# An Attaboy! For The Review Staff



## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

It's going on two years since I took over the cookbook review department here at Cheftalk. So it's long past time I acknowledged the great job the review staff has been doing. 

The fact is, our reviewers are among the best in the industry. This isn't just talk. There are some objective measurements. 

You can, for instance, look at the number-of-views column here at the reviews forum. Those numbers are pretty good, if you ask me, and have been steadily rising---a good indication that the reviews are being read and appreciated by Cheftalk members. 

More to the point, Google says we're doing a great job, as evidenced by it's placement of our hits there. It's simple enough to check: use, as search parameters, name-of-book + review. For instance, if you Google "Clay Pot Cooking Review" you'll find it in the number one spot. Not all that unusual as we are almost always in the top five spots; more often in the top three. Amazon.com is the only one who consistently scores better than Cheftalk; and that's likely more a function of the quantity of reviews it runs than the quality of them. 

I am continuously being contacted by publishers and authors who recognize the importance of working with Cheftalk and the quality of our reviews. Indeed, a major publisher who would not send us review copies in the past is among those who this past year came asking what they could do for us in that regard. 

I'm not going to play the false modesty card and say I had nothing to do with this. The truth is, I did. But it's even more true that an editor can only go so far improving quality. If the basic talent and ability isn't there it doesn't matter how good the editor is. And the raw truth is that we have a bunch of talented people writing our cookbook reviews.

So, it's time to recognize the great job these people have been doing, and offer a hearty attaboy! to each and every one of them.


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

I second the thanks to all of the Cookbook reviews who help get these great reviews on the site. For instance did you know that our reviewers actually test the recipes in a reviewed cookbook? It is a lot of work and it is much appreciated.

Also thank you to Brook for helping to standardize the review and get us better connected with the publishers.


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