Life happens in the moments spent with people cooking and eating. We have been convinced by clever marketers that life is too important for eating and gets in the way, when the opposite is true. In the modern world a ‘eater’ is someone who eats on the go, who doesn’t care what it is, as long it is fills a hole. We are a little closer to what we are, if not foodies, however one thing we aren’t are just ‘eaters’. In Ben Schott’s book, Schott’s Food and Drink Miscellany he orders people who enjoy food and drink into the following order The word ‘Gastronomy ‘the science of eating, was introduced in 1801 by Joseph Berchoux in his poem ‘ La Gastronomie, ou l’Homme des Champs à Table‘ and from this we get the word ‘Gourmet’. Maybe foodie is the not the right word to describe ourselves and how we feel about food, though some of the other options seem quite old fashioned. Since foodies probably haven’t been exposed to a lifetime of growing up with good food and good company, it seems like a revelation when they do become interested in real food, as they get as excited as in kid in a candy store. People in those countries know what good, simple food is, because it is served at pretty much every meal. People still eat meals together, discuss the day around the table, and it is still common to have two hour lunches (with wine), rather than grabbing a quick bite to eat at your desk alone. Why? Because from a early age, people are taught that food is an important part of the day, where the world actually stops at meal times. I’m pretty sure in France, Italy, Spain and many other countries around the world, they would laugh at the idea of a foodie. Food as a shared experience, through planning, preparation and eating helps make life more enjoyable and this simple fact is the basis for our Food Manifesto. People found new ways to combine ingredients and cooking methods to create meals instead of just sustenance. Maybe the move from eating to cooking, created the first ‘foodies’. Civilization itself started with eating meals together round a fire, which in turn helped foster communities. Since man first started cooking and moved from the basic physiological needs of food and water, he has found ways of turning food as fuel into something enjoyable to eat. First we have to look at how we have ended up in this place. So if we aren’t foodies, how can we describe ourselves in a way that we feel comfortable with that still describes our passion for food, without using that word. What I’m talking about is best summed up by Ted Allen cooking his favourite Pretentious Foodie Bullsh*t’ Meal. Since the term was coined in 1985 in the The Official Foodie Handbook by Ann Barr and Paul Levy its meaning has changed from a cosy, fun way to describe someone who enjoys food and cooking to an overused word for someone more interested in food fads and style. They are also the type of people that will tell you the 100 foods that you must try before you die. You know who we mean, those people that extol the virtues of a particular type of nut that can only be found in a particular region of the Brazilian rainforest, or that only buy organic, locally sourced, produce from Whole Foods (not that there is anything wrong with Whole Foods) and look down on anyone that doesn’t. The main reason we don’t like the term ‘foodie’ is that it has become synonymous with ‘pretentious food snobs’. It might seem a little strange to say that We are not foodies, because by some definitions we probably are.
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