Limitations on Being a Foodie

Thanks to the wide variety and accessibility of information on fine dining through television, books and other resources, anyone that has even a slight interest in gastronomical issues can, to one degree or another, become involved with food and successfully become a foodie. The only real requirement it takes to be a foodie is an interest in the foods you’re eating and other meals around you. However, the amount of time, level of interest and quantity of money available to spend on cooking can limit their ability to become a foodie in certain ways. Although the meals you may be making yourself, and eventually eat, may not be gourmet, you can still be considered a foodie solely by your activity in the foodie society. Fortunately, none of these limitations can permanently block an individual from becoming an accomplished foodie. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a “foodie” as “a person with a particular interest in food; a gourmet”. Anyone from any background can become a foodie; the only thing that varies is the person’s available resources, their willingness to dedicate those resources to becoming a foodie and the finesse of the food they are judging and eating. Although many people put a strong emphasis on the finesse of foods, being a foodie is based on how seriously you take food and not the type of food itself.

A single mother, for instance, has an obvious list of priorities: earn a salary to support herself and her family as well as their possessions. This could consist of holding a job, taking care of the house they live in, driving the children to soccer practice, and other various things. Cooking is one of the few variables that such a mother can control, meaning the amount of time and energy spent can be as low as practically nothing or take hours upon hours and be exhausting work. Unfortunately, in this mother’s scenario, she has time limitations that may stop her from being a foodie to the extent she’d like. After she has completed a long day at work, picked up her children from their various activities and finally returned home, there may be more work waiting for her or a dog to take to the vet, consuming the entirety of her evening. There is nearly nowhere to fit eating in such a busy schedule, never mind actually cooking or enjoying the food. If this mother is truly interested in becoming a foodie, she can do so on weekends or during idle evenings that all her work has been finished. However, because of her busy schedule, those are some of the few times she can find free time and spend it the way she’d like. This is also true for single fathers as well as married men and women who all lack one thing: not having enough time to enjoy food in depth. Being a workaholic can take away from the amount of time you have to spend on other activities that you are interested in, such as cooking. If someone is stuck in this position, they can still be a foodie, just not have the privilege of spending as much time or money as they’d like on cooking and enjoying food.

On a budgeted income, people may find it increasingly tougher to become an extensive foodie. Even though someone has enough time to study, learn and enjoy fine dining, they may not have the money to pay for such expenses. In such a case, the foodie’s meal won’t be as elaborate as someone who is as lavish with their money, or as someone who has a copious amount to prodigally spend on gourmet meals. Although this doesn’t directly affect the individual’s ability to be a foodie, it does affect how expensive their meal is. Most gourmet meals, such as multi-layered casseroles and fresh cooked lobster, are far from cheap; in fact, cooking such a meal with the best ingredients from scratch could easily cost a large portion of a week’s paycheck. This shouldn’t stop people from being a foodie, or considering themselves one. In Michael Pollen’s book “In Defense of Food”, he notes that the average American spends less than 10 percent of their income on food. Those who wish to be foodie’s, however, may find themselves spending nearly twice as much as the average person, depending on their actual income. Luckily, there is an art to buying cheap yet gourmet food; the tricky part is adapting to such a method. If one wants to find organic foods, for instance, it is best to buy the less coveted part of meats that taste just as good as long as they’re cooked longer. Also, it’s easy to save money on foods such as vegetables if you grow them yourself. Others, if they are at a point of poverty where they cannot afford any food whatsoever, may find that if they want any food at all, it’s necessary to retrieve it from a dumpster or beg a bakery to give them the leftovers from the day that would usually go to waste.

For those who don’t consider themselves foodies but wish to learn what so many others already know, there is a multitude of mentors out there willing to help instruct you on what they themselves have already learned. There are many resources we can use to further our knowledge and practice of the foodie ways, the most popular of which is the television. Many popular cooking shows, such as those hosted by Alton Brown and Julia Child, have motivated people for decades, educating them in the numerous ways of how to cook your own meals as well as how to appreciate the food we have. One of the benefits of being able to watch this multitude of chefs on television is being able to find one that suits your style. They’re all avid foodies, basing their lives around cooking and eating, and differ only in personality and taste. You can watch and re-watch men and women, young and old, cooking anything from seven course meals to a nice daiquiri to a fancy chocolate and peanut butter cake. Depending on your own personal foodie technique, there’s a near guarantee you’ll be able to find a chef that’s almost exactly like you that can help show you the guidelines of how to be a foodie. Likewise, there are many classes you can take to help enhance your knowledge and skill in cooking as well as enjoy the presence of other foodies. Finding a show or class that suits you is the most helpful way to feel comfortable around other foodies while furthering your comprehension of food in every aspect.

Some will consider themselves foodies because of the immense research and readings they conduct on the topic of food, while others consider themselves foodies based on the fact that they have one thing in common with other foodies: they thoroughly enjoy dining and being in the presence of others with similar gastronomical values. Sudi Pigott’s book “How To Be A Better Foodie; A Bulging Little Book For The Truly Epicurious” is filled with many little facts about fine dining that most people never knew, and had no idea even existed. Pigott is described as a passionate foodie who does what she knows best and loves: dining on, judging and later writing about fine foods. Writings like this can be easily researched and learned from in order to help further your foodie knowledge. This is only one of several books written on the topic of foodies, but it’s one of the few that focuses on how to actually become a foodie. Reading up on common topics is another great way to help improve your foodie awareness while learned the necessities of the kitchen.

All it takes to be a foodie is an interest in food and taste buds, assuming you have food to taste. No matter how little time you have, or how little money, there is always a unique way that you can be considered a thriving foodie. A common misconception of being a foodie is that you need a certain amount of money to buy a set list of spices and oils, or an allotted amount of time to let your soups boil while your imported steaks marinate in the freezer. Either way, your food doesn’t need to meet a certain level of fanciness. The problem with this is that it alienates individuals who have a strong interest in food, yet are held back by forces that are necessary to go about our daily lives. Although these forces may limit how seriously you can take your foodie status, it cannot permanently prevent you from being a foodie. Whether you actually sit down every Saturday night and enjoy a multi-course meal with your friends or family, or look forward to the hamburger you’ll be grilling in between meetings, the only thing you need to be considered a foodie is your own personal interest in the topic of food.

Sources:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/03/10/moneytales.DTL
http://www.delongwine.com/news/2006/08/29/how-to-be-a-foodie/