david fishman, 13-year-old food critic

David Fishman is in the seventh grade. In the past year, he's been featured in GQ and The New York Times. Why? Because, unlike regular 13-year-olds, who read Sweet Valley High and obsess about having a "perfect size six figure and eyes the colour of the Pacific Ocean"*, David Fishman is a food critic.

I chatted to David last week because I'm writing an article about tweens. He was polite to a fault, interesting, and interested (a key quality in good interviewees, I say). His precocity was pretty amazing...but I'll get back to that.

David's story goes something like this. He walked into a local restaurant alone (he lives in New York with his parents) and made a deal with the waitress to dine there (she wasn't keen on having a kid eat alone...but he promised he'd be out by 8pm). He pulled out a notepad, and proceeded to take notes on the evening's meal, giving decor, service and food a score out of 25 (like the Zagat Guide does). Other customers and even the chef began to take notice. The next day, someone told someone else at The New York Times, and poof! A star was born.

Fishman might be the youngest food critic around, but like other critics, he's both feted and frowned upon. Alan Richman, GQ's food correspondent, profiled David for the magazine, and took a liking to the young foodie. But Eric Ripert, head chef at New York's Le Bernadin, isn't keen on the idea of a kid critiquing his goods. "Let's not glorify kids who are going to break our balls," he told The Telegraph (UK). "This is not fair. Hopefully, when he's 18 and writing officially, I'll be retired."

But when I spoke to David, he was nothing if not humble. He downplayed his food writing experience, saying "I don't pretend I'm a professional. I'm a foodie...I'm just someone who loves food." He says he understands Ripert's frustration, and explains, "I think he disapproved of the publicity [I was getting], which is fair enough." For his part, David overlooks the criticism, and just gets on with the reviews. "I've been reviewing restaurants - just for myself - for a while now. All I want to do is gain knowledge. I did this for me and I'll continue to do it just for me."

If you have some spare time, and room for another bookmark on your blog roll, check out David's blog, FishmanFoodie.com.

* That might have just been me.