Editorial Policy

In this web 2.0 world the dividing line between editorial and paid content is becoming quite blurry — it may not be readily apparent what is sponsored advertising and what is purely editorial. We would like to be very explicit about our policies here at The Gilded Fork. Unfortunately there are sites that do take money to feature content without disclosing it, so that muddies the waters, and it’s easy for people to assume that might be happening everywhere.

Quite simply, we are committed to featuring content that inspires us, whether it be about chefs, products or places. There is nothing that delights us more than discovering a new taste that elevates our senses, or talking to a chef whose philosophy is inherent in everything she does.

We are approached quite often by representatives of food products, establishments, or destinations, and if there is resulting content, it happens one of two ways: (1) We are really excited about the product and want to share it with you; or (2) We have been paid to inform you about the product with content that is useful to you — because it is useful and interesting to us as well.

Additionally, we may have content to share from clients of our consulting firm, Adventures in Gastronomy, where we produce custom audio/video programs and develop new media strategies for large and small companies. If we think the content would be of interest to you, we’ll feature it, as well as let you know it is from a client.

What will never differ, however, is that we will not feature products, people or places we don’t stand behind. Each one of our partners is chosen very carefully, particularly those who advertise to be a part of what we’ve created here.

If sponsored or ad-driven content is featured on The Gilded Fork, we will continue to be explicit about it, and you will know when we have been paid to work with a partner. If it doesn’t say it’s paid content, you can be assured it’s simply a product, place, or chef we enjoy, and want to trumpet.

Also, for those of you who might think we are jet-setting around the world off our own riches (ha!), please know that our travel content results from press trips on which we are invited. We use our own editorial judgment in deciding what stories we publish from these trips, so rest the content is not paid for — our travel expenses are. We are most grateful to the locations that have hosted us, as they enable us to share different pieces of the world — and its flavors — with you.