Gourmet vs. Gourmand

It is no secret that I dislike the term “foodie”. Just as many other labels, what bad apples rot around in the seedy bottom of this basket seem to (again) spoil it for everyone. So when asked what my relationship to food could be called, I generally answered “Chef” – until recently. I discovered something worth sharing, and something worth propagating. It makes for a great dinner conversation and opener, and it really brings out some of the best ideas and thoughts in people – I am a Gourmand.

“Now, wait,” I hear you say (and didn’t I promise we’d have a a great conversation starter?), “You mean Gourmet, no? A Gourmand, that’s someone eating a lot of food and not caring about the taste, right?”

No :). You see, to understand the difference, we’ll have to go back a little bit and look at the development of both names. Modern French, around the 17th century, referred to fine eaters as Gourmands, while those interested in wine (a rather … blue collar … drink) were called Gourmets, an intentional bastardization of “Groumet”, French for “servant” or “wine stewart”.

Wine - how I love thee!

The early 20th Century began seeing a change in consumption patterns. Wine producers worked hard on an image change, attempting and succeeding to elevate wine as the rich, well educated, man’s drink. Along with this perception about wine being the drink of a perfect palate, Gourmet became synonymous with lovers and connoisseurs of good eating and drinking. The Gourmand, a person more interested in the taste and textures of food alone, was quickly pushed into the background, maligned as having a less refined taste (how can someone not love wine?).

Fast forward into today. Personally, I love wine. The stories it tells my palate, the fire, the sun, the calm rainy days it replays in my mind when consumed. I also love cooking with wine, appreciating the flavor spectrum it can bring to the right dish. But I do not believe wine to be an essential part of the menu. In fact, I daresay (and wine sellers will hate me for saying it), that any dish well done must be able to stand on its own, perfect and balanced without wine, doing the same things to your palate as a good sip of fermented grapes will.

Wine, in some way, has become the Santoku knife of foodie dining. Fearful about being labeled anything but a true connoisseur and Gourmet, wine is ordered. My sommelier can tell you stories about that… but then, we here in the restaurant biz love it. Aside from coffee and dessert, wine is our most inflated markup, the more so if ordered by the glass. Many restaurants scoot by on rather low profit margins before wine is introduced, and only then, a sommelier on staff, a trained service that knows to play to the fears and insecurities, the wish to be recognized as a true food lover, is money made.

Advertising does the rest. From the guys who brought you “smoking is cool and makes you a Cowboy / man of the world / ladies magnet”, and “only a BMW shows how refined you are” comes “Wine – it’s what separates McDonalds eaters from sophisticated foodies”. Beautiful women in red and white dresses gyrate around muscular latin lovers in black suits drinking the Vin du Jour from Alsace or the Basque region.

So, yes, I am a Gourmand. Given a choice between an expensive and very tasty wine, and the perfect dinner, cooked to excellence, appealing to all 19 taste sensations and textures, I’ll choose the dinner. And next time someone asks you, tell them you’re one as well. And then, maybe, the best conversation in a while will arise from it.