The restaurant had issued a press statement yesterday.
http://privateaffairs.com.sg/pdf/press.pdf
Press Statement – 24th Aug 2010
Immediate Release
Private Affairs, Singapore – This is a formal statement in response
to the article by Yahoo News Singapore, “Food blogger who demands
free meal sparks outrage online”. This statement represents
strictly the views and stands from the Private Affairs management
(hereinafter referred to as “We”)
As we were made aware by the unexpected said incident occurred at
our Sunday Brunch on last Sunday, 22nd Aug 2010, we did not expect
this unfortunate episode to spark into a fiery debate within the
local food blogging community and eventually led to the attention
of our local media.
Nevertheless, we sincerely thank each and every individual, who
have showed concerns and expressed valuable opinions relating to
this incident.
Despite the unexpected publicity from this incident, we have no
intentions to exploit this incident for the fame of any
individual/s or property involved as suggested in some comments;
therefore, it is critical, we want to make an official statement
and clarifications with regards to this matter before it escalates
into potential repercussions that may affect our restaurants’
credibility or cause any further unnecessary unhappiness or
discontent to any parties involved
The candid remarks and unacceptable responses from the said blogger
were certainly uncalled for. We were not impressed by his
behaviour, action and mannerism.
Private Affairs, a 40-seater restaurant serving Modern European
cuisine with Asian touches, is a quaint gem that has caught the
attention of many food lovers. Our little success was the credit of
various media coverage since its opening in October 2009.
We have always extended media tasting invitation to avid food
bloggers based on recommendations of reliable sources. We embraced
food blogging and believe there is a certain extent of social
integrity, moral and professionalism inculcated in every
blogger.
However, we also want to highlight, the food blogs about Private
Affairs are based on individual blogger’s real experience and is
not in any way altered or influenced by Private Affairs. The food
bloggers were clear and transparent in stating that their
gastronomy adventures were invited sessions.
We hope this incident does not discourage the food blogger
community to pursue their passion in food blogging. We feel that
there is a lot of integrity and clout in this community and we can
bring our similar passion which is great food to the people. We
will continue to support and promote the spirit behind the passion
of food writing and sharing with food lovers.
More importantly, we want to take this opportunity to suggest a
possible formation of a governing body or an association/society,
which cultivates and promotes the appropriate manner of blogging
and blogger’s etiquette. There should be some guidelines and
policies implemented to avoid any similar incidents from occurring
again.
Regards,
The Management and Staff of Private Affairs Kitchen & Bar
