Restaurant Rater Certification Workshop

If you love to write, have an eye for detail and enjoy eating new cuisine, a job as a freelance restaurant critic might be ideal for you. A freelance restaurant critic reviews the food, service and atmosphere of the establishments she visits. Freelancing will allow you to sell your reviews to many magazines and websites. This job is in high demand and competition is fierce, so you'll need to sharpen your writing skills and prove your abilities if you want to get paid for your work.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE POINTS WE WILL COVER

1. Practice writing. You'll need exceptional writing skills to sell your freelance reviews to any professional publication. Work on descriptive writing, grammar, spelling and sentence flow.

2. Expand your horizons and dine at restaurants offering food you normally wouldn't try. Freelance reviewers can't afford to be picky eaters. Review restaurants in all price ranges, from neighborhood diners to pricy four-star establishments.

3. Call or email the publication for which you want to freelance. Find out their policy on freelance restaurant reviews. Ask about the pay and find out if the publication will reimburse you for the meal or pay for gas and mileage expenses. Determine what the publication expects to see in a review.

4. Visit a restaurant at least two times before writing a review to ensure accuracy. If you only visit once and have a poor experience, the staff may have just been having a rare bad night. The service and food might improve on your next visit.

5. Order a variety of foods at each restaurant, including at least one appetizer, a main course and a dessert. If you drink alcohol, consider ordering a beverage or two to review.

6. Understand the criteria for rating a restaurant. Most publications want you to rate a restaurant on several categories, such as level of service, quality of food, cost, atmosphere and cleanliness.

7. Write a few unpaid reviews to get some experience. Offer your work to major publications for free. If they don't accept your reviews, consider writing for a site as a guest blogger, or submit reviews to websites such as Yelp, Urbanspoon or TripAdvisor.

8. Send your reviews to publications by the requested deadline, if applicable, to ensure prompt payment and future assignment offers.