Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to RYAN OWEN. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

RYAN, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I provide a raw, real and unbiased opinion of food and restaurants of every category.

Most serious and unbiased critics stay within a certain roam, and it’s majorly upscale and fine dining.
This cuts out 75% of the people that are eating out on a regular basis. It also sends a message to all the other restaurants below that standard, their food isn’t worthy.
I give every restaurant a chance to be known and I review it accordingly. I wont’t expect table side service from a food truck and at the same time I wouldn’t tolerate mistakes in technique from a Michelin Star establishment.

Lastly and just as important, I am not attached to any publication that can exercise any pressure over me and what I say and my services aren’t available to restaurants as a marketer or promoter. I don’t take any dollar amount no matter the size that could influence my voice. For this, I am a unicorn in Central Florida.

RYAN, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been traveling the world eating since before I was of age. I have eaten in 150+ Michelin Star restaurants, 42 Fifty Best restaurants, 38 Fifty Best bars, all over Europe, North, Central and South America. I moved to Orlando in 2006, when the food industry was predominantly composed by Tourist Traps and Chain Restaurants. It was hard for me to find somewhere good to eat out.
At the beginning I found myself finding an excuse to leave Orlando every chance I had, in order to find the kind of food I wanted to eat.
After years of this, I was eating at The spotted Pig in NYC in 2016 with some close friends and one of them said the following: “It’s so cool to eat with you. I go to restaurants all the time and I thought I got it. I just realized, I had been missing on so much. Eating with you I got on insight on every aspect of the process. Menu-Thought Process-Dish-Presentation-Flavor. Most people don’t know what they are eating half of the time, and you do. You should do something about it, especially when you are already spending all your own money on food.”
Right there and then I picked up my phone and created @orlandofoodcritic. I didn’t want to be part of the problem in my hometown, and become a solution. Instead of leaving town, I decided to stay and find the gems as I pulled out the weed.
I have to confess, I was very harsh at first and as the years have gone by, although I remain true to the mission, I have put a more approachable spin to my reviews. You can find them on Instagram via video format in reels and you can get the more formal version on my blog www.therealorlandofoodcritic.com, which also works as a food search engine. I’m quite proud of it!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

We live in a world, where everything is pasteurized and edited. I decided to show a raw and very real self to the public. Most people have “personas” on social media and if they are “real” they still go by the normal standards of conduct on their feeds for the most part.
I truly show, who I am. You get what my friends and family get. You don’t get an act, you get me. I think that, along with my brutal honesty is what people appreciate.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I don’t think about growing clientele. I do struggle with the thought sometimes, because the more clients I have, the larger the impact. Then I remember I did this for me, and I just do what I do, day in and day out.
I certainly evolve and adjust and even reinvent some things as I go.
For years I believed that being determined was being regid. I believe in being fluid these days and adapting to life as it comes.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.therealorlandofoodcritic.com
• Instagram: orlandofoodcritic
• Facebook: elbrayancocina
• Youtube: El BRAYAN COCINA