So the service charge piece last time round was quite the storm-brewer; I had so many consumers agree with such vehemence that I almost risked becoming the poster-boy of some flash anti-establishment protest. And at the same time restauranteurs near-branded me a traitor, as if I had somehow deserted them and changed sides, a silent mutineer who had earlier stood by them and then suddenly turned on them. Momentarily, I enjoyed the flavour of all that turmoil. But as is with all flavours nowadays, they don’t last beyond a week, and so this fortnight, I am back with no rebels to rouse just yet.
So today we shall debate the rise and rise of the term ‘foodie’. This is purely in self-interest for in spite of decade-strong tenure in the industry, I am still flummoxed by what the term means.
But it is not a new word I admit. I first must have come across it at least half a decade ago. At that time, the term critique was the real nightmare so foodie sounded like a harmless third cousin. It sounded more of a hobby than a profession, an indulgence rather than a vocation. And there was nothing wrong with that. And then came its introduction onto social media platforms and people en masse confessed to being foodies. This is where the definition took on its first secondary meaning. It was now equated with almost-gluttony, something of a craving like Dexter feels apropos homicide in his eponymous show. People were sort of coming out on social media by first professing their pangs for all things alimentary. Once they found they weren’t alone, they went ahead to give their obsession a visual facet. And so followed a string of pictures of food —raw, cooked, or in between the two states—and people around it. Most was intended to highlight how people indulged their pet peeve, cooking in their free time, digging up exotic ingredients or hunting down reliable sources for more succulent regular fare. The one-upmanship race had already begun but once again, it was too gradual to be instantly noticed. But with time this display grew to shamelessly garish proportions and ludicrous displays of the kind of opulence one could afford soon became standard. Selfies in front of famous restaurants with months’-long waiting lists or with Michelin-starred chefs, pictures of entire meals especially if courses ran into double digits, anything worked as long as it showed off just how well one ate and drank in the most nonchalant way possible without appearing affected. In fact, the whole idea of a foodie by now was mired in a dichotomy, to post and rant about the most obviously ostentatious possibly and yet make it sound like something as quotidian as boiling potatoes. All this would have been fine till websites came along promoting the idea of crowd-sourced images and reviews. So what had been personal opinions on blogs and social feeds were now published on these sites as valid reviews. This vote of credibility was enough to make the average ‘foodie’ feel empowered to comment high and low, which wouldn’t have been bad, but the accompanying self-righteousness and the exaggerated sense of own importance led to making food commentary more a matter of personal pride and more often than not, revenge for a bruised ego. Democracy indeed but an ignorant populace can never elect a sound leader.
So here we are today; if only I had a dime for every time a restaurateur narrates how some ‘foodie’ (a) threw the term around (b) asked for discounts (c) ranted unintelligently on social media, justified or not.
I am not saying all foodies are bad; I’m just hoping that the people who read reviews by such remember to stay balanced. After all the F&B industry wasn’t built in a day, and the most important foodie who should judge where you eat and what you enjoy is you yourself!
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