Top Sydney restaurant boss unleashes at food magazine editor – as fiery war of words erupts over latest article: ‘Part of the problem’

A fiery war of words has broken out between the editor of a leading food magazine and a Sydney restaurant manager, as smaller restaurants battle rising costs and fierce competition from hospitality giants.

Rebecca Fanning, the director of popular Sydney restaurants Jane and Arthurs, took aim at Gourmet Traveler magazine after it published an article about the growing dominance of hospitality empires such as Justin Hemmes’ Merivale.

“Bigger is better,” the article headlined. ‘Is this the future of dining out in Australia?’

Ms Fanning accused the food media giant of not doing enough to support smaller restaurants with limited budgets.

“Those small operators don’t have the money the big guys do, and by rewarding these large-scale, massively funded (many by donors) projects, you’re saying this is the way people should dine,” she wrote.

“Maybe if publications put more emphasis on smaller places, with owners and operators with smaller budgets doing great things in much more innovative ways, there would be a shift in consumer minds.

“You make these places the places you need to be.”

Ms Fanning was joined by Michelle Badek, general manager of Melbourne restaurant Al Dente Enoteca, who said she “got emotional reading this”.

“Maybe it’s the fact that I finish work at 1:20 am at an owner-operated venue that I believe in and WANT to work hard for) or the fact that these are hard facts, I don’t know. But thank you for saying this 1000 times. Exactly,” said Mrs. Badek.

Gourmet Traveler editor Joanna Hunkin then joined the debate, telling Ms Fanning: ‘Sorry Bec, but I’m not going to put up with that.’

“If you look at GT’s last twelve months, our heroes include Little Pickett, Bar Louise, Yakitori Yurippi, Sean’s Bondi, Agrarian Kitchen, Soul Dining, Kafeneion and more,” she continued.

‘We regularly support smaller and independent restaurants, including yours.’

In a final swipe at Ms. Badek, the editor told her, “You literally had a GT cover, facts.”

Ms Badek hit back, saying that while she was grateful for the coverage, smaller operators were still struggling to get as much publicity as the larger groups.

“I’m not necessarily speaking from my experience alone, but from the shared experience of many owner-managed venues; “Every time a multi-location group makes news, it feels like there is less space for independents to take up in the media,” she wrote.

“It’s a competitive game and I know a lot of restaurants are tired of seeing the big money machines getting more and more airtime.”

The restaurant manager added that most independent restaurants are unable to spend up to $4,000 per month on PR companies.

Ms Hunkin said Gourmet Traveler was trying to ‘spread the love as much as possible’.

‘We are actively seeking coverage from a range of restaurants, many of which do not have PR and are small, independent operators. We are trying so hard to spread the love and to be told that we are the problem is baseless and unfair,” she wrote.

Ms. Fanning then addressed the editor directly, telling her that a large percentage of small restaurant owners were being overshadowed by larger groups.

“I think you’re missing the part that a large percentage of small business owners feel this way,” she wrote.

“I said you’re part of the problem, not the whole problem; every publication plays its role.

“I would like to understand your strategy, both online and in print, to see how you are putting small businesses, which are the backbone of Australia’s hospitality sector, front and center,” she said.

“Large, flashy spaces and key industry leaders take up a large part of the media landscape, and that doesn’t sit well with many industry people.”

Ms Fanning said she wanted industry experts to be listened to as a growing number of small businesses are forced to pull the plug.

“My goal wasn’t to come across as negative, but to hopefully get the attention of people who care. I can see GT trying, but in the end it comes across as if the big boys are getting a lot of airtime at the expense of the smaller boys,” she said.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Fanning, Ms Hunkin and Ms Bedek for comment.

It comes as a growing number of small operators have been forced to close their doors for good due to increased operating costs during a cost of living crisis.

In the Gourmet Traveler article that sparked outrage on Instagram, Atilla Yilmaz, the owner of Pazar restaurant in Sydney’s west, said he was struggling to compete with larger restaurant groups when it came to retaining staff.

“Groups can offer their staff career development in different locations, uniform bonuses, big tips, even overseas trips, and things like that,” he explained.

Mr Yilmaz wondered whether it was “healthy” for him to do so many chores at his restaurant, including bookings, scheduling, payroll and repairing cooking equipment.

In January, a number of Sydney restaurants were forced to throw in the towel due to the impact of Covid and a drop in revenues due to rising inflation.

Lima, previously located in Walsh Bay, closed in January after just six months. Italian restaurant Andiamo Trattoria closed its Abbotsford location and popular all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant Okami closed six locations in the city.

A Tavola, a popular Italian restaurant in Darlinghurst, was also forced to close shop, as were Flour Eggs Water and meatball restaurant Palle.

Gloomy statistics from a recent CreditorWatch report show that companies in the hospitality sector are most likely to fail in the next 12 months.