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The prominent Jewish restaurant critic Jay Rayner is leaving the Observer, and will be joining the Financial Times in the same role, after 25 years covering food for the Guardian media group.
Rayner is one of the Observer’s highest-profile writers. He has been its resident restaurant critic since 1999 and is well-known for his scathing, no-holds-barred reviews of culinary establishments that fail to meet his standards.
Rayner said that the move will take place in a “couple of months’ time.”
The move comes amid reported turmoil at the Guardian Media Group (GMC) over the planned sale of the Observer, the Guardian’s sister paper, to Tortoise Media.
Journalists at the Guardian and Observer have voted to strike for 48 hours on Wednesday 4 December and Thursday 5 December over the deal.
Tortoise was founded in 2018 by former BBC News director and Times editor James Harding, with former US ambassador to the United Kingdom Matthew Barzun. It specialises in “slow news”, podcasts and events.
On Monday, the board of the Scott Trust, the Guardian’s ultimate owner, will have a discussion over whether to carry on supporting GMG’s intention to sell the Observer, according to Sky.
Tortoise has said that it would invest £25 million in the Sunday title over a five-year period, and has pledged to retain the newspaper’s focus on arts and culture.
About Rayner’s move, the Guardian said: “Jay Rayner has entertained readers for 25 years with his restaurant reviews and we wish him all the best with his new role."
The award-winning journalist said he was “thrilled” and “delighted” to be joining the FT. “I have been both an avid fan and devoted reader of the paper for many years and it’s an honour to become part of a team I have admired from afar for so long,” he said.
Rayner’s joins the FT alongside other new hires including Tim Hayward as food writer and Marina O’Loughlin as columnist, as part of “an ambitious expansion of its food and drinks coverage”.
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