Foodie Newbie: What's a Foodie Anyways?

I had a conversation with my best friend today. We were discussing some details of a foodie book I recently purchased and I was nonchalantly throwing the term “foodie” at her left and right when she suddenly stopped me in the middle of my rant to ask me, “What's a foodie anyways?” What is a foodie? It’s interesting when you find yourself involve in something that you love and enjoy so much you often fail to see that there are often times one or sometimes many more sides to a topic. In my case, I failed to see that the term foodie was not as clear to someone else who may not share as much enthusiasm as me with the areas of gastronomy. Her question also led me recall the criticisms I’ve read on the internet over this very term.

I think those that hate the term don’t actually understand what it is. Foodies are not food snobs. They are not self proclaimed elitist. Foodies are actually people who love food beyond the extent of consumption. They love to study food and research it. Sure most people are food lovers. But I honestly don’t think everyone loves to research and learn about food. Foodies can be anyone, regardless of social class or economic background. As long as you love food and have a drive to learn more about food, then you’re a foodie. It’s that simple.

Take me and Nhat for example. Nhat loves food. He loves to eat food and he’ll occasionally cook a meal or so, but that’s about as far as his love for food will go. As for me, I love to eat food, but beyond that, I love to study food. I love to know the different types of foods available. I want know the best way of preparing a dish. I want to learn about the fruits and vegetables that are available to me, what season are they best at, when are they ripe…and the list goes on. Sure there are some foodies who have been around a bit more, for example Pim Techamuanvivit from the well known blog, Chez Pim (I'm actually a big fan of hers). She’s been all around the world trying out different foods. She knows the who, the where, and the how of nearly all the areas of gastronomy. Then there are the thousands of foodies, like myself, who probably love food just as much as Pim, but may never get to experience eating an authentic dish in an exotic and foreign country prepared by a world renown chef (although we may dream). But although I may never reach that level, that doesn’t make me any less of a foodie.

So that’s my point. Foodies are not food snobs. If anything they are the opposite. They will try almost anything (at least once) for the sake of knowledge. Foodies simply have a quest for knowledge in the areas of gastronomy. I took it upon myself to make a checklist of what I feel encompasses a foodie. So here it is. You only have to say yes to at least two of the six criteria. If you check two or more, then you’re a certified foodie by my standards!

When you've eaten something really good, do you automatically want to know more about it?
Upon wondering about the food, do you actually go home, get on a computer or find a book and do the research to find out more about it?
After learning about it, and it was a recipe, do you make a mental note to one day recreate the recipe?
Do you think about food a lot? So much that it might be the last thing on you're mind at night?
Do you regularly follow a food blog or perhaps maintain your own food blog?
Do you secretly dream of quiting your day job and one day becoming a food critic or food writer or anything else related to sharing your foodie experiences? (this last one might just be me)

So that is my foodie checklist. Remember you only have to say yes to at least two of the six criteria. I'm a foodie...are you?