After 38 years, CBC Eyeopener restaurant reviewer John Gilchrist puts his fork down

CBC Calgary's much-loved restaurant reviewer is retiring Friday after 38 years.

Every week for nearly four decades, John Gilchrist has gone on the Calgary Eyeopener radio program to give listeners the latest, best and sometimes yuckiest of the city's food scene in almost 2,000 reviews.

Now he's ready for a break, and no more deadlines.

"It's been a great honour, great privilege to be on the Eyeopener for so long," he said, "and to have such great listeners."

Gilchrist's career and love for restaurants have had a huge impact on the city's food offerings, industry professionals say. He's tasted the delicious and strange, and witnessed enormous changes.

"It's ridiculous highs and ridiculous lows," Gilchrist said. 

Ten years ago in Calgary, he said, "excess" was common to the extreme, with corporate executives demanding more expensive menus, tossing lobster tails on dinners and $400 bottles of wine with lunch. At the same time, restaurants couldn't find enough servers, chefs and kitchen staff. Help wanted signs were everywhere.

Today, he said, the dining scene is marked by "an amazing representation" of multicultural restaurants, for a city of 1.2 million, many of which are run by newcomers.

"The biggest change that I have seen in my 38 years is the emergence of the Canada chef, and a lot of that is due to the folks up at SAIT," he said.

Gilchrist has published 11 books on Calgary and Banff restaurants, and taught food and culture at the University of Calgary for more than 20 years. He had a segment on CBC TV called On The Table, for a period in the early 2000s.

Flashback to John Gilchrist's 2000 series On The Table, exploring the history of food

6 years ago

Duration 1:09

The famed local restaurant reviewer dives into the origins of ketchup, tempura, chocolate, beer and pizza.

Each week, his reviews also appeared in the Calgary Herald and its weekly Swerve magazine. Both of those columns end this week, as well.

"I can tell you that a good review, you're instantly busy. Literally the phone will start ringing moments after John's off-air," chef Paul Rogalski of Rouge Restaurant said, who sets his alarm to never miss a review.

"And a bad review, I don't think anybody likes to hear anything negative if it's their own business. But what I've noticed is a lot of restaurants have actually grown."

Listen to this extended interview with John Gilchrist about his career:

Gilchrist and his wife once went into Rogalski's restaurant and criticized his lemon tart for not being lemony enough, the chef said.

"And do you know what? They were right. We made the adjustments and changed the recipe," Rogalski said. "And we were better for it."

Gilchrist started as the Eyeopener's restaurant critic in the fall of 1980. He had been working for Interface Magazine, which eventually morphed into today's Avenue. The former restaurant critic had left the job, and a friend interning with the radio show put his name forward.

The Calgary dining scene expanded as my waistline did.- John Gilchrist

His first review — a test to see if he'd stand up on radio — was of the Silver Inn Restaurant, which serves Peking-style Chinese dishes and is still around today.

Drawing on his background in theatre, he got through it and won the job.

"Food was not sexy like it is today. The expectation wasn't nearly as high," he said.

"It was much easier to start then than it is now. I was very fortunate that way. The Calgary dining scene expanded as my waistline did."

Back then, Gilchrist researched cuisine using encyclopedias. He still does research for his pieces online, and often focuses on the restaurant experience, not just the food, like the chef's hat or the bathrooms. Once, he talked about the dumpster out back.

"There are so many aspects to it," he said. "You always want to find the story."

One time, he was asked by a friend to check out a new, apparently family-run restaurant. He popped in and the only staffer in it was reluctant to serve him but did after some persuasion.

"He cooked me up this really quite dreadful dish — and then I got a call from the health inspector the next day, immediately after the review ran," Gilchrist said. 

The inspector had investigated and found the restaurant was a front for a gambling ring.

But the worst dish he may have ever had was cold milk soup with strawberries and scallops. He braved only a few sips.

"I think it's the responsibility that we as restaurant writers have: to be fair, to not wield our sword with a might, nasty hand but to be fair about it," he said.

'His voice will be missed'

The only restaurant to ever earn a 10 out of 10 was the Crazy Weed Kitchen in Canmore, Alta., something Gilchrist worried about handing out — knowing the response his reviews could draw.

The owner, Jan Hrabec, said business boomed but people consistently complained their own meal wasn't up to that high mark.

"I was extremely grateful to him at the time, but it was hard to live up to, really was," she said.

She said she always appreciated Gilchrist's honesty and how approachable he was giving feedback. 

"We felt kind of mentored by him, in a way," she said. "We'll miss him. His voice will be missed."

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With files from Paul Karchut, Tricia Lo and the Calgary Eyeopener.