‘Nothing to do with losing a hat’: Top chef from downgraded restaurant attacks reviewers

Award-winning Attica chef and owner Ben Shewry has attacked the critics who judge his cooking and denied that he did so because his restaurant lost a coveted Good Food chef’s hat in 2022.

New Zealand-born Shewry, head chef at Attica since 2005, was previously awarded a long list of plaudits for his Ripponlea restaurant, including chef of the year, restaurant of the year and three hats in The Age Good Food Guide since 2012.

Attica owner-chef Ben Shewry.Credit: Simon Schluter

After 10 years in Melbourne’s top echelon of restaurants, Attica was downgraded from three hats to two in 2022 – a decision Shewry writes about in his new book, Uses For Obsession, in which he excoriates food reviewers who he claims lack expertise.

In the chapter titled “Bats and Hats”, Shewry argues that the review system is oppressive and contributes to intense pressure on the restaurant industry. He describes instances of working while sick or cancelling birthday celebrations to cater for critics.

“There is a reason I am writing this chapter, even though it may land me in hot water,” he writes. “It is because the global restaurant industry has spent too long in the thrall of food media. It is a feckless system, built on hype.”

Shewry, 47, acknowledges in his book that he benefited from positive press over his career, which includes Attica making the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and an episode of Netflix series Chef’s Table.

Attica is known for showcasing native Australian ingredients.

However, he claims many critics lack sufficient knowledge to pass judgment on fine dining establishments like Attica, which celebrates native Australian ingredients and charges $385 a person for its sample menu.

“It takes a minimum of fifteen years’ continuous focus to get good at all aspects of cooking,” Shewry writes. “It can take a food critic one sideways promotion to find themselves in a position where they are judging the results of that cooking.”

In response to Shewry’s claims, head of Good Food Sarah Norris said the Good Food Guide, which includes more than 500 Victorian venues, was compiled according to a strict and robust scoring system that had been used to rate restaurants for more than 40 years.

She said the guide, which is published by and operates in close collaboration with this masthead, was a service to diners – not chefs – and managed by an experienced panel of food editors with many decades of experience between them.

Ben Shewry after Attica was awarded with three hats in the 2015 Good Food Guide.Credit: Graham Denholm

“We understand losing a hat is never easy,” she said.

“Good Food absolutely does understand its heavy responsibility, which is why the Guide adheres to such vigorous protocols. Though we see our primary responsibility to the dining public, not to the chefs.”

Norris said the goal of the Good Food Guide’s reviews was to provide honest recommendations for diners so they can make an informed decision about where to visit.

“With money tighter than ever, this helps people decide where to spend their dollars, based on recommendations they can trust,” she said.

Crocodile ribs at Attica. Credit: Simon Schluter

In his memoir, Shewry writes about the night when Attica lost a hat at the Good Food Guide awards in 2022, claiming the decision had a greater impact on his staff than on him.

“There’s a part of me that always keeps my expectations in check, and I feel strangely freed by the demotion,” he claims in his book.

Uses For Obsession by Ben Shewry.Credit: Murdoch Books/Allen & Unwin

The next day, at Attica, Shewry recalls: “The whole team feels they have failed the restaurant, the place that each and every one of them care so deeply about. I wish I could have done more to protect them.

“That same night, with a frankness that makes me laugh out loud, a senior staff member says: ‘F--- the Good Food Guide. In fifteen years, Attica is still going to be around, and the Good Food Guide is not.’”

In a statement to The Age made through his publisher, Murdoch Books, Shewry denied that the chapter was written because Attica was downgraded from three hats to two.

“It has absolutely nothing to do with losing a hat, and losing a hat has had no effect on our business,” he said.

He also stood by his wider condemnation of food reviewing, describing it as a self-congratulatory system that frequently forgets it would not exist without restaurants.

As part of his critique, Shewry also attacked the food media for failing to support restaurants during the COVID-19 lockdowns and for not abiding by a code of ethics, leading to conflicts of interest.

A photo of Ben Shewry from a Good Weekend story on keeping his restaurant alive during the COVID-19 lockdown.Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen

“It has no backbone, and within critiques, reviewers seemingly have little to no interest in covering any of the bigger questions about restaurants,” he told The Age.

Norris said she was “extremely puzzled” by the assertion the industry was not supported during COVID or that the media was not covering serious issues in hospitality.

“A quick Google search will reveal weekly stories by the food media, particularly Good Food, on restaurants and their pivot to takeaway,” she said.

She also pointed to a number of stories that addressed staff issues in hospitality, including investigations into underpayment, a symposium on issues in the restaurant industry, and a recent months-long investigation, which revealed damning allegations of sexual harassment, assault and drug use at the Swillhouse group.

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