Fred Siggins on new Australian rum, Melbourne pubs, and the Attica criticism controversy

In the first issue of Boothby magazine — in big, wonderful print, which you can pick up with a yearly subscription here — you’ll find a great read on Australian rum, and why it’s better than ever.

That piece is thanks to drinks writer (and bartender, and bar owner) Fred Siggins, who you can hear talk about the piece — and a lot more — on today’s Drinks At Work episode.

Fred got his start in hospitality in the kitchen, before becoming a bartender (he was part of one of the golden generations of Black Pearl bartenders), before a move into the brand world as brand manager for Sullivan’s Cove and 78 Degrees; this year Fred added the title of bar owner to his resume, with the opening of Goodwater in Northcote. He’s also an accomplished spirit show judge. So, in this episode, we talk about that experience, what he’s learned over the first year of Goodwater, and why he thinks now is the time to revisit Australian rum.

But one constant throughout the years has been Fred’s writing, and that’s his main preoccupation these days. His writing has appeared in Punch, T Magazine Australia, Boothby (of course), and he was formerly the pub critic for Time Out in Melbourne. So, naturally, he also has some thoughts on the nature of criticism in the wake of the controversy stirred up by Attica chef and owner Ben Shewry’s recent book, Uses For Obsession. The book talks about many things in the life of a world-acclaimed chef, but Shewry also uses it to skewer food media, awards, and reviewers.

And hence the controversy.

In an extract published in October in The Australian, Shewry writes:

“It’s about the sour impact food media has had on restaurants, the perils of hats, stars, and best-of lists. It’s also a call to our industry to step up and take control, to stop pandering to a system that no longer works, that was never truly independent, never properly informed, and never quite offered the expertise it claimed to.”

There’s a lot more vitriol directed at reviewers, and some of it is fair; a lot of it isn’t (if you ask me). Reading it, I get the feeling that he thinks that only chefs like him should be able to review chefs like him. And there may be a place place for that kind of criticism.

But it also sounds kind of elitist, doesn’t it? We wouldn’t want a world in which only politicians are qualified to judge politicians. I personally tend to think that bartenders are the best ones to ask about which bars are the best; if you want to know where the good bars in a city are, head to a bar and ask the bartender. But that doesn’t work for everybody, and that’s fine. Some people like bars where the focus is on retro tunes and dancing; some like big city boozers — good for them.

I think the best reply to Shewry has come from Besha Rodell. Besha is the chief restaurant critic for the The Age, one of the few remaining critics who go to great lengths to keep their anonymity, and has written at length about how good Attica is in the past.

Last month in The Age, Besha wrote:

“Does food media have too much power? Perhaps, though it’s debatable. I believe we’re far more likely to make a venue than break it. We rarely write wholly negative reviews, and the accolades mean far more to readers – and diners – than the absence of those accolades.

“But I also wonder what the alternative is to the carefully researched, edited and fact-checked review. If guides, reviews and awards were to suddenly disappear, would something better take their place? Or do chefs and owners wish influencers and marketers paid to say wonderful things might satisfactorily replace journalism? Does Shewry want the whole conversation to resemble the fawning echo chamber of his Instagram comments section?”

Give the full piece a read — I think it’s a pretty fair and balanced explanation of what actually goes on, and acknowledges that no system is perfect.

In this episode, I talk to Fred about this, and he makes the valid point that these awards and reviews can — and often do — have great benefits to small, indie operators trying to make a name for themselves and to grow their businesses.

It has been an interesting debate — one that I figure will roll on into 2025.

And if you want to get this issue of the magazine, and the next three, hit the link here.