Make food reviews honest again
Hi there, we’re Foodetective. We are the honesty you didn’t know you needed in online reviews! So step away from fake and unreliable reviews, and let us make sure you never have a bad meal again.
Fake reviews you say?
Let’s start at the beginning. Are online reviews fake? In truth, not all. But it is becoming a growing problem. From fake reviews on Yelp to Oobah Butler’s stunt for Vice of making his fictional “restaurant” the Shed At Dulwich the top-rated restaurant on TripAdvisor in London, we are seeing an incredible number of fake reviews online. In fact, Butler admits to becoming interested in creating a fake restaurant on TripAdvisor after working as a paid reviewer, where restaurants would pay him £10 to write a positive review despite never setting foot there or trying the food. In his experience, restaurants received more positive reviews after his, thus convincing him that TripAdvisor represents a fake reality.
Surely not all reviews are fake?
Even where reviews are written by real people about meals and drinks they’ve actually had, they tend to be biased. A 2018 report by Harvard Business Review found that reviews are highly polarized as only the people with a really positive or a really negative experience will take the time to write a review. That means that the reviews you find on sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Google cannot always be trusted. A 2013 study by MIT also found that when reviewing restaurants on these platforms, the average person tends to be swayed by previous reviews because of our “herd instincts”. This goes back to the experience of Butler, who himself witnessed more positive reviews following his.
In scarier news, researchers from the University of Chicago taught AI to write fake reviews using deep learning techniques and the final results were unrecognizable from actual, real reviews. The age of fake and unreliable reviews is well and truly here!
In comes Foodetective
Foodetective is a global foodie community that links eaters to the best places to eat and drink. Foodetective marries the best of the existing foodie community in our cities, with our tried and tested review model and beautiful, professional photography. Let us walk you through it.
First comes our selection process. We handpick our Detectives among the foodies and food critics of the cities we target. Once we onboard them, we train them in our Six Pillar review method, ensuring that you get all the information you need in order to make your choice. If the food is amazing but the service slow, we will tell you about it. If the drinks are expensive but the experience makes up for it, we will let you know. We will tell you the pros and cons — if any — of all our features F&B businesses, complete with pictures of the food, drinks, interior and exterior. Foodetective is the only point of reference you need to make an informed choice.
It goes without saying that Foodetective does not get paid to feature restaurants on our platform and our Detectives are in no way reimbursed by the restaurants. In case you’re wondering, no, they don’t eat for free! So you can trust that they are giving you their honest opinion!
How is Foodetective different from other review sites?
In Europe, the point of reference of all reviews has traditionally been the Michelin Guide. Public perceptions of the guide have changed in recent years however, over claims that it causes competition in kitchens around the world with chefs trying to please the inspectors rather than their eaters, while the food it promotes is elitist and the guide is losing the support of chefs. It is relevant to point that two Michelin star chefs havekilled themselves over the possibility of their restaurants losing their 3-star rating, and the elitist debates continues to rage with some arguing that Michelin should wear that adjective as a badge of honour, while foodies in LA rejoice that the city is snubbed by the Guide as the diversity of the food does not fit the stodgy Michelin format.
At Foodetective, on the other hand, we promote our reviewers. Granted, all our Detectives use our Six Pillars review format. But within that, they have no restrictions. We aim for short, fun and engaging reviews, that you actually want to read till the end! We will always tell you whose review you are reading, and we invite you to follow the Detectives whose voice and taste you agree with.
Can’t decide what to eat? We can help with that
Now that you know that you can trust our reviews, you can also use our platform to find inspiration on where to eat and drink by using our search functions to sort through restaurants by price range, cuisine, location, or by browsing our “Perfect For” categories. These range from “Perfect for first dates” to “Perfect for dinner with your mom” to “Perfect for hipster spotting”. We match your current mood to ensure you find the perfect place for YOU.
So let us say goodbye fakeness, and hello honesty! Goodbye to random quality, hello first class reviews! Foodetective is here. We investigate, you enjoy.
