If you want some food recommendations, better call Food Review Club! [EXCLUSIVE]

Words by Jan Tracz

FRC partnered with Ayozat TV for their newest programme, The Magic of Food, and it is a great moment to introduce their appealing food review channel.

With access to social media, we can effortlessly discover some restaurant or bar suggestions within a second. However, it is much more challenging to find truly good ones: for that, we need to listen to top-notch food critics, who can readily estimate the place’s actual quality and save us from throwing our money down the drain. Today, there is a surplus of crisp, shoddy and cheap food review channels, with so-called critics, whose conspicuous lack of real passion, expertise and charisma make their videos unwatchable. 

The best channels not only need to be knowledgeable or perfect from a technical point of view. It is all about quips (when the food is terrific), deadpans (when it’s terrible) or metaphors (when it comes to explaining something). These are the channels where we do not always concur with their reviewers, but at least we respect their “food wisdom” and understand their judgments’ logic. And Food Review Club belongs to the category of notable channels, where you always go if you want to get your future food verified. Not only professionally, but with some wit and zeal as well. 

Food Review Club was founded by Matthew Davies-Binge (who goes by Matt) in 2018 and the channel explores more or less popular places, delivers some food tips, or just reviews, basically, every type of dish or drink that can be found in England (and not only). After a few years of its business activity, it has over 600,000 followers on Facebook, 550,000 on TikTok, 110,000 on Instagram and 77,000 subscribers on YouTube. It is apparent that FRC has built a loyal and dedicated fan base across multiple platforms.

The main flavour that comes out in the first contact with FRC is an aromatic sweetness. Once you watch the first video, you have a feeling you’ve come to the right place (and there is a hunger for more, of course). FRC’s comment is always riveting, anecdotal, yet informative, rich in upbeat humour and, in addition, their remarks are deliciously genial. There aren’t too many people who discuss the richness of flavours just like them. For example, Matt, FRC’s aforementioned founder and main presenter/reviewer, with his serene voice and affable character, passionately evaluates dishes he currently consumes and savours. His face is one of a professional reviewer: until he speaks, you will never know what sort of shrewd remark he has in his mind. 

That being said, watching videos with Matt is like coming back to your favourite Hitchcockian films. Although you expect the final verdict, the suspense devours you as Matt’s facial expressions always give you an inkling of how he is going to react in a few seconds. This is a channel scintillating in both street and book knowledge: through learning, you’re being entertained. In other words, Matt’s joie de vivre fills every episode with laughter and stoicism. It’s like tasting some blini-savouring while strolling around London’s Borough Market. You grab one for free, devour it immediately, and crave for more. 

Matt’s persona is the company’s business card, but this is a collective project – the channel’s viewers cannot forget about the other people who work for the channel’s national (and even global) success. FRC’s team includes other reviewers, photographers and video editors. They all do have one thing in common: their passion is food and eating. 

Meanwhile, Food Review Club’s team determined to try a different approach towards its growth plan for 2023. To do that, FRC decided to buy the rights on Ayozat TV, so they could promote their newest programme, The Magic of Food. And for such a project, you need more than just one presenter. Their initiative to move under the TV channel’s administration is understandable. Even though the sheer amount of work they do is available via YouTube, a massive number of cooks and food lovers do not use social media that often. There was a time when knowledge about the newest food places/bars/restaurants, one could gain either by reading newspapers or watching BBC programmes, etc. Although FRC’s channel proves the yearning for – and success of – food review programmes didn’t dissipate in the 21st century, there is still a group of people who have not forgotten about watching TV, not YouTube, at home. And this programme is created especially for them.

"The Magic of Food is a great new series, it's entertaining, real and in-depth, thus, I am looking forward to more with the Food Review Club," said Umesh Perera, founder of Ayozat, who is keen to see the results of their new collaboration. Nowadays, TV is a sweeping medium, hence having an original TV programme will allow FRC’s creators to expand their audience in the near future. 

The stage of food chiefs (and enthusiasts) would seem bereft without one of the most entertaining channels in the UK. Join Matt and his team in The Magic Of Food, their new mouth-watering programme, which premiered on Sky channel 186 Ayozat TV on April 8th, 2023 and online on Ayozat.com. FRC swears it will take ravenous viewers on a remarkably fragrant culinary adventure.