Over the past decade, the restaurant scene in the UK has transformed beyond recognition. Not only that but so has the diner’s taste buds, knowledge about food and attitude towards it. Our national media is dominated by eating - Great British Menu, Bake Off, MasterChef…
The Good Food Guide predated all this and helped lay the foundation for a nation obsessed with dining. It was founded in 1951 with an aim to improve the food in post-war Britain. As such one might argue it was ahead of its time - a visionary mission that perhaps took longer than it should have. If its founder Raymond Postgate was alive now, I’d hope that he’d look back and think mission - partly - accomplished.
What's next for The Good Food Guide? Simple - to keep it going for another 70 years as your most trusted dining resource. Our ethos will remain the same when it comes to reviewing restaurants (we do not accept free meals) and our focus will continue to be around supporting local hospitality - be it cafes, pubs, bistros; not just fine dining - and telling you where to get good food and warm hospitality.
But a lot has changed since 1951 in how we consume media, live our lives and the speed at which venues open and close. It’s for these reasons that we’ve made some necessary changes to The Good Food Guide.
Historically, the guide has been released annually as a print publication. This no longer works - in its latter years, the book hit shelves as an already out of date tool. The format had become inefficient, slow, and incomprehensive.
Today, we turn to our laptops and mobiles when searching for where to eat. So, from 2022, the guide will be an app - one that is continuously updated and easy to use with search functions for lists, insights, and maps. All diners need to do to access the resource we're creating is join The Good Food Club.
As a member of the club, you will also get full access to our editorial on our website, receive our weekly newsletter, and be eligible for a host of other member perks and offers. We've also tweaked our scoring system - but more on that later.
By Adam Hyman, publisher
