Foodie is an everyday term widely used in conversations, blog posts, and even in newspapers. A foodie is defined as “a person who has an ardent or refined interest in food.” In previous years, words like “gastronome” and “gourmet” were used to describe a foodie. These older terms, indicating a foodie, give us a more grand and majestic feeling even though all these words are indicating the same type of person. The fact that getting fresh food or eating at a restaurant was a rare event in the past, portrayed a foodie to be only opened to the rich. Previously, many people did not have the wealth to purchase expensive food or the diligence to cook their own food. However, time has changed and we misunderstood what a true foodie is: one who does not require wealth but interest in food.
Being a foodie is not just about savoring the food, but also about how much interest one has about it. A foodie is like a huge yellow sponge trying to suck up more and more food-related information because of one’s thirst of knowledge in food. A foodie should not be only able to answer what type of food one likes but also why one likes it. In addition, a foodie does not have to enjoy every type of food. One can have likes and dislikes but one should know why one likes or dislikes the taste of the food. However, this does not mean only professionals, who can correctly identify the different spices through smell and know almost everything about food, are the only ones that can be true foodies. Anyone can be a foodie if one has the interest and motivation to wonder through the uncharted world of food. Nothing is wrong with not knowing the difference between Granny Smith apples and Granvenstein apples but a true foodie should try to learn or question about the food one is consuming. A foodie does not always have to buy one’s food from a farmer’s market, but should be able to pick fresh goods from a normal supermarket. Being a foodie is actually about preparing, eating and having interest in food.
Wealth is only a method of appreciating and learning about food, but there are many more methods and all that is really required to become a foodie is the motivation to learn about the food they are consuming. If wealth was the only method of becoming a foodie, more than half the nations of the world would be excluded from having any foodies in their country. Not many countries are wealthy as the United States and some are even indebted. However, poorer countries have just as many foodies as the wealthy nations. For example, Malaysia has a Gross Domestic Product per capita of $15,200 and many of the locals there are considered poor by the wealthier foreigners. However, when it comes to food, it’s the locals who are truly able to have the interest and enjoy their food. A roti canai, which is a breakfast meal, only costs $.89. Its not only affordable and available to almost every Malaysian but its also one of the most popular dishes in Malaysia. Even the foreigners crave to have a good plate of roti canai dipped in some spicy curry. Although the foreigners probably can buy more roti canais than the local Malaysians, many wealthier foreigners do not know what makes the roti canai taste so good. Moreover, instead of finding out how to make roti canai, the foreigners feel that buying roti canai for a dollar is more efficient than making it themselves since they can buy it with insignificant amount of money. The Malaysians, on the other hand, have a better knowledge on how to make roti canai and even try experimenting with curry sauce by adding seafood, chicken and etc. In this scenario, the less wealthier people are actually able to become more of a foodie than the wealthier due to their interest in food. Wealth is only one path out of many, to become a foodie. So, wealth is not an essential necessity for one to love food.
Being a foodie can be time consuming, but being wealthy does not necessarily bring more leisure time. Actually it might be the reverse. The majority of the people who got wealthier are living more hectic lives. This can be seen through the development of transportation, communication and increase of fast food restaurants. As countries have developed into industrial countries, these features are becoming more and more evident. The more developed a country is, the more efficient it wants to get. In other words, the wealthy are increasing their standards of living but they are also living more hectic lives. Take Korea for example. Around couple of decades ago, Koreans lived in an agricultural based society. Usually the farmers got extremely busy only during the fall but as the country industrialized, Koreans are working through the whole year. Now South Korea has the longest work hours among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. They work 2,390 hours each year. Possibly, the hectic lifestyles of Koreans led to the development and widespread of instant noodles and food products that would allow Koreans to enjoy their meal within a short amount of time. There are also cases of having extreme wealth. Bill Gates is one of the wealthiest people in the world. However, it does not mean he has plenty of leisure time. He became the wealthiest person in early 2004, but he remained as a hands-on leader at Microsoft. Later, he even established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition, to these duties he became a board member of the ICOS, which is the largest biotechnology company in the United States. Hence, Bill Gates spent huge amount of time when he was developing his company and even when he was wealthy enough, he still had to devote a lot of time on his work. However, it does not mean that the wealthier cannot become a foodie. Anyone can be a foodie, it’s just that they have to redistribute their time so that they have enough time to explore their interest in food while enjoying each second as a foodie.
Having less wealth can expand the interest and appreciation for food in some cases. One example is my roommate YuhYeu Shih. He’s limitation of the variety of food he can eat due to medical problems had a somewhat similar effect of the limitation due to financial problems. I have known YuhYeu Shih, my roommate, from elementary school but I did not know much about his life until we got to be each others' roommates. He did not have many chances to appreciate food that I eat everyday. It was not that he was poor but he had eczema, a disease that causes skin rashes due to allergies. He was allergic to meat, seafood, and chemically produced products. His diet was based on boiled vegetable rarely with seasoning, which was extremely different from mine. My diet was mainly based on seafood and meat. Furthermore, I usually eat out every week to seek the pleasure in eating and tasting in different restaurants. It was only after a week in college when I realized YuhYeu was a true foodie. He had an amazing ability to value and recognize the taste of different type of food. After a week eating at the school dining hall, I was exhausted of eating the same boring meal everyday. YuhYeu, on other hand, had a different opinion towards the dining hall food. He was able to appreciate almost any type of food in the dining hall and was enthusiastic about the food there. Personally, the yellow rice at the dining hall seemed no different from the plain white rice except for the color of the rice. Exhausted and bored of the food at the dining hall, I had no interest in the yellow rice. However, not only was YuhYeu able to identify the slight difference in taste that distinguished the yellow rice from plain white rice, he had enjoy eating the dish. Similarly, people with limited chances to appreciate food due to financial matters can have a greater appreciation and interest in a wider variety of food while people who already had great exposure to many different type of food would limit themselves to only few favorites. Seemingly, lack of wealth does not prevent one from being a foodie.
All in all, wealth is not the greatest obstacle preventing people from becoming foodies but the lack of interest and motivation. There are numerous types of dishes that are affordable and accessible to many people in the world. Moreover, wealth cannot buy time. Being wealthy has nothing to do with having extravagant leisure time as wealthier people tend to be busier. Being a foodie is about managing their time efficiently enough to create the time to astray into the sensual pleasure of the consumption or preparation of food. Lack of wealth can actually become an advantageous factor in becoming a foodie. The lack of exposure to many different types of food allows one to appreciate a wider range of food. Socioeconomic status can be an influential factor to many things in life. However, socioeconomic status should not prevent one from becoming a foodie because anyone can become a foodie, if one has the motivation and means to become one.
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