet home meal is the last refuge of the civilized dinner. A most places, I can't hear myself think or hear the person I am with, without yelling. Considering the population is getting older, the savvy restauranteur should see this and should be opening and remodeling so places are at least more acoustically dead. Customers can still be talking and jovial and even be noisy! The dampening makes it much better for the other dinners. Start with getting rid of hard floors. Yes, carpet is a pain. But it can be use smartly and dampen in the dining areas. Otherwise, it is all about the walls and ceiling. Hire an acoustics expert to advise on where to dampen and what to put up. Art, etc. can dampen a lot. Call me when the noisy pendulum goes back the other way. I'll be the first in the door.

I'm not as willing to believe that the 2 photos in this article ARE of Pete as many of you seem to be... #suspiciousmind I do echo his disdain for restaurant sites that don't clearly show hours and contact info, but I have to disagree about SOME food websites being helpful. Ever spend time on a true 'foodie' site like Eater or HungryOnion.org? We have the original version of eGullet (may it rest...) to thank for those! People commenting on those pages tend to be local and far more knowledgeable than those posting on Yelp and travel sites, imo. Any time I need to do out-of-state (or even out-of-country) restaurant research, I start with those and the local "Best Of" lists. Once you do some research, the consistently good places show up over and over again. Works for me every time.

Google Pete Wells, and a bunch of images appear, including Wells' personal punching bag Guy Fieri. No, no restaurant has ever gone to such great research lengths, have they? Of course, I worked for 3 1/2 years for Danny Meyer, who has been to fundraisers with every Times critic since, oh, Mimi Sheraton, I'd think. You know who are anonymous? Michelin inspectors, who don't write a word under their names. In fact, Michelin doesn't review in the traditional sense, at all. Just one, two or three stars, two of which are nods to Michelin's history as part of the rise of the automobile in France. Two stars is "worth a detour (from your planned itinerary," and three stars is "worth the voyage (just to go to that restaurant.."

And yet they posted his picture on this article. Sure it's obscured but it looks like it would be pretty trivial to reconstruct; all the information is there, it's just slightly distorted.

It seems to me it would be a lot better for business if restaurants focused on having the best possible wait staff serve the best possible meals all the time rather than sniffing out Pete so they can do that for him. It is so insincere to cook for the critic, not your customers.

Very interesting story. Amen to having current menu and prices online. Laughed out loud about suing for malpractice if the address and phone are not on the front page. In Tokyo some restaurants prohibit photography, ranging from high-end sushi to a hip coffee shop.

Given that Wells's photo is readily available online, and that this rippled glass photo does little to hide his features, I get the feeling that it's Wells who's being fooled, as restaurants pretend not to know who he is when he shows up.

Okay - I'm old and I'm a dinosaur. I also like my smart phone and technology, And I LOVE good food. But I find it highly disconcerting to be in a restaurant with everyone photographing their food the minute it is set in front of them. Why would anyone do this? Well, actually I know - it's more of the self-absorbed culture that is so prevalent today. "Look at me - I'm eating at this hot trendy restaurant! Aren't I just special!" Gag... I like food well presented but not in a "precious" way. In the end, it's how it tastes that matters to me and that i memorable. I know what a beautiful shuffle looks like right out of the oven as I used to fix them at home before I lived alone. I don't need a picture to remind me. I've been to restaurants where a table next to me was so busy photographing their food and one another and posting it on social media that there was little eating actually going on. What a waste of good food and a sad commentary on society today. As for recognizing food critics; well, the food should be prepared and served to the same high standard for any guest at a restaurant. It's sad that restaurants only up their game if a critic is in the house that night.

Before the smartphone restaurants posted notices not to to use mobile phones. And you used to get the evil eye or even scolded by other restaurant patrons for taking photos of your food. Gosh, how social media has changed people's bias against technology, especially when it serves their interests.

If I'm going to a restaurant for the first time, I always go to yelp first. Amidst all the drivel, there is valuable information. With a lot of reviews, you see pretty quickly what to order and what not to order. It's far from perfect, but far better than going in blind and wasting money on bad food. More importantly, we don't have the insight of Pete Wells here in New Hampshire. Also, I do yelp reviews myself, and I'm indebted to Mr. Wells and Frank Bruni for inspiring me.

How much difference can it really make? A food critic orders Items X and Y from the menu. A lot of the preparation for those items has been done earlier in the day. What is the chef supposed to do to make this particular order better than all the others that night? Put in an extra carrot? The food critic might get better service than the average customer -- but I don't see that he/she would get much better food. And certainly not better decor, noise level, location, etc.

Good Article. I always wonder how food writers anywhere get to write up places to eat in this 24/7 social media time. I do read restaurant writers,both local (CA) and national. When I have had to travel for work, I pull up the newspapers of that town to check out places near where I stay. At home, in the San Gabriel Valley, there are so many Asian places opening up, featuring different countries/regions, that I do read Yelp to see what diners familiar with the food say.

[TL;DR] -- Despite the photo-your-food fad, restaurant critic Pete Wells can remain anonymous. Longer version: intended or not, this article appears to have been written as a service to put restaurants on notice that the NYT restaurant critic is still out there and invisible despite modern technology. I'm curious enough about the tension between PI trained wait staff and the need to get a real restaurant experience to red the article, but I have a feeling I was not the target audience...Just more of the conspiracy...

if I had a restaurant Pete's picture , from Google, would framed in the front and kitchen areas.

Google Pete Wells, and a picture of him shows up readily. Not sure why the subterfuge is necessary in this article's photos.

I happen to be mildly obsessed with both how Mr. Wells does his job (it's not unlike covert CIA ops) and how much restaurants seem to want to "catch" him. This is way better than any TV show.

Go Pete!

If you Google Mr. Wells' name his photo come up. I'm afraid sir, your cover has been blown!

I'd like to know just who thought that the photo of the critic behind the textured plastic maintained his anonymity. I'm sure I could not only pick him out of a lineup now, but would recognize him seated at the table I was serving.

As a frequently traveler I find Yelp and similar sites to be of marginal use -- the further down the scale .... the more useful. It's the same with the travel sites. There is nothing like reading a proper review from a knowledgeable reviewer -- they understand what's important .. interesting.

Just a fascinating article, and I wanted to say so. Made me re-think my views on annoying people taking photos of their food in restaurants, for a start. Very interesting - thank you!

Pete, the best way to preserve your anonymity is to severely photoshop images of your face and post them on the web with your title. That way, when people Google your name they'll be passing around images of you that are more avatar than real.

Yelp has become a cesspool of petty attacks, and Yelp overlords have a weird metric for deciding how to manage reviews. The ONE negative review of Knickerbockers in NYC was a long tirade about how it is a racist eatery. Knickerbockers! That is patently untrue, and I suggested that Yelp pull down the attack. They declined saying that they see nothing wrong with it. My review of a Park Slope eatery ended with "You might be happier at Restaurant X just down the block." That review was pulled down and I was admonished for a 'conflict of interest'. Ugh.

"I still think website designers who don’t put the restaurant’s address and phone number and hours right on the home page should be sued for malpractice." Well said!