Grace Dent Is Named the New Guardian Restaurant Critic

The Guardian newspaper has announced the appointment of Grace Dent as its new restaurant critic. Dent, who writes a weekly column in ES Magazine, is the permanent replacement for Marina O’Loughlin who moved away from the newspaper, to The Sunday Times, two months ago.

Dent, The Guardian say, will take on the new weekly restaurant review column, making her first appearance in January next year. Long before becoming a restaurant critic, Dent wrote for the Guardian, between 1999 to 2012, contributing columns such as TVOD and World of Lather.

Dent said in a statement: “I am incredibly proud of what I’ve achieved with Grace & Flavour and its reach and influence across the London food scene. But I’m a northern woman who loves the rest of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland too. It’s time that, on a regular basis, I left the M25 and had my dinner everywhere else. This news is probably a great relief for London’s chefs as they’ll see less of me…and horrible news for anyone past Watford with a sous vide machine. It’s a warm feeling to re-join the Guardian and be part of its widely read, well-respected food coverage.”

Meanwhile Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Grace as the Guardian’s new restaurant critic. You never know quite what's going to happen when you start reading a Grace Dent food column: they're always full of exuberance and fun and the sheer joy of going out to eat. Her new column will be a must-read addition to the Guardian’s award-winning team of food writers and critics.”

Dent moves from the London Evening Standard, where she has written the restaurant column Grace & Flavour since 2011, and the Independent, where she writes a weekly Voices op-ed column. Dent is also the presenter of The Untold on BBC Radio 4 and one of the critics on TV show MasterChef. She has produced and presented documentaries for Channel 4 and Sky Atlantic as well as publishing twelve books. She has, of course, also contributed to Eater London.

• Where Grace Dent Actually Likes to Eat [ELDN]