I have been asked to speak at a University next week and I need some help. Would love your thoughts

wow, I am thinking of starting s thread on new words that make you crazy--it is a sort of silly word

I think Ang's post here and Meryl's above are pretty much how I feel.
I think I may start that thread, Hmmmmmm?
(((((Traca)))))))sounds like you are busy, out there slumming at Canlis and speaking now, way cool!
Nan

 
Meryl, I think you're right. I was interchanging "foodie" and "food snob." I've met

many of the food snob types in the past few years and frankly, it makes my stomach churn. They're merciless in their criticism over seemingly petty things.

I recently went to press event to introduce a new chef, and we were treated to samples. The chef prepared a sunchoke panna cotta, topped with a basil puree, and a milky liquid that was brought to a foam, topped with a shaved truffle and a drizzle of truffle oil.

The new chef was from New York City and I said, "Foam arrives in Seattle!"

The food afficiando/journalist standing next to me said, "Foam is so 5 years ago..."

There was no thought about whether it was delicious, no thought about the skill or the execution. It was delicious and presented beautifully with that truffle suspended on top of the foam.

 
Perfect example! And in general, it's anyone who puts someone down/insults them

for their taste in food. For example, I personally hate cake mixes, BUT, I would never insult someone for liking them. I would try to persuade them to try a cake from scratch, and try to convince them that it tastes much better, but I would not directly or indirectly insult them. There's a fine line between disagreement and insult, and the journalist was indirectly insulting the new chef for his/her creation. The journalist picked out the one thing he/she found negative and didn't offer anything constructive, and as you said, never mentioned anything about the taste, presentation, etc. And ya know, it's all so petty. With all the problems in the world, I don't understand why people get so uptight about this kind of stuff. There's room for all sorts of taste(s). Hey, Velveeta cheese turns my stomach, but to out-and-out insult someone for liking it turns my stomach more. I think those who have the need to put down others' taste(s) are very insecure, small people. Period.

 
A "foodie" in my book, is one who lives to eat or has made food a hobby. One may also be

obsessed with food. It's not a derogatory term in my opinion.

 
I think the invention of the term "foodie" was an attempt by writers to lessen the burden of calling

folks, professional, enthusiasts, whatever, "gourmets". I don't think it has any negative connotations, it's just descriptive of a person who has more of an interest in good food than the average daily home cook.

It would be interesting to know when the first use of the word appeared... and where, and who coined it.

 
Here's what Wikipedia has to say.

Foodie is an informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink. The word was coined in 1981 by Paul Levy and Ann Barr, who used it in the title of their 1984 book The Official Foodie Handbook.

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.(1) 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.(2) For this reason, foodies are sometimes viewed as obsessively interested in all things culinary. There is also a general feeling in the culinary industry that the term gourmet is outdated.

The term foodie is often found to be deragatory by many people who are interested in the preparation of food from land to table. See the SLOW (1) food movement and excerpts of Alice Waters (2) protests on being labeled a foodie.

 
I don't care for the term, but I actually think it's because it ends in "ie."

For me, it's mostly sound-related. I don't like the term "veggie," either, for that reason.

 
I usually just say chef, Traca...

But I also don't think that my love of food and food-related stuff defines me as a person any more than say, my nationality, or my hair colour, you know what I mean?

 
Ya know, I usually don't like "ie" endings either, but for some strange reason

"foodie" doesn't bother me. Maybe because the whole word "food" is in there, as opposed to "veggie," which is an abbreviation. I also don't like "cukes" or "zukes" or "sammies," "abs," "carbs," etc. for the same reason.

 
Some of my friends call me that and I cringe a little, maybe just cause

I'm overnourished right now that it makes me feel more self conscious about being identified with food so concretely. But others call me a "great chef" which also makes me cringe as I don't have formal training, although my "life study" has been intensive and almost compulsive!

To me, this love affair with cuisine has helped me to understand my culture (if you can call Scottish/English/American a culture), my friends and other peoples cultures and countries, and to appreciate those who have a passion for food.

It is so fascinating to talk to people who are passionate about food. I always learn something new. I am especially interested in the origin of recipes, the meaning of a recipe to those who love that particular one, and how my food is grown and cultivated.

I met a man at the Santa Fe Farmers Market who built his own greenhouse by hand so that he could cultivate heirloom strains of tomatoes year round in the high desert, and another man who had an apple farm (or a ranch?) who knew the age of every tree and where his family sourced the seeds and their methods of growing the trees to produce the best fruit. I really admire people who have this kind of passion and have devoted their lives (or at least their lives right now) to something like apples or tomatoes.

Food has allowed me to bond with all different kinds of people with whom I would otherwise not have anything in common. A crowning example of this was my former MIL was impressed by my ability to roast red peppers. She told me about how her mother and grandmother taught her to roast peppers, it was her main job as a child, and she approved of how I did it and how the peppers tasted. She used to tell her friends about it when they were introduced to me - it was as if this skill gave me an entre and validity in the eyes of the Italian female community of a certain generation.

Therefore to me being a "foodie" or whatever you want to call it means that it is a bridge to anyone I meet, a way to make friends and, best of all, to cook and eat amazing things routinely. The recipes, stories and friends I've made here on this site have nourished me (literally AND figuratively) over the years, so Thank You!!!

 
Reporting on my visit at the University...

Hey ya'll. Thanks so much for the wonderful thoughts. It really helped craft today's discussion. Basically, I think locally we have an aversion to the word "foodie" because it's so ingrained in our culture, especially here in Seattle. It really helped to be able to offer a perspective outside our bubble.

 
Yum Drambuie. I am no longer allowed to have Drambuie. I drink one Drambruie and my braincells

explode into millions of self-pitying molecules and I break up with Larry. Every time. Well, it was 3 times and it was consistent. At least until we realized the only thing in common with the events immediately preceding the "break-ups" was the glass of Drambuie.

I am no longer allowed to have Drambuie.

 
That's so funny!!! I used to have a friend who was a PITA when she drinks Vodka...

My worst memories of stupid things people do when they drink? She takes the cake -- especially when Vodka is involved.

 
What if you dilute it with Scotch for a Rusty Nail? Do you still break up? If you both have

Rusty Nails, does that constitute couples counseling?

 
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