A general restaurant assessment code has been suspended.

A general restaurant assessment code has been suspended.

The Institute’s commission to design a general restaurant assessment code has been suspended.

This is a sorry day because there remains a clear public need for consistency across the medium of advice about food and restaurant criticism.  After all, what is a Michelin Star, and how is a tyre company involving itself in such an enterprise, you might well ask?

The code system was intended to comprise all the factors commonly discussed in restaurant reviews and in this regard we have considered those in the daily newspapers, the Qantas in flight magazine and advertising brochures from power boat insurers.  Many factors are important to persons considering purchasing a meal.  These include ambient noise, the type, quality and price of the cuisine, the obsequiousness of service, the extent of wheel chair access, the depth of the wine list and if there is a view.  Much time and effort has resulted in the development of the software algorithm which incorporates these elements and produces a number from 1 through to 9.  

At the first glance, some authorities expressed surprise that information sought about such a thing as the freshness of fish can be gleaned from a mere number.  The ability of the system to do this lies in reference to standard meal around which all the calculations referred to above are related.  For this, the Institute chose a dish considered as a quintessentially modern Australian and Melbourne and reflecting the post war migration and cultural benefit to the eating experience: chicken parmigiana.

However, whilst the Institute was in the process of demonstrating the utility of the codes, an unsatisfactory development occurred which has temporarily derailed the program and caused increased costs and delay.  The flaw revealed itself when it was noticed that no restaurant in the Docklands pilot project precinct carried, prepared or served parmigiana whether veal or chicken or eggplant. 

Accordingly no scores were able to calculated.  It has to be admitted that this would be unhelpful to a person using the code to assess the suitability of a restaurant to which to take themselves or family for lunch.

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