Don’t get me wrong: I have worked in traditional food media for two decades. My main career has been as a restaurant critic in the USA and Australia, and I’ve written plenty of recipes and glowing profiles in my time. There is a place for that. But I see a gap: where is the website for the hospitality industry itself? After all, no one is more passionate about dining and drinking than the people who spend their lives working in restaurants, pubs and bars.

This is where A+ comes in. Part online magazine, part business partner, A+ aims to support and entertain folks in the food and drinks world through editorial features, business support resources and events. We are committed to serving the industry itself, and anyone who follows that industry passionately. We hope to build a community in which ideas, events and business services come together, and to create a better, more sustainable industry that will foster more vibrant cities and communities.

A+ grew from a 2018 collaboration between Right Angle and Asahi Beverages that culminated in the Third Space Revolution Report. The insights included in that report were widely hailed as unique within the industry, and continue to serve as a basis for self-examination and self-improvement for many venues.

But things have changed since 2018, and the insights provided in that original report have room for updates and expansion. Rather than re-do a similar report, the folks at Right Angle and Asahi wondered if there was a need for an ongoing publication, based partially on the same data-driven framework of the 2018 report, and partially on high-quality editorial and business support resources. And so A+ was born.

I was brought on at the beginning of 2021 to help shape the editorial vision for A+. From the get-go, I insisted on two things: editorial integrity and independence. This would not be a place for marketing copy, and the content would be wholly directed by myself and a list of respected contributors. We are committed to real journalism, geared towards helping operators, owners, cooks, servers, bartenders, publicans, dishwashers, and restaurant-obsessives to further understand and improve the culture of hospitality.

To that end, we’ve engaged a number of Australia’s best food and drink writers to tackle the most pressing issues facing the industry today. Read author Dani Valent on the restaurant staffing crisis, chef Mark Best on the realities of choosing a career in cooking, and hospitality veteran Fred Siggins on the next steps towards real impact in issues of sustainability. This is only the beginning; in the upcoming months, expect features that delve deep into the culture and future of hospitality. A+ is deeply committed to covering all aspects of this industry – that means pubs, cafés, pop-ups, catering and so much more – not just the upscale restaurants that hog much of the attention in most publications.

Right now, all of our content is available to the public. In coming months, we will begin to offer A+ memberships, which will allow access to events, premium content, and business services. In the meantime, I encourage you to sign up for our monthly newsletter via the signup at the bottom of this page, which will deliver articles, news about our events and services, and roundups of industry-relevant content from around the web directly to your inbox.

And if you have feedback, requests for certain types of stories, or just want to say hi, I’d love to hear from you. Please email me at hello@aplusinsights.com.au.

Besha Rodell
Editor-in-Chief