Charles campion bio wikipedia

The writer and broadcaster was best known for his restaurant criticism in the Evening Standard , though he wrote for other publications over the course of his career, including The Times and The Independent. Campion also appeared on MasterChef, and co-presented Great Dishes of the World on Sky, having opened a restaurant at a Derbyshire country house with his wife in the years before.

He was a funny, acerbic, and honest food personality in the industry and was respected by all who met him. It was in his new role as editor of the Rough Guide to London Restaurants. Rough Guide first published a London Restaurant guide in and put an enormous push behind entering the market in competition with ourselves and Time Out. His big network of journalist friends ensured a steady stream of adulatory quotes to be employed on the cover.

Charles felt uncomfortable reviewing any restaurant he had not visited personally in the last year or two.

Charles campion bio wikipedia: Charles Robert Campion (17 October

It was also written from a very personal perspective, so there was little chance of him recruiting a network of anonymous little helpers to give the book greater reach. So the guide never had the comprehensive nature which allowed it to compete successfully in a big, fashion-driven market like London, while our own survey-driven publication by curating the feedback of others was able to cover four times the number of establishments of every variety.

While enjoying supper in the West End, he was once confronted by the then-head of a very high profile London restaurant group, upset at something Charles had written or said about them. The restaurateur in question was, Charles later confided in me, very aggressive and quite threatening… until Charles stood up. I recall an industry drinks with AA Gill making a rare appearance amongst all the restaurant PRs and luvvies of the foodie world, and noted with interest that it was Campion who Gill made a beeline for through the fray for a chat.