Job Description
Restaurant Critic
The Restaurant Critic is the most prominent food media voice in one of the top dining destinations in the world. The Critic is a cultural thought leader, sparking and shaping how readers, chefs and makers understand the state of Bay Area dining.
The Chronicle food team’s mission is to provide the most engaging and influential coverage of the Bay Area’s food and drink culture, one of the most dynamic in the country. The team reports with accuracy and depth, tells stories through vivid and entertaining language, and critiques with insight and flair. It breaks news — then pulls off in-depth coverage of trends, people and issues. The team also knows how to make our audiences salivate. A deep love of all things food and drink, and the joy these can bring, informs our coverage.
Through regular reviews and Top Restaurant guides, the Critic points audiences toward the exceptional dining to be had at a range of restaurants in the region. But the Critic doesn’t merely evaluate individual restaurants: This person is fearless when it comes to breaking convention, and is keen on constantly challenging what restaurant criticism can be. The Critic will comment on emerging trends and food culture at large, setting the agenda on a national level, while keeping an audience engaged through a weekly newsletter and occasional reported features. The Critic is also a key member of the Food & Wine team, sharing their knowledge and perspective with reporters and editors, and pointing team members toward potential coverage.
We’re seeking a skilled writer who views restaurant criticism as a rich journalistic endeavor — an opportunity to talk about not only food but race, economics, emotion, conflict, culture and humanity.
What you will do:
- Cover the full range of restaurants all over the Bay Area: the formal and casual, the cutting edge and the classic.
- Write regular restaurant reviews, usually one per week. Each review should be an event: smart, insightful, with a clear point of view and surprising writing. Each story should inform, entertain and strive to spark conversation.
- Produce a weekly newsletter, a platform for smaller reviews/updates and opinion pieces.
- Work with the Associate Restaurant Critic and the Food & Wine editors to update and create new Top Restaurants guides. (They can be regional, such as Top San Francisco Restaurants; cuisine-focused, such as Top Filipino Restaurants; or based on one dish, like Top Pizza.)
- Collaborate with reporters and the rest of the food team on stories.
- Collaborate with the rest of the newsroom for photography, design, and digital publishing schedules. This includes helping produce food stories online, such as filling out spreadsheets for guides.
- May host a podcast on food culture, pending interest.
What it will take to be successful:
- Writing that is authoritative, perceptive and entertaining, with a distinct point of view.
- Unafraid to make bold statements and lead the conversation on restaurants on a local and national level.
- A digital focus and expertise in developing, acquiring and maintaining loyal readership.
- Passion and deep curiosity for all things food and drink, with a desire to seek out restaurants to celebrate and a willingness to call out overhyped restaurants/trends.
- Desire to experiment with the review format and the traditional critic role.
- Demonstrated knowledge of journalism ethics and adherence to the highest standards of professional conduct.
- Superb communication and collaboration skills; receptivity to feedback from editors.
- Experience and maturity dealing with sources, subjects, colleagues and online trolls.
- Ability to complete work on deadline and juggle multiple stories at a time.
- Desire to embrace and exceed digital performance expectations.
Requirements
- This position is full-time and will require dining at restaurants some evenings and weekends.
- The successful candidate must be based in the Bay Area or willing to move to the region.
In accordance with applicable law, Hearst is required to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role if hired in California. The reasonable estimate, if hired in San Francisco is between $90,000 and $110,000. A final decision on the successful candidate’s starting salary will be based on a number of permissible, non-discriminatory factors, including but not limited to skills and experience, training, certifications, and education.
About The San Francisco Chronicle & SFChronicle.com:
The San Francisco Chronicle delivers world-class journalism. One of the largest news organizations in the West, The Chronicle has been named California’s best large newsroom in four of the past six years and has been recognized as the best large newspaper website in California. Delivering the fastest and most reliable coverage of breaking news in Northern California, The Chronicle remains the region’s authoritative online news source, focused on the San Francisco Bay Area but inclusive of all California and Western news that reflects our unique local experience. Join our team!