Everything I need to know about PR I learned from Chinese food

By Jaclyn Percy, Senior Account Executive

As you walk past the store front nothing much stands out. Yeah, so there are some paint designs on the windows, a few cheaply printed pictures of food and a schedule of its hours. I must be frank, nothing about the place looks inviting from the outside.

Key words: from the outside.

For those daring enough to take a walk inside, however, things quickly begin to change.  As soon as you pass across the threshold, an array of delectable smells come crashing against you. Vibrant, red walls encompass the small, rectangular room with a glass food case and golden yellow cashier stand waiting patiently at the back of the room.

With orders placed, the next necessary step requires a seat at one of four tables, followed by a 10 minute waiting period.

Between shying away from the two large, bronze Buddha statues starring down at you, examining the simplistic picture frames holding images of food, and questioning the bright painting of a surfing Chinese man, time passes quickly.

And then it comes. Two steaming plates filled with a mixture of red and brown hues.

With chopsticks in hand, the pick up commences, and then it happens…

Happiness.

The End.

No, I’m just kidding, its not really the end – just the end of a glimpse at a food critique, a popular extension of the food and

beverage industry. While this industry has many different aspects, one that will never change is the introduction and exposure of food. Whether it’s delicious, foreign, horrible, unhealthy or whatever, people are always wanting to hear about new restaurants and recipes.

In comes public relations, the people who make it happen. Many PR firms specialize in the food and beverage industry, exposing happenings like restaurant openings, a great new wine or that little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant.

Fleishman-Hillard, with a location in Sacramento, is one such PR agency that uses its Sac Foodies blog to highlight restaurants in and around the Sacramento area. The consultants of Fleishman-Hillard write about restaurants, even ones that are not clients, to bring exposure to these places and inform others about what lies behind the doors.

Then there are agencies like Charles Communications Associates in San Francisco that strives to gain exposure for its many wine clients. Whether it is coverage for DeLoach Vineyards in the San Francisco Chronicle or a spread in Wine Spectator for Domaine Carneros, this agency uses its PR savvy to showcase food and beverage companies.

So whether it means creating your own personal food blog, like PR specialists Emmalee Kremer and Elizabeth Ghiorso of TGC have done, working for a PR agency specializing in food and wine, or just following the work of another, those with a passion for the food and beverage industry can find some way to get involved.

And hey, restaurants and wineries are not going to complain. They’re gaining exposure in more ways than they thought possible – just like Wok ‘N’ Roll of Chico, Calif. did above.