Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Pondering Thoughts: Am I a Foodie?


Kang Hung-Lay - The sweet pork curry influenced by Burmese, popular in the North. Dry and stewed
(Renu Nakorn - Norwalk, CA)

Foodie...does it sound like phooey?

Thank goodness I have a blog, so I can express whatever opinion I have without having any restraints on what I can print or how I can convey my message to an audience.

It was brought to my attention that one of my review have caused a little ripple. Truth to be told I am not conformist or a "follower" to some big shot who think he knows all about whatever topics that is being presently discussed. Apparently a review (that was given a low grade) was a favorite among some blogger and one of their "follower" did not handled it very well.

This particular person decided to personally insinuate that I don't take more than half a bite and also in the heart of the question have decided to question my foodie status.

That's when the comet decide to hit the Pacific Ocean and wake me up. It got me pondering for the first time.... am I foodie? More importantly, what does it mean to be a foodie? Some people wear that tag proudly like it signified them in a higher status. Does it really mattered?

The only reason it stung me a little bit was the meaning of "foodie" was coined by Paul Levy and Ann Barr in their book "The Official Foodie Handbook". This is a following passage listed in Wikipedia about Foodies:

"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. There is also a general feeling in the culinary industry that the term gourmet is outdated. "

So it got me thinking, why the questioning if I am a foodie? As in like do you need to be an culinary expert in order to become a foodie? Some people really took it to the extreme on that. Obviously they need to tone down that notch in order to make their point across in a more reasonable way. Even if they disagreed about the place that they loved or disliked.

I love to listen about many finer things in life on what people have to say. Knowledge can be learn, food can be taste, and opinions can be shared. At the same time, that is maybe why I get excited about taking pictures and taking time to post up reviews on my blog. Sometimes I just want to share what is out there for others to discover for themselves.

You don't have to be an knowledgeable to be respected. At the same token, it's not hard to be untrusted even if you are an expert.

In final closing, if that passage above is correct, then there is no doubt to the answer on the question posted on the headline.

2 comments:

Keizo Shimamoto said...

Hi fellow Foodie! Don't worry about the negative comments. We all get them now and then. Keep up the awesome blogging!

Right Way to Eat said...

Thank you very much Keizo! It meant a lot to me. Thank you for the kind encouragement!