Foodie Culture

Foodie is defined by The Oxford English Dictionary as "a person with a particular interest in food; a gourmet”. Culture, as defined by Merriam-Webster, as an acquaintance with and taste in fine arts, humanities, and broad aspects of science as distinguished from vocational and technical skills. Therefore, foodie culture must be defined as a group of people with an acquaintance with and taste of food and drink, from vocational and technical skills. To acquire such an a knowledge of food and drink, takes not only time, but money. In her novel Garlic and Sapphires, Ruth Reichl, once editor at Gourmet magazine and restaurant critic at The New York Times, talks about the when she went from being a cook, to being a restaurant critic.

"Then I [Reichl] stopped cooking altogether. 'She's joined the leisure class,' my[Reichl's] friends said. I disarmed my critics by inviting them along; nobody I knew could afford to eat out, and nobody refused. We went with equal amounts of guilt and pleasure, with a feeling that we were trespassing in the playgrounds of the rich. Which, in fact, we were. We didn't belong in those starchy restaurants (Reichl 227-228)".

Thus, for one to live in the foodie culture, he or she must first obtain a way to pay for the expenses of this lifestyle. Then take the time to learn the culture, and finally be able to live it.

One reason for this can be the expense of going to the store multiple times a week, possibly even a day, so one can obtain the freshest possible ingredients. Ingredients can make or break a dish. Chef Mark R. Vogel, a chef at an Italian/Mediterranean restaurant, says in his article about using canned food, professional chefs and ardent foodies make multiple trips to the grocery store each week to ensure their items are as fresh as possible. People who dislike cooking, or those whose demanding schedules prohibit them from expending protracted time on food shopping and preparation, endeavor to curtail their supermarket excursions". In that quote alone, one can find another reason as to why this lifestyle can be expensive. "...Expending protracted time on food shopping and preparation..." doing this will take away from time that could be spent working and making money. Not only does one have to go to the store multiple times a week which isn't cheap, fresh food will cost more than canned or frozen. While doing a test to see if there really was a difference in taste between fresh or canned and frozen ingredients, the todaytonight show asked two of the country's top chef's, Dorinda Hafner and Andrew Feilke to prepare the same exact three course meal twice, once with fresh ingredients, and once with canned and frozen ingredients (Coubor). The four test-tasters were John and Justine from The Greedy Goose and off the TV show My Restaurant Rulesand, the chef Travis and barman Nick. After everything was prepared and served, the major consensus was that fresh ingredients delivered a much better flavor than that of the canned and frozen. However, fresh is going to cost. "Our fresh ingredients came to a grand total of 91-dollars-60 ... while the canned and frozen ingredients were about 24 dollars cheaper. But the experts say it's worth it. The chefs say 'there's no doubt, most of the time we're gonna be faced with a higher cost price, but then the biggest winner there, is flavour'(Coubor)". So, to get that rich taste that those of the foodie culture crave, it is going to cost, as seen, not just money, but time. And in this world, time is money.

The same can be said for dining out. When one dines out, he not only pays for the meal, but the service, the table, and utilities. This can easily cost up to and over one hundred dollars for a quality three star restaurant. But no one really considers clothing when thinking about cost for dining out. At some point one must have obtained clothing that is suitable for dining at nice restaurants, since there are still some black tie restaurants. A designer suit will run a person an average of $1500 to $4000, while a retail suit will cost an average of $200 to $1000 (Kalogeropoulos). That's only for that person, that doesn't count the cost of a wife, children, parents, etc.

Another reason, which may not be well known, but can be picked out from another passage of Reichl's novel Garlic and Sapphires, is that the for one following the foodie lifestyle, he or she may be viewed as a prick, a snob, jerk, other synonyms for a conceited man. These people may refer to themselves as food warriors. Food Warriors will want everything to be perfect. This is one of the reasons why those outside of this culture will view them as a prick. They will send the food back until it comes out just right, or will not sit until seated at the correct location, and will correct the waiter on every tiny thing. The passage from Reichl's novel shows just this as her and her husband go out for dinner with a couple, the husband being a "food warrior". The evening starts off terrible, with the husband, Mr. Shapiro, demanding his seat, "'Window seat,' he said, thumping one fist against the other. 'We must have a seat at the window. We want to be smack up against the view (Reichl 248)". After being seated, Mr. Shapiro dives directly into the wine list and as soon as the waiter arrives growls "'Sommelier!' (249)" . This activity continues, discussing with the sommelier which wines would be best, then with the waiter on food. They stay until the restaurant closes, giving yet another reason for people to view food warriors in a bad light. Living in this lifestyle can be great for those that can handle it, but one may be viewed as a snob, which may be fine for he or she, given that he or she already lives in the high socioeconomic status, which is the measure of an individual's or family's relative economic and social ranking ("Glossary").

On to reason number three, time. Time, time, time. For those that don't like to cook, or are trying to prepare something quick, there are the cooking shows like 30 Minute Meals with Rachel Ray that will show you how to prepare a healthy meal that the entire family with enjoy, quickly. But for those that live the foodie lifestyle, these meals are nothing. Look at Julia Child, who takes her time cooking food, getting everything out of the food that she could. And that is only for those cooking at home. When one goes out, it is an all-night event. Back to the example from earlier, where Ruth Reichl eats with Mr. Shapiro, that was an all-night outing. In Bittersweet: Lessons from My Mother's Kitchen, Matt McAllester, former war correspondent, mentions a time that he and his wife, then girlfriend, went to Rome for New Years. There at a restaurant near the Via Condotti, they were eating a seven-course meal. At midnight, they were only on their fourth-course (McAllester 53). A perfect example of how this can be a time consuming life. To be able to successfully live the life of a foodie, one must have the time to do so.

If one were to wish to go overseas, per say, or even just visit different countries on the same continent, he or she might as well combine everything about. This will take time, money, and you are now not only different by being a foodie, you are a foreigner, which isn't necessarily a good thing. With all the expenses that go into this kind of venture, one must have either saved up, or already have the money, which would once again mean a high socioeconomic status. There's the process of getting a passport, buying plane tickets or using a car, hotels, actually eating out, and more than likely a few souvenirs. These all take time and money. So for those that aren't in the high socioeconomic status, this can be a hurtful trip, with the time away from work and possibly spending more money than intended.

Finally, there is actually staying with this lifestyle. It can be a hard lifestyle to live, and even harder to continue to live for many years. It is easy to fall into the, "Quick and Easy" fast food phase. It takes dedication to live this kind of life. But for those that love this culture, and can handle the pressure of time and money and a possible negative outlook, it won't be too hard.

In the end, to have what it really takes to be a part of this foodie culture a person must have a wealth of income, plenty of time, not be afraid to be viewed negatively and have the dedication, determination, and perseverance to keep going. Thus, a person must be in the higher socioeconomic status.

Works Cited

Coubor, Susan. "Fresh vs. Frozen". 7Perth. 2008. Channel 7 Perth. 25 Oct. 2009 <http://www.7perth.com.au/view/today-tonigh t-articles/20060303205506/>.

"Culture". Merriam-Webster Online. 2009. Merriam-Webster. 25 Oct. 2009 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Cult ure>.

"Foodie". WordNet. WordNetWeb. 25 Oct. 2009 <http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=foodie>.

"Glossary". National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Services. 25 Oct. 2009 <http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/glossary/s.asp>.

Kalogeropoulos, Maggie. "This Week's Outfit". AskMen.com. 1996-2009. IGN Entertainment. 25 Oct. 2009 <http://www.askmen .com/fashion/trends_100/146_fashion_men.html>.

McAllester, Matt. Bittersweet: Lessons from My Mother's Kitchen. New York: The Dial Press, 2009.

Reichl, Ruth. Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise. New York: Penguin Books, 2005.

Vogel, Mark R. "Food for Thought". FoodReference.com. 1990-2009. FoodReference.com. 25 Oct. 2009 <http://www.foodrefer ence.com/html/a328-can-can.html>.