Food bloggers and the democratisation of taste

First there were restaurants, then there were restaurant reviews. The democratisation of taste began with Grimod de la Reynière’s Almanach des Gourmands and, today, anyone with access to a computer can publish their own opinions of the restaurants they visit to a worldwide audience. This paper considers amateur restaurant reviewers – food bloggers – and the part they play in disseminating and shaping notions of good taste.