An altered eye on Brent Meersmen food Reviews
Brent Meersmen is a far travelled author, Columnist, Poet, Groundup co-editor perhaps many things of art, style and literature born in Cape Town in 1967. He’s broad sense of art and extensive ambitions has brought him insight to start as a performing art critic for Mail& Guardian in 2002 and subsequently a weekly contributing columnist of “Once Bitten” for Mail& Guardian in 2008 which he continued eight years more. He started his first Job as a Photographer in the press at Grahamstown in 1989. He’s worked for a variety of prominent publications including BBC, Financial Mail (London) as a reviewer and featured several articles at Business Day, Sunday Independent, Cape Times and many more.
In his reviews Meersmen is a straight eye talker with a long-stretch of a photographic memory about his worldwide travels and rather suspicious to some. He confessed to have received a complaint from a Cuban ambassador to South Africa for his critic comment about Cuban restaurants. He applies a clear sense of culture of cities and countries in his seminal assertions so one can have a live vivid image.
He’s captivating sense of humor makes him a compelling reviewer when one looks at his article “Nobody listens to Vegans” with a catching phrase that reads, “Indeed, a couple of years ago, after telling somebody in Garies in the Northern Cape that I was a Vegan they smiled and offered me Chicken” https://mg.co.za/article/2016-05-15-nobody-listens-vegans. In one of his review articles “Confused but content”, he compliments Italian Cuisine as one that truly went global first mentioning Italian dishes, such as pasta, Pizza and Ice cream. He appears to be generalising his experiences and knowledge which can appear as being bias. Matthew Keegan a travelling Journalist and writer in his recent article “The City that Gave the World Fusion Cuisine” https://theculturetrip.com/authors/matthew-keegan seems to think otherwise, as he compliments the opposite which is Portuguese and Chinese Cuisines with the title.
Meersmen doesn’t get into much detail in his critism to show extensive knowledge about food, he focuses more on presentation perhaps it’s not his speciality, the pictures are there for that purpose but ingredients are not always clear in pictures. It would be unfair to judge him much on his foreign travels menus, expectedly so, he’s born and brat in South Africa and only in his matured age that he’s seen most countries based on the food topic. At home its where he’s expected to show some commitment in the kitchen and wear the eyes of a Chef or restaurant staff for a better close-up and detailed experience.
His love for vegetables is clear and loud in his reviews, happiness springs out from his words, and for those who take meat in their menu, there might be skepticism in reading his reviews. It would be seen as ignorance as he focuses his energy and compliments on menus of vegetable based food. His views are at some point sensitive criticism as he was in the beginning mentioned by the Cuban ambassador to have something against the Cuban restaurants. Food is joy, no food critic should be left out in the cold by restaurant owners, in fear of harsh food criticism.
He brings the simplest written reviews and naturally covers extensive audience from diverse backgrounds. He’s high spirited, neat and particular in the way he informs audience. His love for food can be seen in this commitment to travel the world over and that can’t be taken away from him.
Ends/ 600 words
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