Friday, June 29, 2007

The Batali Affair

First off, doesn't The Batali Affair sound like a slice of post-Bond 60s Eurospy trash starring Alain Delon with a guest starring role for Klaus Kinski?

In actuality, though, it's the continuing debate among members of the food press (pro and amateur divisions) about Mario Batali's rant about why he hates food bloggers.

BlogSoop head Doug Cress sent me a link to his piece about the whole world of food blogging and I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

As for Batali, I'm wondering who took a whiz in his Fruit Loops. I had the whole "I hate food bloggers" thing fresh in my mind as I was reading an article in the new issue of Business 2.0 (the best biz, emerging tech mag out there) about PrimeTime Tables, an exclusive dining club that offers reservations at exclusive eateries.

Sure enough, there's a quote from Batali – under any angry looking pic of the ruddy-faced chef wielding what looks to be some kind of weapon. When asked about the service Batali remarks, "He won't get any love from us, but we're not trying to stop him. [He's] gonna create this little niche and then I can take over the sale – people are eventually gonna pay me $400 for that table."

Glad to see you've got your eye on the most important thing – the food and the diner's experience – Mario.

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