True Confessions

I realize that what I am about to say is very controversial--and I said from the get-go that I would not use this space to grate my contentions. On the contrary, my recipe for each post intended to produce breezy, benign commentary on family, friends and food. Allow me to risk my paycheck here.

I think I'm a foodie.

Yes, a host of dubious discourse exists in defining the quarter century old term "foodie." The nomenclature was introduced in the 1984 book, The Official Foodie Handbook by Ann Barr and Paul Levy. According to these two journalists, foodies are folks who are just really into food. (It's amusing to me that the authors are based in England--that great gastronomic ghetto.) The infatuation goes beyond consumption, though, into the total epicurean experience including preparation, origin and education about all things food.

Well, that's me. Face it, maybe you as well.

Foodies are a direct result of the vast, seemingly endless access we now have to information. With the advent of cable TV and the Internet came a seat at the table with the so called experts. As a matter of fact, every aspect of pop culture has its niche somewhere in that black hole hooked up to our Dell Notebooks.  After all, "Gastroporn" graced the title page of one Foodie Handbook chapter. Need I say more?

Well, I will, of course.

How many cookbooks do you own? Probably not a fraction of the number of manuals your mother relied upon. I rarely crack a book when seeking out recipes, preparation tips or menu ideas. To be sure, I still grab open that annoying plastic covering to my Bon Apetit, flip to the back page and read the Feedback column immediately.  I mean, who knows when party conversation will lead to what John Legend keeps in his fridge (eggs, hot sauce and butter--admit it, you wanted to know).

The good news is  there's beau-coup banquet room in the Foodie Club, unlike the high brow Gourmet Society of earlier decades. Foodies sometimes just talk about food; rather than preparing or eating it. And, most notably, Foodies are not limited to seemingly sophisticated fare. It's perfectly acceptable for Foodies to wax sophomoric about hot dogs and ketchup! Foodies have been called everything from connoisseurs to wizards, blowhards to fatties, and everything in between. I don't mind though.

Just don't call us late to dinner.

Tune in tomorrow for part two ... I can't wait to share my experience of actually being recognized as a bona-fide Foodie, albeit a bit of a misunderstanding.