Foodie or Gourmet?

January 10th, 2008

Until recently, I had never given thought to this question. During several food-related conversations with various friends and coworkers over the past couple of years, on more than one occasion it has been suggested that I may have “missed my calling” so to speak. The consensus among many of them is that perhaps I should have been a chef or food critic or some other food-related professional. Their comments are not meant to imply that I am not good at my work, as I have been feeding myself from the accounting profession for quite a while. Rather, they are merely acknowledgments that I am obviously as good at cooking beans as I am at counting them.

It is true that I have what might be considered an extraordinary passion for many things food, but at this point, I have no desire to re-enter the food profession beyond that of being a personal chef. Perhaps because early in my life I had the opportunity of working in a few professional kitchens - a private country club and a couple of large, well-known hotel restaurants. During that time, I had the pleasure of savoring some of the most delicious foods to ever pass my lips. I learned to appreciate and understand the various aspects of producing the lavish meals of the affluent; extraordinary fare prepared from only the finest and freshest ingredients. From start to finish, I witnessed firsthand the amazing, and occasionally stressful and exhausting, behind-the-scenes efforts required to create the ultimate fine dining experience.

While I appreciate the food industry exposure I received and the enduring education on the niceties of fine dining, I was never able to embrace the idea of working split shifts, weekends, and standing on my feet day in and day out.

Undoubtedly, those early experiences are to be credited with setting the stage for what would become a life-long passion for luscious, savory, spicy foods and an unyielding fascination with uncommon foods and recipes, and the chefs who create them. This fascination with many things culinary has resulted in my having amassed some 50+ cookbooks, several food-related books and novels, subscriptions to four food magazines and an ever-growing collection of food-themed movies, which includes The Scent of Green Papayas, Chef!, The Wedding Banquet, The Mistress of Spices, Babette’s Feast, Like Water for Chocolate, Ratatouille, and Mostly Martha (the Germany story upon which the 2007 film, No Reservations, is based, which I will purchase as soon as it is available). And let me not forget to mention my most recent avocation - styling and photographing food.

In light of the above, it occurred to me that perhaps I should examine myself and answer the question: Foodie or Gourmet? According to Wikipedia, “Foodie is an informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink. A gourmet is a person with a sensitive and discriminating palate, and who is knowledgeable in fine food and drink or haute cuisine.”

It further distinguishes foodies from gourmets this way:

“Although the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, foodies differ from gourmets in that gourmets are epicures of refined taste who may or may not be professionals in the food industry, whereas foodies are amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news. Gourmets simply want to eat the best food, whereas foodies want to learn everything about food, both the best and the ordinary, and about the science, industry, and personalities surrounding food. For this reason, foodies are sometimes viewed as obsessively interested in all things culinary.”

Based on those definitions, I would venture to say that I am roughly 60 percent foodie and 40 percent gourmet.

Now, that being said, which one are you?

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