Move over AC Nielsen, Second Helping’s “Foodie” survey results are in

The results are in from my spontaneous little survey about the use of the term foodie and how people feel about it.   It all started from a conversation on Twitter that quickly started a hot little debate.   Aren’t we all very opinionated?!  From the little research I did (which can in no way be considered at all scientific) it seems to be a very polarising term and a subject of some academic interest.  Whilst reading “Espresso” in The Age in December 2006 I came across the following:

Eating well, in theory
Feel like subjecting yourself to the rigours of academic research?   Epicure reader Isabelle de Solier is a PhD candidate in cultural studies at the University of Melbourne. “My doctoral thesis is on ‘foodies’ in contemporary Australia, and particularly Melbourne,” she writes. “As part of this research project, I plan to conduct interviews with people who identify as foodies, and I’m particularly interested in speaking to foodies who do not work in food-related industries, but who pursue their interest in food during their leisure time.”

Like any other self respecting IT&T worker who wrote a “cookbook” for fellow workers, was the go-to person for restaurant suggestions and guaranteed to know where to get that tricky recipe ingredient, I got in touch with Isabelle and shared with her my thoughts on being a foodie, my definition of the term and how I feel about it.  No   I am not going to share that now, you will have to wait a bit longer!

Isabelle is not alone is pursuing this topic.  Tammi Jonas (whom I met earlier this year at Eat.Drink.Blog) is also undertaking a PhD in Cultural Studies at the University of Melbourne. Her thesis is provisionally entitled “Tasting Terroir: Food and national identity in multicultural Melbourne”.   Focusing primarily on Italian and Vietnamese food cultures in inner urban Melbourne, she is researching the ways and extent to which both migrant and non-migrant Australians construct their national identities around food.  She too has pondered the moniker.

In case you thought this obsession was restricted to Australia, The Globe and Mail ran an article in April of this year under the headline “Foodies:  Culinary democrats or cultural snobs”.  It is a brief Q&A with two Toronto sociologists who have published the book,  Foodies:  Democracy and Distinction in the Gourmet Foodscape.   

NB:  Before sharing my thoughts on some of the points the authors made, I need to have a quick whinge about a different word – Gourmet.   Is it not the most abused and misused adjective in the food world?  I think if I see another “gourmet” pizza or “gourmet” sandwich I won’t be able to be held responsible for my actions.  I live in hope that the offenders will one day realise that high quality ingredients and skilled preparation aren’t optional – they are the essential characteristics of something purporting to be “gourmet”.  But I digress…

The authors, Josée Johnston and Shyon Baumann, who “interviewed 30 people and analysed hundreds of articles” assert (among other things) that foodies “romanticise poverty” and are generally “white and affluent”.  I haven’t found this to be true, but Toronto isn’t Melbourne, and I haven’t done any formal research.  Just my quirky little survey, which I am sure you are all dying to hear about.  So on to the results!  Here are the questions and a selection of responses

What does the term foodie mean to you?

This elicited some audacious answers.  Here are a few:

Someone who grabs the Gorgonzola instead of the coon, the Jamon instead of the chicken loaf and the sourdough instead of the tip top.

I think of it as a thin descriptor of a rather superficial appreciate for food, often related to improving one’s status rather than true gustatory enjoyment.

One who follows the science of Foodieology.  Foodie-ology: The study of eating food good or bad, the smells, the tastes, the surroundings and the ritual of talking about what one is eating[en].

Knowing, enjoying, sharing and making food! Just like music, food is widely discussed and loved by everyone. Muso – Foodie

Someone who, like me, thinks about food more often than a teenage boy thinks about sex.

Would you call yourself a “foodie”?

Yes, I eat therefore I am    53.8%
No, not in a hailstorm of truffles   46.2%

Has someone else called you a “foodie”?

Yes, doctors say they may walk again     14.4%
Yes, I think they want an invite to dinner    57.5%
No, my friends wouldn’t dare    21.1%
No the philistines don’t even know the meaning   7%

If not “foodie”, then what?

Gourmet      15.4%
Gourmand     0%
cook     46.2%
Eater     30.8%
Other    7.6%   Nomnivore (there were others, but this suggestion tickled my tastebuds)

The final question asked people to share their thoughts.  Here are some of them:

The foodies out there allow us of more humble palates to develop and understand what is good food and what is just crap on a plate.

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I think “foodie” is a very broad term and can be used in a variety of contexts. I personally apply the term “foodie” to friends of mine who place a high priority on enjoying food either by cooking or eating or both, enjoy talking about food, like discovering new foods and have passion for food in some way.

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Foodies make life far more interesting… passion is a wonderful thing

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It just shows that cooking, eating and ingredients are the ‘in thing’ at the moment – and just like yuppies, preppies and yummy mummies, people who indulge in all things food need a label – and this is it! If I use ‘foodie’ to describe you, it’s a compliment

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I know my friend Jo is a foodie and I wouldn’t dare call myself that.   I like the term Eater!

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A rose by any other name…. etc. etc.

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Ohh everyone has an opinion, blah blah..I say boo to labels and yay to doing (or eating) the things you love (regardless of what everyone else may think)

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I am a foodie mostly because I live with one. If I didn’t… KFC, Macca’s, Red Rooter… No. Don’t go there!

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So there you have it.  What do you think?

I don’t mind the term “foodie”.  I use it, will continue to do so and will reject and shun claims that it is elitist and do all that I can to ensure that I don’t contribute to that perception.  For me it is an all embracing word – covers the cooking, the eating, the dining, the writing, the sharing, the sourcing…

Food brings people together, nourishes more than the body, can help us learn about our environment, connect with our history and shapes many of the richest cultures in our world.  I think enjoying and sharing food makes it a better place.