What is a foodie?
 

Is it someone who keeps pace with the latest trends?
Is it someone who knows about various cuisines or just knows one or two in depth?
Is it someone who values inexpensive but good meals?
Is it someone who thinks they must spend money on meas?
Is it someone who follows the career and restaurants of celebrity chefs?
Other reasons....
Why does someone identify themself as a foodie?

Anyone who thinks they have better taste and more knowledge than others around them.

(Or alternatively, anyone who is more picky about their food than whoever is making the comment).

From what I can observe, people who describe themselves as foodies mean that finding good food is important to them and they will travel to a place just to sample great food, that this is an important consideration when they are looking for places to travel and dine.

People who describe others as foodies seem to mean by the term something much more negative, imparting such qualities as snobbism and pretentiousness.

While it is not a term I would use to describe myself or others, I do think it is important before condemning someone for their use of language to figure out exactly what it means to the person saying it.

It seemed to me that I'mDoneHere was trying to find out what the term meant. I didn't see any condemnation in his questions.

I've been wondering the same thing myself, because it's a very recent phenomenon and I can't quite pin it down. It's obviously someone to whom food is very important. However, it seems as though the type of food can be something as plebeian as a hot dog, as long as it's the best hot dog in existence, or at least the hot dog with the reputation of being the best.

When I see a question like, "Where is the best gelato in Rome?", I wonder if that's something related to the recent foodie phenomenon. Formerly people would ask if someone could recommend a good gelateria, but there wasn't an impulse to find the best of the best. It's of course impossible to answer the question unless you've tried every gelateria in the city, but the answer sought seems to be not a result based on scientific survey, but on general acclamation, or in other words, the gelato with the biggest cult following.

I've mostly seen the term "foodie" used in self-identification, not as a pejorative description of others. If it had derogatory connotations, I don't think so many people would claim the title.

I myself am very interested in food, and especially how to prepare it, but I would be more likely to want to try a particular food prepared in a variety of ways, and to understand how they differed, rather than to want to experience the one "best" version of the food.

jamikins - after reading your description I see that it's a passion for food in all forms from growing to cooking to eating.

I think, generally, foodie is a modish term that is used by many people who love to eat. Too bad there isn't a better word for it (or I can't immediately think of a better word); I cringe whenever I see this word used as it seems trite and belongs in the same arena as hoodie and footie.

English is a rich language and people with a passion for something deserve a better word than a noun with an "ie" tacked on the end, as an afterthought.

Perhaps "epicurean" would be better. That seems to fit jamikins and bikerscott.

I think if your dining destinations are determined before your lodging and what you'll do when you're not eating, then you'Re probably a foodie.

Epicure or gourmet. Gourmand seems to be creeping in when people confuse it with gourmet.

I definitely am not a foodie then, because I wouldn't plan a trip around food or go a long distance to eat at a particular restaurant.

I thought of a good example of the way I'm interested in food. I really enjoy a good crème brûlée. I've made it myself several times with pretty good results, but I've been to two restaurants in my life that made a superb crème brûlée, much better than any others I've ever eaten. One was Hotel des Indes in the Hague, many years ago, and the other was a restaurant at an art museum in Toronto, whose name I don't remember. Many restaurants offer a version of this simple dish that's disappointing to say the least. Often they use flour or some other thickener in the custard. Sometimes the glaze is burnt rather than caramelized. Sometimes they have too much vanilla, or some other flavoring that, in my opinion, doesn't belong. If I'm in a restaurant that I expect to have a high standard, I'm very likely to order a crème brûlée for dessert, in the hopes of finding an excellent one. If it's excellent, I'm delighted, if not, the restaurant comes down a notch in my opinion.

There are many other examples I could give; if I happen upon an excellent dish of a particular type in a restaurant, I'm pleased, and want to know is exactly how it was made. I'm also a big fan of high-quality cheeses, and try to find varieties that I know are reliably good so I can buy them often.

However, I would never plan my itinerary around the reputation of a restaurant, nor would I research a particular food beforehand on the internet before deciding where to eat. I'm of the opinion that restaurants become famous for a variety of reasons, of which the quality of the food is not predominant.

I read an article about Noma once, in the New Yorker, and to be honest, I have no curiosity about what can be done to lichens to make them palatable, and I'm not delighted by food that looks like rocks or gravel. I don't want my food to amuse me. However, to me the biggest irony is that a restaurant that prides itself on a menu made up almost entirely of things found in the immediate vicinity of the restaurant, should draw people from all over the world to eat them.

I'm more likely to seek out excellent restaurants near where I live, and where could dine often, than in places where I'm unlikely ever to return. When I travel, I want to try the typical foods of the region, and will choose restaurants that seem to be serious and of a high standard, but my reasons for traveling are not primarily culinary.

foodie = food snob

Hi Jamikins,

“I think if you have to ask what a foodie is perhaps that means you aren't one - and I don't mean that in a negative way. I get that some people don't feel the same, just as I don't have a big interest in art. To each there own and hopefully everyone can enjoy what they like!”

Well said. That’s what is great about this Forum. Let’s not judge the preferences of others. I always enjoy your posts, especially about your culinary experiences in Italy – and also your great pics. I never take pictures, not fussy about what I eat, and never miss a museum though. :)

jamikins - you never need justify yourself or how you spend your money. We all have different interests and apportion our incomes in different ways. I would never had thought you a snob in any way (based on your posts here).

There isn't general hostility towards people who enjoy spending money on food. There are only people with inferior palates!! LOL

"There are only people with inferior palates!!"

There is a lot of truth in that Adrienne. I can order fish and not notice I have been served chicken.

Hi cold! You also have sartorial problems, as I recall. You've pretty much been handed a bad lot in life! :)

Anyone who judges is a snob. As evidenced by the highly opinionated judges on this board, most people are snob deniers and won't fess up to their appetite for judging. A "food snob" judges the food she eats and the chefs who cook for her. She judges ingredients. She judges the tools she uses to prepare her food. She judges cost/enjoyment ratios. Food snobs pay attention to but are skeptical of hype, suspicious of group think. Food snobs roll their eyes and scoff the source when Christopher Kimball's taste testers vote Hershey's as best cocoa and/or milk chocolate.

Without question or hesitation, a "foodie" will plan trips around food and travel very long distances to taste and judge a talented chef's cooking. A foodie will also strongly consider spending insane amounts of money for a critically acclaimed food-as-theater experience. A food snob will analyze the cost/enjoyment ratios before committing to insanely priced meals.

Both a food snob and a foodie will eat and judge fast food, otherwise known as street food. Food snobs and foodies tend to be culturally astute and know that great food can be created in the most unlikely places.

I never liked the word Google, but I've grown accustomed to using it as a verb.

The kids gave me a framed montage of all of the places we have been - the five of us at the Great Wall, Pyramids etc. They ask me to take it down when visitors arrive so no one sees the front facing fanny pack.

I wonder how many "foodies" have figured out that what you eat can be wonderful and even memorable and yet not prepared by some "well-known" chef.

People who don't call themselves "foodies" often don't realize that, far from asserting a judgement about food or having discriminating tastes, people who proudly call themselves "foodies" are basically announcing they really aren't particular about their food. It's more of a toy and the more it resembles familiar toys the better. They love processed food, junk food, and super-sensation food in the sense that is is blow-your-head-off-spicy or decadent amounts of chocolate or fat or meat. Or presented in restaurants piled in towers or some super fancy way. Being a "foodie" is like being a storm chaser. It's not about a beautiful day. It's one shot thrills in extremes, and if that is bubble gum or beer or 20 lb steak, it's about a one-off, not an understanding of food. Hence the cute moniker "foodie." It's toy and play dough time.

<i><font color=#555555>"Being a "foodie" is like being a storm chaser. It's not about a beautiful day."</font></i>

Absolutely incorrect. Every foodie loves a beautiful day. We live for them. But we also appreciate the occasional storm. A true foodie can find incredible beauty in all that mother nature has to offer.

I do not think of myself as having very discriminating taste buds, and I rarely splurge on an expensive meal, but I do consider myself a "foodie". When I go someplace, a big part of my trip is around planning the meals. I also love to shop and cook - and explore the markets - at home or on the road.

The first time in any new country, I sample their most traditional meals. And in my current home in Hungary, I have tasted tongue and brains and stomach - though it's not part of my regular diet (I sample off the plates of my Hungarian friends).

My husband eats to live. That's fine by me, and he has other interests we explore together.

Am I the only one who thinks the term needs to be retired?