154. Waitrose Pulls The Plug On The Good Food Guide.

 Revenge is a dish best served cold.......

  There are some restauranteurs who may be embracing the above sentiment at the news that Waitrose has pulled the plug on the publication it took over, The Good Food Guide, most of all Alex Claridge whose The Wilderness failed to be included in the 2019 and final 2020 editions. Waitrose, which took over publication of the Guide seven years ago, announced yesterday (27 May 2021) that “We retain the brand but currently have no plans to publish future guides”.

 The story of the founding of The Good Food Guide is familiar to many. It was originally published in 1951 as a result of the efforts of its first editor, Raymond Postgate, to identify to people where food could be eaten in reasonable surroundings after the years of rationing imposed by the needs of the Second World War and the less necessary diktat of Attlee’s post-War Labour government. Postgate had founded the Good Food Club in 1949 and reviews were elicited from members of dining establishments in which they had eaten. Anyone who submitted a review was considered to be member of the club.

  I recently thought it might be interesting to own an early edition of The Good Food Guide in reasonable condition and was interested to see how rarely they are offered on internet sites and the astonishing price being asked for them. For instance a dealer advertising a 1955-56 3rd edition was asking a price of well over £300 (which would have paid for several lunches in Birmingham Michelin-starred restaurants) and a 1957-58 4th edition, in very fine condition, was also remarkably expensive. I was not tempted to pay such prices for either of these little books despite their rarity and interesting contents, instead I thought of the meals I might treat myself to as a reward for not spending money so incautiously!

  Just for the record, the final edition of the Guide published in 2019 listed eleven Birmingham restaurants - Adam’s, Carter’s of Moseley, Folium, Harborne Kitchen, Lasan, Opheem, Opus, The Oyster Club, Purnell’s, Purnell’s Bistro and Simpsons. The Guide was a rather pleasing book to own, having higher production standards than the Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland but its descriptions of restaurants were often flowery, vaguely pompous and full of superfluous details. It was nice to have a British rival to the Michelin Guide but I can live without it.

Raymond Postgate