Food is as much a part of our lives as breathing, everyone has to eat. But what does it take to truly appreciate food? Does one have to be a rich gourmand, or can a simple family man be a connoisseur as well? What about the individual who is just barely has time for take out? All of these people still need to eat and all of them may be able to truly appreciate good food. I think that in our modern society there is the opportunity for anyone to take an interest in what they are eating. Everyone no matter their skill level, time commitment, or financial status has the ability to qualify as a foodie.
The biggest obstacle many initially see in their quest for excellent cuisine, is the exorbitant price of many "gourmet" restaurants. However as many TV chefs have shown, it is not impossible to make fine cuisine in your own kitchen. Furthermore, a truly great restaurant doesn't always have to be the most expensive or fanciest. As Ruth Reichl found when she dined in Kang Suh, a small, cheap Korean barbecue restaurant hidden in a relatively unknown Korean neighborhood. She showed that a relatively inexpensive restaurant in an unknown neighborhood can still achieve culinary excellence. While this may have been a controversial move when she was the food critic for the New York Times, it showed how anyone has the means to experience excellent food if you know where to look. No matter where you are, I can guarantee that if you spend a little time looking, there are hidden culinary gems. Indeed a major theme of all her reviews was how the average person would be treated in a restaurant, not how a critic or high status individual would be pampered. She used her disguises to find places that anyone who came in could feel special and could have an exemplary meal. She really tried to show that it doesn't take a high roller to find great cuisine. There will always be places that try to cater solely to the elite, but that doesn't make the food at them taste any better.
If people are unwilling to dine out they always have the option to prepare the food on their own. Great chefs such as Julia Child have shown that anyone can prepare fine French cooking in their own homes with a little effort. She helped to give the stay at home mother the ability to prepare classical cuisine that would otherwise have been intimidating and unapproachable. Furthermore, her calm relaxed and demeanor in the kitchen showed home chefs that there was nothing to be intimidated by. She would show multiple ways to do something and simply say pick the one you like best. Her biggest tip was probably her attitude towards mistakes made in the kitchen. In her opinion they were nothing to worry about because if you were alone in the kitchen, "who was going to know?". This approach made otherwise formidable classical French cuisine something the home cook did not need to be afraid to try their hand at. This quality is also shown in many other modern cooking shows. Chefs such as Mario Batali and Giada de Laurentiis both try to show the home cook how to create authentic Italian foods. Other chefs focus on their own areas of expertise. The goal of all of these shows is to give anyone with the willpower and commitment the ability to become a foodie. No matter how much you know, there is always more to know, so anyone has the ability to try to improve their culinary skills.
But, what if someone doesn't have the time to devote an hour or two to preparing an elaborate meal. Then, their is already a show geared towards your predicament. Rachel Ray's "30 Minute Meals" is ideal for a working parent that has to make a meal quickly. Just because the preparation doesn't take hours and there are plenty of shortcuts and tricks use, doesn't change the taste of the food. The show focuses on making things that anyone will enjoy and more importantly, anyone with a half hour to spare can make. Good food is not necessarily something that must take hours to make. As long as the something new and exciting is created and above all it tastes good, it qualifies as a culinary success. If you take the time to look there are recipes out there for any level of time commitment. If your really in a hurry you can even find recipe books that cater to microwave cooking, for those of us who can't even wait for the oven to preheat. There is no excuse for someone who can't even take the time out of their day to feed themselves properly.
Now that we have established that anyone has the ability to find or create good food, what else does it take to really be a foodie? I think that the most important thing that they do is enjoy eating and savor every bite. They don't have to have a perfect sense of taste or smell, no need to qualify as a "super taster". They don't need to exclusively eat at the finest establishments or use the most expensive ingredients. They just need to always try to enjoy food and to experience new and exiting things. As long as they are always willing to try something new, they always have the chance to broaden their horizons and experience exciting new tastes.
Now I'm not saying that they shouldn't worry about taste at all, far from it. However they need to develop their palate on their own and not try to hold what they are eating to someone else standards. If it tastes good to you than it tastes good to you. There is no need to try to find a flaw in everything and automatically assume something is good just because it costs more, or is "fancier".
Some of the best food that I have had has come from places that you would never expect it to. For instance the best pizza that I have ever had came from a restaurant that most critics would never dare to set foot in. It came from a small family owned place that didn't look like anything special form the outside. However the food they served was some of the best that I have ever had. Just as you can't judge a book by its cover, they appearance of a restaurant or the prices on it's menu tell you nothing about how a food actually tastes. Too many people assume that pricier equals tastier.
Speaking of taste, it is one thing you should never let another person's opinion dictate for you. Taste is individual to each person and just because someone else says that something is good doesn't mean that you will necessarily feel the same way. For example there are foods that I love that some people won't even try. There are also some things that no matter what people say about them I fail to find the appeal in them. It all comes down to what you like and what you find tastes the best. Your opinion is always what matters the most, because after all, your the one eating it.
To sum it all up a foodie is simply defined as someone who takes a particular interest in food. They don't have to show their interest by frequenting the most expensive restaurants, or working over the stove for hours preparing a meal. They simply have to take an interest in their food. They have to go beyond eating simply for sustenance and try to find true enjoyment in their food. They do not need to be an epicure with only the most refined tastes, they just need to find what tastes good to them. Foodies are not an exclusive club open to only the elite of the culinary world, they are are group that includes anyone who always wants to try something new and really appreciates food.
Child, Julia, host. “Cooking Lobsters.” The French Chef. WBGH. 11 Feb. 1963. Print. Transcript.
Ray, Rachael, host. 30 Minute Meals. Food Network. 15 Apr. 2001. Television.
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