Blog post #3

    With the rise in culinary culture the term "foodie" has been floating around society but what exactly does that mean?? When I first heard the term foodie I immediately related it with someone who is rich and snobbish. However in dictionary.com it's labeled as "someone who is interested in foods, cooking, and the latest food and restaurant fads."¹ It is that simple you don't need to be filthy rich to be a foodie. Everyone could be a foodie whether old or young, rich or poor all they need is an interest in the topic known as food. They could be interested in the taste, texture, and preparation of food or the history, the why, where, how, when, and who about food

So why did I envision a foodie as a rich and snobbish person? It's because of foodtv like the Iron Chef America. In the show Iron Chef America there are two main parties the commentators and the chefs. The chefs that are crowned as the Iron chefs are the mighty pillars of the culinary world in America. Then there are chefs that would go and challenge these Iron Chefs. The commentators or the shows image of foodies are the judges for this competition between these two cooks. This misleading the audience that to be a foodie one has to be rich or influential enough to be on TV and experience the divine cookery of these elite chefs.

Foodtv is not the only media that give rise to the misconception of a foodie being rich. Magazines and newspapers articles written by food critics give the readers of a feeling of being inferior to them. It makes the readers feel that the food critics are the real foodies and the readers aren't or that they can't be one. The food that the food critics review and write about are well, expensive unique entities like Almas Caviar which came from "the oldest survivor of the Dinosaur era. Beluga caviar ranges in price from more than $5,000 per kilogram in the United States."²

The fact is you don't have to be rich or influential to be a foodie. Anyone could be a foodie even I, a poor college student, could be a foodie. The key to being a foodie is being able to appreciate your food. There is no requirement in that you have to identify all the ingredients that are put into a dish but you should be able to note the difference between freshly made ramen and processed instant ramen. A foodie at any given time would ditch any sort of processed food to have some fresh produce or freshly made food. But does this mean that foodies always shop for organic food or go to a farmers market for food or that they don't eat processed food at all? "No, but you[foodies] still look for good, fresh produce."³ or the best that is available to them. This process of actively looking for good food is a defining characteristic of a foodie. That being said foodies don't need to have the best ingredients or produce out there but just the best that they can get.

There are busy people out there that rush about and eat whatever they get their hands on. They are labeled as "fuelers"⁴ the complete opposite of a foodie. "Fuelers" eat for the sake of satisfying their hunger. To them food doesn't have any meaning to them. Foodies however see and understand the meaning of food and in turn appreciate them. Ann said "Are you over the moon because you're sharing an amazing meal with your partner or a group of friends or family? Are you mixing in a dash of laughter and a sprinkle of conversation with your meals? Are you focused on only the meal and the company rather than multitasking? Do you see food as not just necessary fuel for your body, but one of life's great joys?" ⁵ What Ann means is that for her, a foodie, food means more than just the taste of food but also the little get together with your friends or family and you being able to enjoy it and being able to appreciate this fact and power of food. There is definitely no need for a large sum of money for anyone to enjoy the meal and the company that one have during a meal.

There is another aspect of being a foodie other than eating and experiencing the joys of eating. That is preparing the food and putting time and effort into cooking the food. Why is that so? It's because of the variety of ingredients that are available out there in the market like organic food, processed food, fresh food, "graded" food and food. In organic food the "use of conventional non-organic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides is greatly restricted and saved as a last resort. However, contrary to popular belief, certain non-organic fertilizers are still used."⁶ As for fresh food and food it is anything that is not canned or preserved with chemicals but the use of non-organic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides are used to cultivate them but in fresh food they are fresh out of the farm or if its meat or seafood its alive. Processed food is food that are already prepared and laid out in the selves for days. The use of fresh and organic food would be the top choice among foodies. Besides being able to distinguish the "good" ingredients foodies also put their time and heart into making a dish unlike the "fuelers" who would just carelessly mix the ingredient together and call whatever that comes out a meal. Not all foodies would go to the extreme of making everything from scratch. They would cook like what Rachael Ray would in her cook shows not all the ingredient she has are organic or fresh but she tries to have organic and fresh food as much as possible. That's what being a foodie is about to be involved in the making a meal and not sitting around as a critic grading and rating food but actually getting into the kitchen and know how to cook themselves. This privilege isn't reserved for just the rich because any working individual cook for their family and/or themselves.

Foodies also have a daring and adventurous spirit because they have the courage to go out and seek foreign tastes and come to accept the differences whether they liked it or not. If they didn't like it they wouldn't go about bashing it and saying how disgusting or awful a culture is. In Asia for example there are regions where people eat what westerners would label as exotic food like insects, rats, dogs, cats, snakes, and etc. Instead of bashing Asians, foodies would wonder why they eat what they eat and the history behind it. But not all foodies are so daring as to try eating insects but that wouldn't make them any less of a foodie cause everyone of their likes and dislikes as Nicole said "Just like food …. and most importantly, eat food."⁷

    Besides going out to eat and enjoy food foodies indulge themselves in the pursuit of knowledge about food. "Just as a good student will have a thirst for knowledge, a foodie wants to learn about food."⁸ The essence of learning is the pursuit of knowledge and not with the aim to taste and savory whatever that a foodie happens to be researching at the given time. For example a foodie at a certain period of their life-time might have an interest in the varieties of strawberries and the difference between the species of strawberries. Some of a foodies question might have would be which type of strawberries are better suited for ice-cream, for yogurt, or for jelly. They might also be curious as to where pizza originated from, some say it came China and was modified by the Italians and some say it's strictly from Italy but only a foodie would know. Because only they would spend their time doing research on food like Alteheia Price who made an article about eating insects.⁹

    A foodie envelops many aspects from their interest in knowing anything and everything there is to know about food to the heart of eating and enjoying their meals. The knowledge of food and the enjoyment of it is what make a foodie understand and appreciate what food is. Food isn't just food for the foodies it could be said food is what makes a foodie alive and kicking unlike a fueler who see it as fuel for their bodies and nothing more. This pursuit of knowledge and enjoyment of food is a hobby for anyone whether they are rich or poor, old or young as long as they have the capacity to learn what food is and appreciate food they could be a foodie. Being a foodie has nothing to do with ones social status or economic status it does have everything to do with what one is interested in.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

¹
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions. Retrieved October 25, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/foodie

² Wacky Archives http://www.wackyarchives.com/featured/worlds-most-expensive-foods.html

³
Slashfood by Nicole Weston
http://www.slashfood.com/2006/02/10/what-is-a-foodie-anyway/

⁴
Slashfood by Nicole Weston
http://www.slashfood.com/2006/05/15/are-you-a-fueler-or-a-foodie/

⁵ The Heart of New England by Ann Zuccardy http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/lifeinnewengland/Essays/are-you-a-foodie.html

⁶ Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_food

⁷ Slashfood by Nicole Weston
http://www.slashfood.com/2006/02/10/what-is-a-foodie-anyway/

⁸ Slashfood by Nicole Weston
http://www.slashfood.com/2006/02/10/what-is-a-foodie-anyway/

⁹
Manataka American Indian Council by Alteheia Price http://www.manataka.org/page160.html