Gastronome
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Gastronomically Speaking!
About Me
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- Gastronome
- Mittagong, NSW, Australia
- An almost lifelong interest in food, wine and all things gastronomical which was sparked by a visit to one of my father’s friends who had a genuine first edition of Larousse Gastronomique (in French). I enjoyed poring through this tome, even though my knowledge of the language was scant. Subsequent visits had me hooked. Coupled with frequent forays into the pungent, flavoursome atmosphere of suburban delis and the rapidly disappearing world of ethnic grocers with their giant vats of olives and pickles, sacks of pulses it was not long before I started using some of those ingredients to do some cooking of my own. Over time, I developed a love for and knowledge of the many varieties of cheeses on offer at the various delis and of course, the eternally famous institution, David Jones’ Food Hall. Yes, there were cheeses of many varieties available, even in the sixties. My thirst for knowledge of gastronomy and culinary skills, also led to the development of another consuming passion, the sourcing and collecting of books on the subject of food, wine and gastronomy, including a specialisation in books on cheese.
23 August 2010
Most people genuinely interested in food, cooking, restaurants, delis, farms, cookbooks, gastronomy in general do not like being called "foodies". This, despite the fact that there are a number of complimentary definitions for this overused, ill-defined pretentious term.
Nowadays, post Master Chef, anyone who claims not to eat at or be seen at one of the ubiquitous plastic, junk-food franchises is deemed a "foodie" or a "gourmet".
Some say a foodie is someone who loves food; but so are patrons of the junk food vendors, Labradors, pigs and especially Beagles. Do people really want to be included in this categorization?
Those in the know food-wise, acknowledge that gastronomy, the study of the relationship between culture and food more aptly describes their interest. Hence the term, "gastronome". Most would rather be acknowledged as gastronomes rather than "foodies" or even worse, "gourmets" the other overused, ill defined pretentious descriptor. Have You noticed how food marketers/vendors and others in the food industry, strategically place the tag "gourmet" in their product descriptions and advertising in the hope that the unwashed masses will believe that their product is some how special?
The English language is a dynamic, living language; let's not flog it to death with the overuse of ill-chosen, inappropriate terminology because we believe it's trendy.
Nowadays, post Master Chef, anyone who claims not to eat at or be seen at one of the ubiquitous plastic, junk-food franchises is deemed a "foodie" or a "gourmet".
Some say a foodie is someone who loves food; but so are patrons of the junk food vendors, Labradors, pigs and especially Beagles. Do people really want to be included in this categorization?
Those in the know food-wise, acknowledge that gastronomy, the study of the relationship between culture and food more aptly describes their interest. Hence the term, "gastronome". Most would rather be acknowledged as gastronomes rather than "foodies" or even worse, "gourmets" the other overused, ill defined pretentious descriptor. Have You noticed how food marketers/vendors and others in the food industry, strategically place the tag "gourmet" in their product descriptions and advertising in the hope that the unwashed masses will believe that their product is some how special?
The English language is a dynamic, living language; let's not flog it to death with the overuse of ill-chosen, inappropriate terminology because we believe it's trendy.
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