The first time I took part in Too Many Critics, I was certain I had it in the bag.
The annual fundraiser, which sees restaurant critics swap notebooks and smugness for aprons and anxiety in aid of Action Against Hunger, was held at Robin Gill’s Darby’s in Vauxhall in 2024. Each of us had been assigned one of the restaurant’s signature dishes to prepare for a room full of the industry’s best chefs and restaurateurs – many of whom had, at one point or another, found themselves on the receiving end of a harsh word or two from the very critics now standing nervously behind the stove.
