Young Professional Problems: So You Think You’re A Foodie
From Lauren Levine. Email her at lauren[AT]borderstan.com
Are you truly a foodie? (Borderstan collage)
How often have you read an “about me” for a 20-something and seen “food” or “restaurants” or “being a foodie” listed? “I can’t wait to try that new Mike Isabella restaurant,” they say, “I’m a self-described foodie.”
It’s no secret that food has taken over our country. And as a young professional, you could be struggling with defining your identity, and wind up calling yourself a “foodie.”
As someone who derives great pleasure from food but is certainly no expert and not a foodie, I’m here to guide you through deciding whether you are, or more likely, are not, a foodie.
Do you like going out to eat?
If yes, you are exactly the same as every other person in America. When given the option to cook for ourselves or have someone else cook for us, of course we are all going to choose the latter.
If no, you are most definitely, absolutely not a foodie.
Do you prefer going to restaurants that may be considered “fine dining”?
If yes, that simply makes you well-off, not a foodie. If you are a young professional, and self-described foodie, and you talk a lot about trying fancy new restaurants (and not in the context of restaurant week), then you’re kind of a dick. The rest of us are happy if we can pay rent in DC and maybe get sushi once a week.
If no, you may still be a foodie. Don’t be discouraged.
Do you like to cook?
If you answered yes to the previous questions, but no to this question, you are most definitely not a foodie. You are just lazy.
If yes, you may still be a foodie. Continue on.
Do you make up your recipes?
If no, and you still like to cook, you’re just a normal person. You may own a Joy of Cooking or worse yet, anything by Rachel Ray. But you are certainly not foodie.
If yes, you very well might be a foodie. I’m impressed.
Do you have a food blog?
If you do not make up your own recipes but you have a food blog, you are just a food scrapbooker, not a foodie. You may make my Google searches for “easy healthy turkey burger recipe” slightly easier, but you’re no Jose Andres.
If yes, and you make up your own recipes, you are probably a foodie. Congratulations!
Have you ever thought about food theory?
Can you name different spice palettes? Is food chemistry second nature to you? Can you explain the difference between julienne and chiffonade or hollandaise vs. béarnaise? You’re a foodie.
If not, just give it up. You simply like food, just like the rest of us.
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