Blog Post 3:

Foodie--A symbol of socioeconomic status?

The complex relationship between food and socioeconomic status reflects the argument that a society does form distinctions in food according to social stature, rank, reputation and cultural associations, leading to the emergence of the modern foodie culture that completely ignores the actual purpose of food as a means of sustenance for millions. According to the estimates of the UN’s world food programme, as many as 38 million Africans are living under the threat of starvation. These people are unaware of food presentation, culinary or the competitive nature of reality television cooking broadcasts. They require simple food to live, not fancy ‘microwavable meals’. They are playing the game of ‘life’, not participating in some make believe reality television show. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions that an individual or a culture may take when choosing what foods to eat and these decisions are also defined by religion. For example halal foods are permitted by Islam and kosher foods by Judaism. But food ,as portrayed by the media in the form of ‘foodie culture’, fails to encounter associations of food with culture, religion and tradition and focuses primarily on presentation of cooking as an art and a talent ,completely ignoring the value that food holds in regions where it is scarce.This fact relates foodie culture directly with higher,sophisticated and snobbish sections of the society who can afford to emphasize cooking as an art form rather than as a source of vitality.

A foodie is a particular class of aficionado of food and drink. Foodies are distinct hobbyists who exhibit profound interest in culinary .Foodie culture is well defined by wine tasting, food science, beer sampling, following restaurant openings ,food fads ,health and nutrition .They are sometimes taken to be gourmets, people who simply want to eat the best food, but most commonly are amateurs who adore food for consumption and study. Television represents a major part of the media that focuses on entertainment in the food industry and foodie culture .Exquisite food serves as an integral component of socialite dinner parties, holiday celebrations such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Hence food criticism and food show ratings particularly increase during these seasons, since special showings catering to the season, including cooking shows with prominent food critics and celebrities, attract like minded foodies and socialites who desire to hold grand banquets, inviting the ‘best of the best’ chefs to create their amazing concoctions, in order to please their guests. In contrast, The homeless celebrate Christmas and New Year’s day too, with a sense of togetherness, without elaborate feasts involving the most extravagant and exotic ingredients.It is clear as to who can afford to be the actual foodie in this case and appreciate 'good food' as classified by the society. Where do middle class people who celebrate holidays with home cooked recipes fit into this scenario?

The 1980’s and the 1990’s gave rise to the Food network and other specialized food programming, popular films and television shows about food. The food network hosts prime time reality television shows, food travel shows and cooking competitions. The food network is a channel that airs special and recurring programs about food and cooking Shows such as Iron Chef and Top Chef introduced the modern element of competition to the world of food, including some widely renowned, award-winning chefs to attract more viewers. The popular show Iron Chef actually names the setting of the show as a ‘Kitchen Stadium’, where a new challenger chef battles one of the resident Iron Chefs, based on a theme ingredient, in order to win the hearts of judges who are renowned for their taste in good food. Food is cooked in front of a live studio audience, within a time deadline of an hour. The question to be posed is who is the intended audience of the show? It is lucid that the intense competition in the show completely devalues food, which serves as such an important resource for millions who do not have it. Can poor housewives or lower middle class families actually learn to cook from such shows? Where will they receive discounted rates on ingredients used in the show? Can shows such as these help the famine in Africa? The media seeks to attract the attention of audiences who are interested in this form of competition, mostly ranging from economically wealthier backgrounds; where there is plentiful food. Hence Foodies refer to those individuals who are passionate about food. A person with a lack of food cannot be passionate about it.

The media exerts its influence on the food industry in various other aspects. Another prominent form is in restaurant criticism. Restaurant critics are distinguished foodies and food perfectionists who set standards for restaurants that allow people to compare and contrast between restaurants on the basis of their food, ambience, quality of service and overall experience. As a New York Times restaurant critic for most of the 1990s,Ruth Reichl had what some might consider the best job in town; among her missions were evaluating New York City's steakhouses, deciding whether Le Cirque deserved four stars and tracking down the best place for authentic Chinese cuisine in Queens. Thankfully, the rest of us can live that life vicariously through this vivacious, fascinating memoir. Garlic and Sapphires—Reichl's third—lifts the lid on the city's storied restaurant culture from the democratic perspective of the everyday diner. Reichl creates wildly innovative getups, becoming Brenda, a red-haired aging hippie, to test the food at Daniel; Chloe, a blonde divorcée; and even her deceased mother, Miriam, to dine at 21. Such elaborate disguises—which include wigs, makeup, thrift store finds and even credit cards in other names—help Reichl maintain anonymity in her work, but they also do more than that. "Every restaurant is a theater," she explains. Each one "offers the opportunity to become someone else, at least for a little while. Restaurants free us from mundane reality." Reichl's ability to experience meals in such a dramatic way brings an infectious passion to her memoir. Ruth Reichl is now the editor in chief of the food magazine Gourmet. Prominent restaurant critics such as Reichl serve to enlighten the public whether a particular restaurant is a ‘definite visit’ or a ‘pass’. But there are some people who cannot afford to visit restaurants. They do not possess enough resources to appreciate ‘good’ food or indulge in foodie culture. They occasionally may visit restaurants, paying greater attention to the cost irrespective of food quality. Restaurant criticism is not directed towards this category. It represents foodie culture and is directed towards those who are capable of dining, capable of trying a wide variety of dishes, irrespective of extravagance. Ruth Reichl herself hails from an upper class of society, a foodie capable of distinguishing a wide variety of exotic tastes. Hence foodies in the media are widely associated with ‘haves’ rather than ‘have-nots’.

“At six o'clock we were waiting for coffee,

waiting for coffee and the charitable crumb

that was going to be served from a certain balcony

--like kings of old, or like a miracle.” (A Miracle for Breakfast ,lines 1-4)

A Miracle for Breakfast was written during the Great Depression representing an era in which there was a well-defined socio-economic divide between the rich and the poor. Elizabeth Bishop throws light upon this difference, using food as an instrument to measure it. Elizabeth Bishop repeats her words, emphasizing the status of people waiting in a throng, desperate for food and nourishment, considering just a small crumb to be a ‘miracle’. Perhaps these were the times of great suffering, when people had to wait in long lines to receive handouts .She conceals hidden emotions of self-pity, helplessness and want in her words, adding an element of overall pathos to the atmosphere. Such poems serve to promote the actual meaning of food as a basis of sustenance and deviate away from the associations of food with foodie culture. Bishop actually refers to food as a ‘miracle’ in the context of the poem. This is definitely not the view of modern media and foodie culture which does not deal with the ‘mere’ presence of food but with the pursuit of culinary, the art of cooking. The associations of food in modern day can be widely contrasted with those from the past with the concept of cooking as a basis of life vs. an art form. Now food and foodie culture has emerged as an integral part of our lives, ignoring previous economic disparities involving food as shown by Elizabeth Bishop. Foodie culture was obviously absent in the past; where there was no media to overdramatize the concept of elegant dining, and people did not really analyze what they ate as long as they had something to eat. However, in present day a foodie is definitely not a person who analyzes whether food is available to him and everyone around him. A foodie is defined under the assumption that food is freely available, in a care free world where ingredients are not scarce, allowing him to concentrate on finer components of cuisine, and stress on ‘more important’ aspects such as food reviews, health and nutrition.

Health & nutrition is another component of modern day’s obsession with foodie culture. A foodie is not only a critic of whether a particular food item is acceptable in taste and presentation, but also evaluates whether it is healthy enough to be acceptable. The encroachment of the health movement upon the food industry has eliminated the possibility of lower socio-economic status in foodie culture due to expenses involved in consuming health foods. Low calorie foods are often healthy but not cost-healthy. Often exquisite food is associated with healthy food, which foodies prefer to be interested in.The inclusion of electronic media as a major part of foodie culture in the form of blogs and food oriented sites such as Yelp and Zagat’s and epicurious.com, also narrows down the domain of foodies to only those who have the time and accessibility to such media, in order to flaunt their knowledge about food and restaurants. Hence a foodie should necessarily be of a relatively higher economic status.

The term ‘foodie’ would generally strike you as a conceited and fastidious individual who is an epitome of perfection usually from higher strata of society . A foodie is associated with respect and validity of opinion. It is not an easy task to assign an individual the tag of a ‘foodie’, but it is also very lamented that people from lower classes, creeds and economic backgrounds can only strive to achieve this level.According to Julia Child, prominent foodie, celebrity chef and cookbook author,"In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport.”However Food should be portrayed in a manner to reduce economic disparity rather than creating a forum where socialites can express their opinions.

Reichl,Ruth:Garlic and Sapphires:The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise,New York,NY:Penguin Press,2006

Bishop,Elizabeth:A Miracle for breakfast,1937