Saudi food critic gets material on social media sites copyrighted

Turki Al-Dhfayan, a well-known Saudi food critic on social media with 76,000 followers, has just resumed his writing following the approval of his trademark which will grant him the right to have his work copyrighted.
“The Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently approved my trademark so I am planning to resume writing as a food critic again,” Al-Dhfayan told Arab News.
He said that he was often invited by hotels and restaurants to sample their new menus before introducing them in the market.
“I eventually wrote about these menus but I decided to stop pending approval of my trademark so that my articles on social media like Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and Facebook would not be printed without my knowledge or permission,” he said.
The Saudi food critic added that he draws an additional 1,000 followers everyday, noting that unlike in Europe he doesn’t get paid for his food reviews because it’s just a hobby for him.
“The art of food reviews is not new. It dates back to at least a 1,000 years, when the kings in Europe had someone taste their food before they ate it to avoid being poisoned,” he explained.
He said that he started writing as a food critic while vacationing in Europe.
“I was at a five-star hotel in London and found a leaflet in a corner suggesting that I try the original food in one of the restaurants in the city,” said Al-Dhfayan who works for Emirates NBD as a specialist in an electronic channel.
He said that he went to one of the restaurants and ordered a steak, cooked in the original London style and he has been a food critic ever since.
“Now whenever I travel, I always stay in a hotel to try out the meals and carefully schedule my itinerary so that I have time to taste the breakfast, lunch and dinner which are native to the country I am visiting,” he said.