A Redding chef found instant success when he launched a Facebook group for online amateur food critics.
Nathan “Blaze” Pinkney is the brains behind Reviewing Redding Restaurant Reviewers. The group is for people in the North State restaurant industry discouraged by customers who post bad food reviews — some before they get up from the table.
While the group serves up a little humble pie to those who love to hate on restaurants, Pinkney also hopes it encourages unhappy customers to tell their waiter they’re dissatisfied with their meal, and give them a chance to make their dining experience better — preferably before they lambast the business on social media.
Pinkney got the idea for the group after reading a negative Facebook review of a newly opened west Redding restaurant. The reviewer posted photos of their meal (which looked fine to Pinkney), but didn’t give any reason why they didn’t like it — just that they didn’t want to come back. “It rubbed me the wrong way,” said Pinkney, who thinks people who carelessly post negative reviews don’t realize how much their posts impact restaurant staff morale.
So the 36-year-old chef, a graduate of Shasta College’s Culinary Arts program and 20-year veteran of Redding’s restaurant scene, launched Reviewing Redding Restaurant Reviewers on a lark.
“I just made the group as a kind of joke,” said Pinkney, who is surprised by how much attention the group is receiving.
Redding chef Nathan “Blaze” Pinkney created Facebook group Reviewing Redding Restaurant Reviewers for restaurant staff and customers who don’t appreciate reviewers who love to hate on restaurants online.
Pinkney is no stranger to controversy. He is a regular commenter on the “Thought You Should Know – Shasta County” Facebook group that got started as leadership on the Board of Supervisors turned farther to the right during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group also follows school boards and other local governments.
Two years ago, Pinkney stood up to former Shasta County Supervisor Patrick Jones after Jones attempted to apologize to him for a racist slur that a man uttered inside the Board of Supervisors chambers. Jones, who was the board chair, received wide criticism for not condemning the man’s actions and instead ordering security guards to remove Pinkney from the chambers for his angry outburst after he heard the racist slur.
Pinkney said he planned to close the restaurant reviewer group an hour after he created it last Thursday, but when he checked Facebook 20 minutes later, it had 50 members.
By the end of Friday’s lunch rush, the group had 258 members, a dozen posts saying how painful nonconstructive negative reviews are, and dozens of comments commiserating with those posts.
“A small mistake is not justification to hurt the entire reputation of a small business,” one member wrote.
Nathan Pinkney walks away from the podium after addressing Shasta County supervisors at the Tuesday, July 2, 2024, board meeting.
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Another 110 Facebook users joined over the weekend.
Surprised by the new Facebook group’s popularity, Pinkney said he’ll have to come up with ground rules, so it’s a place for constructive community conversation.
Redding restaurant customers are also welcome to join the group.
Most customers are polite at North State restaurants where he’s worked, Pinkney said, although he didn’t want to share business names for fear the Facebook group might make them the target of revenge reviews.
Besides, the satirical Facebook group isn’t really about restaurants; it’s about people who work in them, he said. Members poke fun at reviewers who just want to be the first to gripe on Yelp, or who expect Jacques Pepin to flip their $6 burger.
“Redding has some of the most entitled eaters of anywhere I’ve seen,” Pinkney said, laughing. “We don’t have any Michelin stars around here. Just people trying to do their best.”
What he really wants is for customers to give restaurant staff a chance to fix problems before they whip out their cell phone and post a negative review. Most Redding chefs and waitstaff take pride in making customers happy, and will try to rectify a bad dining experience if a customer says something to them, he said.
Pinkney has no mercy for restaurateurs who won’t. “If they don’t try to make it right, go review the crap out of them,” he said.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding man roasts restaurant reviewers on Facebook group
