E-Paper
Oh, you’re a foodie? So is everyone else. Break the mould, will you?
Look past menus and cafés, break out of your comfort zone and try a new cuisine, a new ingredient. A new world of flavours will open up
Picture someone having a near-perfect week. Monday, they order in a healthy wrap. Tuesday, they stop for soya chaap on the way home. Wednesday, they go out with friends and end up with momos smothered in mayo and chilli sauce. Thursday, plans include beer and tandoori chicken. Friday, they’re on a date at that new ramen spot everyone’s going to. Saturday they’re catching up with old buddies, getting pizza from the usual haunt. Sunday, after they’ve wiped out rajma chawal at home, they sleep away what’s left of the weekend.
“I’m a foodie,” they proudly tell themselves. They add the term to their Hinge, Tinder and Bumble bios, and hashtag it online. They’ve even got artsy vada pao shots “for the aesthetics”.
Are they foodies? There’s no official definition, so they may well be. Foodie is, in foodie terms, the most vanilla of descriptors. It means only that the person has an interest in food and can afford to eat out. Parul Pratap, executive chef at Delhi restaurant Music & Mountains, hates the term. “It’s become so flippant,” she says. “If you enjoy street food, if you post everything you eat, if you enjoy food in general, you’re a foodie. That describes pretty much everyone.”
Those who truly love food, Pratap says, will break out of their comfort zones for it. They’ll try unfamiliar cuisines without judgement, look up the origins of a preparation, are curious about how different cultures use the same ingredient, and are willing to trek farther for a good meal. They’ll have a meaningful opinion about what they’re eating. “A foodie is also someone who’s game to try a dish or cuisine without prejudice,” says Udit Maheshwari, the chef-owner of Amaltas in New Delhi. “They must be open to new ingredients, cuisines and experiences.”
Anyone who loves food will also not make sweeping generalisations, Maheshwari says. None of that “it’s Bengali or Gujarati it’ll be sweet; it’s from Kerala, it’ll have coconut”.
Take pics all you want, he says. “But stop asking for larger menus for the sake of variety. And stop blindly following food trends. Not all trending dishes are good.” Anyone who loves good food knows that dishes evolve, menus change. They’ll seek out a mix of old favourites and new dishes out of their comfort zones.
“I actually look out for regular patrons who order the same thing each time,” Pratap says. “There is something very endearing about that, it’s almost like asking your mother to make a dish she makes that you’ve always loved. In fact, there are times we can’t remove a dish from a menu because so many regulars enjoy it so much.”
Foodies are the ones who turn regular menu items into best-sellers. They rarely have the courage to champion lesser-known gems, to visit a restaurant after the Insta-hype has died down and determine if the food quality is still consistent. Foodies rarely look past the cheese topping or the bacon bits to check if the underlying dish is a thing of joy. They’re also content chasing one new restaurant after another. It’s possible to love food and be more than a foodie. Give it a taste.
