The word foodie -- where did it come from? How do we know if we are one? Is being a foodie a good thing or a bad thing? Self-indulgent a la 1980s yuppies? Or politically savvy -- resisting the monoculture and ecologically unsustainable? Is it defined by a yearning for The French Laundry and expense -- by snottiness -- or by something more acceptable? Is it a label to claim for oneself -- or do we just apply it to others?
I confess, I think of myself as a foodie -- but I also have my doubts some times about whether I a) qualify or b) should want to quality or c) whether it is a guilty pleasure or . . . . And then, into my house came a little book entitled how to be a better foodie: a bulging little book for the truly epicurious. Written by Sudi Pigott, The book is somewhere between a diagnosis, an etiquette book, a collection of small snotty recommendations, a brown and pink gift book, and, yes, the book is self-consciously self-described as "erudite but firmly tongue-in-cheek." Filled with information, quizzes, and thises and thats, Pigott's book is actually perfect as a browsable bit. (Yes, the perfect pick it up, open it, read for a moment or two, put it down and go on with the rest of life until you need a distraction. The perfect book for avoiding the real world. Hmmm. Maybe that is what foodie-ism is all about -- avoiding the real world? A world filled with hunger, with poverty, with. . . ) From restaurant etiquette for the foodie (try to get others to order what you cannot order but want to taste) to lists of trendy cheeses to places foodies ought to want to travel to lists of films to . . . . foodie Christmas stocking fillers . . . What might I add if I could? Well, I do like what is included, but being a bit of a moral entrepreneur, maybe we can add a list of charitable and political organizations that foodies should or might support. Yes, that's what's missing. And a soupcon of readings and related material that simply makes quite clear -- that food is about more than aesthetics and trends, when the food shed is the issue, we are also always talking (directly or indirectly) about those who have less and are oppressed and are poor and hungry. Yes, the book needs at least one more list.
Ok, I admit there is a lot in this book that I do not know and that leads me to wonder if I am some sorta nouveaux faux foodie. But hey, in the long run, who cares? It's fun -- and I can always get my politics elsewhere.
For the food quiz, click here, read away and then go try what has been called an insanely hard food quiz. For another view of what a foodie might be, click here for a Slashfood commentary on food.
