Thursday, February 2, 2012
News Memphis Restaurants Condemn 'Best Chef' Bracket Contest as 'Cutthroat'
Posted by Dana Kopp Franklin on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 11:55 AM
But that competitiveness can have its limits. That seems to be what happened in Memphis when a local business publication launched its Best Chef in Memphis tourney, a bracket-style competition that pits 32 chefs against one another, with the winner of each match determined by popular vote.
A number of restaurateurs and chefs included in the contest sent the Memphis Business Journal a letter "respectfully declining" to participate in the paper's competition, saying it represents a "cut-throat" mentality that just isn't the Memphis way.
"As the Memphis restaurant scene has continued to develop, especially with the increase of chef-owned restaurants, we as key players in this development have worked to cultivate an environment of inclusiveness," the letter said, according to the Hungry Memphis blog of the alt-weekly Memphis Flyer.
"Instead of competing with each other, we send each other business. Instead of poaching talented staff, we share resources to ensure a future of talent," the letter continued.
"Is there a competitive spirit? Of course. We are, after all, business people. But the people who have chosen to make Memphis their culinary home in the past few years have done so with the forethought that Memphis can be and is different than other cut-throat restaurant towns."
The Flyer asked one unnamed restaurateur how the Memphis Business Journal contest differed from the Flyer's Best of Memphis poll and Memphis magazine's Restaurant Poll. The restaurateur responded, "You're not necessarily pitting restaurants against each other."
And the Flyer has this hint as to exactly how the paper's poll rubbed chefs the wrong way: "The restaurateur said that MBJ had reached out to those included in the bracket and suggested they use social media to 'smack talk each other.' "
Check out the full story on the Flyer's blog, including the complete text of the letter.
And just as interesting are the comments, weighing the ethics of the MBJ contest versus other "Best of" readers' polls — which would include the one this paper runs every year.
A comment from somebody called "Kat" made the point that the bracket system explicitly identifies chefs as losers: "This bracket knocks out 'contenders' early in the process which creates 'least favorites.' "
Meanwhile, other commenters said the chefs who signed the letter were being whiny and need to "grow a pair."
What are your thoughts, Bites Nation?
Comments (2)
Showing 1-2 of 2
We are, as a country, at the threshold of Idiocracy. Why does every single fucking activity have to be framed in the context of a battle, match, competition, war, feud, conflict, and hatred? If I had cable/sat TV I'm sure that there is a channel that features competitive flossing? If not, there will be soon. Oh, and never tell a person who has access to numerous variety of well honed cutlery to "grow a pair". I hear they taste like chicken.
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I kind of agree that it's the bracket system that turns it from fun and friendly to unnecessarily competitive. Declining to participate as a bloc shows a lot of solidarity.
