When my grandparents were still the same age as me, they strove to provide three meals a day for their family. Entering the 21st century, what society offers to people is not simply limited to eliminate the feeling of hunger, but also provides the opportunities to explore the influence of different flavors of cuisine. This obsession by some to delve into all aspects of food preparation, presentation and consumption has given rise to the term “foodie”. Importantly, the discrepancy of wealth in society separates the selection of food each socioeconomic group is able to afford. As technology progresses, the modernization of city has improved the quality of human life in numerous ways. The foodie culture stands out as one of the side effects of wealth that has enriched people’s social life. The term of foodie emerged along with the rise of food culture as people ate for not just for health or survival but as a social experience. The different socioeconomic status of each foodie results in different perspectives on the food the foodie enjoys as well as how the food’s price value affects the foodie’s selection.
Every human being is a foodie to some extent, from children to seniors. Food encompasses the daily life of each person. However, the essence of foodies is the interpretation on food based on socioeconomic background. High school and college students are certainly one of the most unique groups of foodies in terms of socioeconomic status. The fundamental principles for students are to eat cheap but at the same time enjoy the tastes of food. Fast food and chain restaurants are the two top choices by students because of affordability and quick preparation time. Students do not have stable income and the suitable locations for dinning are limited. Therefore, students are not frequent customers for expensive sit-down restaurants. As a student, the inconvenience and lack of transportation also limited the food choices available around the city. The accessible restaurants left are fast food chains such as KFC, Burger King, etc. Especially during late night studying, the food options available are pizza delivery or fried chicken. The foodie culture among students displays a trend of simplicity and hunger satisfaction. The cause is directly correlated with students’ socioeconomic status. This trend reveals the fact that students do not have healthy eating habit compared to other social groups in society.
The office working class is another tier of social group that has its own defined foodie culture related to its socioeconomic background. This working group of foodie is able to afford eating out at sit-down restaurant. Additionally, the foodies have the flexibility of managing their time schedule, and have more accessibility to transportation. These two differences amplify the diversities of food eaten by the working class as well as enhanced food quality compared to students. The level of restaurant usually reflects the status of the diners. Working class foodies are normally gravitate to eat at restaurants with the highest menu price. For instance, in the situation of meeting with an important client, having a dinner together is the usual courtesy. The restaurants normally chosen are prestigious restaurants in town which has luxurious decoration and elegant ambience. Majority of foreign culture residences in America are working for major companies. The era of democracy allows different race and culture of people to mingle together in the same society. Food stands out as the best method to express different cultural background among colleagues. The cosmopolitan atmosphere around America’s major city offers foodies the choices of different cuisines around the world. In major cities, there exist Chinatown and Korean town which offer various foreign cuisines. Working class foodies who have colleagues from different cultures are more open minded to try out the different foreign cuisines. Working classes are the main stream of foodie culture. It directly reflects what food is popular in the market as well as what the eating trend of people are. In comparison to student foodies, working class foodies’ socioeconomic status allows them to eat healthier as well as more luxurious food choices. Many young generations are looking forward to the foodie culture belonging to working class.
A foodie is not limited to the enthusiasm of eating at restaurants. A foodie could also be drawn to eat home style cooking. Growing up in a bourgeoisie family, I was able to observe the transformation from my grandparents’ farming journey to the student life of myself. My grandparents were raised in a rural city in China. Since their childhood, they had to work in the farm to grow crops. They always cooked their food at home. The concept of eating out at restaurants did not occur to them until they moved to the city. My grandparents’ eating principle has not changed after moving to the city. Simplicity and originality are what my grandparents pursue when they are preparing meals for the family. As a foodie herself, grandma’s perspective on food does not lie on the cost of ingredients, or the luxury of dinning ambience and decorations. Grandparents belong to the farming class in the society, they do not have the economic background to eat expensive gourmet around the city. In fact, their passion of food originates from the freshness of food, and utilizing the nature of food to create a masterpiece that could not be done in restaurants. Grandparents do not have the advantage to access Internet to search for well-known recipes. However, their origin for quality food derives from their socioeconomic background. As a farmer back, grandparents’ joy is to cook and eat the fresh agricultural products. The happiness of grandparents as a foodie is to enjoy the freshness of food, instead of searching for luxurious gourmet around the city. Their working roots define their simple definition as a foodie.
The 21st century is an era of technological prosperity. Foodies living in the city have the access to Internet, watching cooking shows on TV, as well as other food related activities. Middle class foodies have the advantage of dinning out at restaurants over the weekend. Normally the restaurant choices are selected from restaurant reviews, or suggestions from friends. People are willing to spend time and money to seek out good food. However, in order to achieve the goal to eat quality food, a solid economic background is necessary. The middle class exemplifies the mainstream foodie. Food has become an entertainment in society. Advertisements on restaurant, as well as various cuisines always attract foodie’s attention. The cooking shows such as Anthony Bourdain where he travels to different countries to explore different gourmets around the globe. Such cooking shows open the audience to a wide range of cuisines. One of typical examples is the popularity of Peking duck in western countries. Somehow, the enthusiastic foodies will devote time seeking for the food introduced in the cooking show. Some foodies will even travel to China to taste the authentic Peking duck if their finances allow. The cosmopolitan atmosphere enriches the major cities around the world. Western food industries are pushing their market overseas to increase profits. For instance, the fast food chains such as McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza Hut are dominating the western food market in China. Dinning at such restaurants symbolizes a strong economic background. The average cost to eat a pizza at Pizza Hut in China is more expensive compared to other gourmets available around the city. Therefore, a foodie who wants to experience western food needs to have strong economic background. The television shows and commercials control what they want to let the audience see on TV. The success of TV shows attracts foodies with ranges of different socioeconomic background. The foodie’s choice on the kind of place to eat is still determined by the socioeconomic background.
Different cities have famous food that is well known in the U.S, such as Philadelphia’s cheese steak, New York’s hot dog, Louisiana’s fried chicken, etc. Gourmet that originates from a specific city is readily available around big cities. However, a true foodie will pay a visit to the origin of the food place to enjoy the original recipe of the food. The city I grew up is well known for the specially made rice noodle. People around China will travel to my city just to eat the rice noodle that is only made in that city. The foodies who come from long distances to eat the rice noodle are truly passionate about food. However, not every foodie has the money and time to pay a visit to a city just to eat the delicious dishes. There is only a small portion of foodies who have the luxury to fulfill every wish to taste different cuisine around the globe.
Humans are born to be equal, however, the cruelty of society separates people based on socioeconomic status. This phenomenon is well exemplified by food culture. The wealthy group eats at high-end restaurants and in comparison to poorer groups which eat simple homemade food in majority of time. Not every foodie will have the same dinning experience because their socioeconomic background prevents it. This difference determines the opportunities that a foodie can enjoy, as well as the foodie’s ability to pursuit various cuisines around the world. However, the essence does not depend on how expensive the food is. The importance is discovery of happiness in the food.
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