Worth a Detour is a boutique food and drink experience, review website.
At Worth a Detour we aim to bring you the very best in food and beverage in Australia. From paddock to plate, we showcase food producers, food suppliers, food manufacturers, places to eat and places to drink, that are worth visiting.
Worth a Detour is a professional site. Unlike user-review based websites that can be highly subjective and unreliable, all of our reviewers, called “companions”*, are professionally trained food experts. Like Michelin, Gault&Millau and others, we are as objective and balanced as possible. Read my article on critics…/the-critic/
The quality and perception of a meal is affected by many things, especially Context… where we are, who we are with, what the occasion is, our frame of mood, our preceding experience – all affect our perception of the quality of the food and wine we are consuming. Food or wine that has been rated exceptional by someone else may not impress us when we are forced to eat it with people we dislike or are in the wrong frame of mood. Read my article on food and mood../food-mood-and-reviews/
Unlike most sites, including the user-reviews, we do not “score” the venues. Reviews can be very subjective, prone to personal preference, and everyone’s desires and experiences are different. We simply showcase products and experiences made by passionate Australian craftspeople that we believe are worthy of a visit and will not let you down. We use a simple three tier scale to separate the extraordinary from the very best. If they feature on Worth a Detour they are worth visiting – they are all Worth a Detour.
Worth a Detour is not an exhaustive catalogue of places to eat. Establishments reviewed on the web site are amongst the best of their kind. These are ones that we have found and experienced personally, that stand out for some reason. But we do not just seek out the so-called “gourmet” experiences – we treat all food experiences the same. If a simple sandwich is exceptional, it may be worth a detour. They may not all be “five star” establishments. They may be formal or casual. They may serve chateaubriand, shepherd’s pie or burgers.
But they all, of course, produce or serve great, delicious, well-crafted great value food and drink. They are also accessible, convivial, hospitable and passionate. And they are consistent. They are somewhere you want to linger. They are all about a unique experience and something magical! They may be local. They may be out of the way. They are all Worth a Detour.
Venues on Worth a Detour are measured by a positive answer to the following…
Would I go back?
Am I excited enough to return?
Would I recommend it to a friend?
Am I confident that others will agree and how does its recommendation affect my own image and self esteem?
Does it have something different and is it worth visiting?
Does it have that “WOW” factor?
We are not critics. Our aim is to simply share with you the places we like – the food we like – and the experiences we think are amongst the best available.
Worth a Detour is a project of passion put together by a very small team of companions* on a shoestring budget. It is dynamic and constantly evolving. Please bare with us and come back regularly.
note: * Companion – comes from the latin “com” and “panis” – meaning “with” and “bread”. Someone with whom you share bread. Someone with whom you travel, dine and spend time with.