New beginning for The Good Food Guide with 2022 edition in the works

The Good Food Guide has been acquired by hospitality membership network CODE Hospitality and will be given “a new lease of life” after it ceased publication earlier in the year due and was put up for sale by Waitrose & Partners.

Waitrose, which bought the guide from Which? in 2013, had already announced last year that it would not publish the 2021 edition in September, saying the COVID-19 pandemic left it unable to “fairly or accurately” reflect the industry.

The Good Food Guide was founded by Raymond Postgate in 1951 with a simple aim: “to raise the standard of cooking in Britain and to do ourselves a bit of good by making our holidays, travels and evenings-out…more enjoyable.”

Since then, the guide has reviewed the best restaurants, pubs and cafés across the UK. Each year, it is completely rewritten and compiled from scratch.

All reviews are based on the large volume of feedback that the publishers receive from readers and this, together with anonymous expert inspections, ensures that every entry is assessed afresh. Every inspected meal is paid for.

In a statement, Adam Hyman, founder of CODE Hospitality, who became owners and publishers of the guide in October 2021, said: “The Good Food Guide turned 70 this year, and despite Britain being a very different place in 2021, I like to think the reason for producing a guide each year still remains the same.

“Integrity will remain at the heart of The Good Food Guide, and we will continue with inspectors dining anonymously and their bills paid in full by the guide. We will continue to only include restaurants in the guide based on their own merits.”

Elizabeth Carter will continue as the editor of the guide, along with a revamped digital offering, and will continue to produce The Good Food Guide 2022 – at a time when the industry needs championing most, as it recovers after the pandemic.

New owners, CODE Hospitality, with their energy, insight and success as a digital platform for the hospitality industry, will play a significant role in developing the guide’s potential.