I once read that the term "foodie" was an attempt to avoid the arrogant snobbism of words like gourmand and epicure.

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yeah, i'll pretty much eat anything. i will never refuse to eat something. my motto: "don't knock it till you try it." it always bothers me when i meet someone who says they are really into food, but then they say things like "oh, i won't eat that." and when i hear that, i'll often (maybe wrongly) conclude that this may stem from a lack of maturity. from my experience, it seems that people who won't eat some type of food often times have had a bad experience with this food, causing them not to like it, which is understandable. food can be prepared badly, or it can be prepared well; but it can also be prepared in a bajillion different ways. so just because it was prepared a certain way, and you didn't like it, why would you think that if it was prepared another way, you still wouldn't like it?

i hate to say it, but it's almost like racial stereotyping...only with food. food stereotyping...?

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#2 is right, people do stereotype food.

Now for what I won't eat: bananas, in any way shape or form, even "banana" flavored foods like pudding and ice cream; and canned spinach

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I feel that if you don't want to eat certain foods, it does not make you a bad "lover" of good food. I personally absolutely detest most cheeses. I've tried 'em all. Gorganzolla, Brie, Fontina, name it and I've most likely tried it. The only cheeses that I can tolerate is Mozzarella and Parmesan. I'm also not too keen on some items in the meat catagory either. But, if given a chance, I'll try pretty much anything. But don't feel bad about not having the want or need to try foods like caviar or fois gras, you are your own "food freak" and nobody can change that about you!

Good Eating!

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We're each a foodie in our own way. To me, a foodie is just someone who loves food. Yes, they are snobbish, but they may be snobbish about their cereal or their milk. They may prefer a certain brand of butter, and refuse to eat anything but that.

I think a food critic may lose credibility if they don't like something that is perceived by other gourmets as perfect. However, foodies can be normal people. We don't have to worry about that stuff. We can enjoy what we want, and let the gourmets do their thing. We, the regular people, are more about taste and less about how rare a certain food is, or how much preparation time it took. If I spend 2 hours and make myself an awesome dinner, it often tastes better than a $50 meal that a chef spent all day preparing.

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I agree, there should be no 'rules' about what you should or should not like or try & I hate it when people try & put people down because they dont conform to their ideas of what a 'foodie' or whatever is! Just keep on loving that food & cooking, there are so many many different foods/infredients out there that it wont kill you or mean you will run out of things to experiment with if you keep just a few off your list!

And for the record I hate fois gras & offal too!

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No rules about what you like or don't like ... that's just personal preference ... but always, always try new and even different things. Food can be prepared so many different ways, and come in such vastly different qualities, that you never know what you might be missing out on.

And I love foie gras and devilled kidneys but not so hot on lambs fry and bacon! :)

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Mushrooms.

Good lord I cannot stand them. And believe me i have tried. I try them again every few months just to make sure

You try explaining to people you're food obsessive but don't like mushrooms...

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funny thing is, I completely understand what you are saying...the only thing is because of my profession it would be very uncomfortable for me to look at a chef with nose turned up and say..."I really hate the texture of fois gras", so I have had to suffer through many a fois gras appetizers in my day. P.S.- I am labeled a "foodie" because I own a peripheral company for the culinary industry..I hear they give that label to the cool people who do not have a professional certification

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There is a saying the Chinese have about the Cantonese, who are known as China's foodiest. "The Cantonese will eat anything with four legs except a table and anything that flies except an airplane. Foie gras, caviar, kidneys, sweetbreads are just amateur stuff. You're not a real foodie if you won't at least eat well prepared kidneys, tripe, chicken feet, pigeon blood, fugu (blowfish), brains and such.

It's kind of like saying your into cars, but afraid to drive a Porsche. Just find something else to call yourself.

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Squashes, blueberries. That's just about it. And yeah, I know, it's wierd.

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i say, "who cares?" so what if you don't like something. it's called personal taste. that's why not every restaurant is taco bell, to pull a quote from demolition man. whether it is childhood trauma or something just doesn't taste right to your palette, people have every right to not like something.

and as a restaurant reviewer myself (pretty amateurish i admit), i don't write reviews to impress other reviewers. i write them to inform the general public and most of them have foods they like or dislike.

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To me there are two kinds of "foods I won't eat." There are foods I've eaten and simply dislike. Then there are foods I won't even taste.

It seems reasonable to consider oneself a "foodie" (for lack of better word) and have dislikes. But perhaps refusing to tastse some things waters down one's credentials.

In his book "The Man Who Ate Everything," Jeffrey Steingarten claims that, when he became a food critic, he decided that he had to abandon all food dislikes. That is, he needed to be able to eat everything.

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yeah, but everyone can't be jeffrey steingarten.

i draw the line at brains and live (moving) things. but i'll try just about anything once.

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To me, a foodie is a person who has a zest for food, especially the preparing & experimenting side. I don't really eat that much, but enjoy the creative side of cooking. My problem is that I can't (as opposed to won't) eat "hot" food - things with hot chili peppers, etc. I love the flavor, but my tongue & mouth scream in pain! I also have never developed a taste for lamb. Wish I would, for there are so many great recipes out there for it.

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