Ahead of the release of the 2013 edition of the Good Food Guide, BigHospitality caught up with Carter, who has been consultant editor for the last six years, to get her thoughts on the current culinary landscape and find out what inspectors look for when they are considering putting a venue in the guide.
She said: "We are in a golden age of eating out. For the first time we have got such a vast choice of style, price and atmosphere available to us."
Carter, who famously banned the term 'gastropub' from the guide in 2011, believes that pubs have made the biggest progress when it comes to offering food and are leading the way in the eating out market because of their flexibility towards diners.
"Every year more and more pubs are getting into the guide and I think it's because people want to eat more in pubs," she said.
"They like the casual atmosphere and the fact that you can go in and have a drink at the bar, then drift through and order food. They like that relaxed ambiance that a pub puts forward."
The consultant editor, who started out working for Egon Ronay and has written her own book on Majorcan food, also gives her tips to restaurateurs and chefs who want to see their business making it into the guide and talks about what she's hoping to see more of from the industry in the future.
Carter is also the big interview in today's edition of the Publican's Morning Advertiser where she talks more about her career and her concerns over future chef talent.