FOOD COMMENTARY....

FOOD COMMENTARY...FOODIE-ISM AND FOOD FETISHISM

Everyone who knows me, knows that I am passionate about food....not just eating, but cooking food.  I have always been interested in food (Mainly eating it), and food has been the catalyst in bringing family together.  I come from a family of cooks and caterers.  My grandmother, while working for a well-connected Loudoun County (Virginia) lawyer, had the opportunity to cook for First Lady Mamie Eisenhower.  My father, mother, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and most of my cousins are all cooks, and in some cases, exceptional cooks. I was also fortunate to marry into a family of cooks...my wife, mother in law, and sister in laws can "burn" in the kitchen.

But for me, I didn't REALLY get into food until 2003.  I was working as a Staff Assistant/Systems Administrator for Former Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick.  The staff assistant is the lowest paid and most under appreciated position in a congressional office.  It can also be one of the busiest positions, depending on which Member of Congress one works for.  Because of the stressful nature of my job, I needed to find something for which I can channel that stress.  Something that was fun, yet meaningful, and I found that by getting interested in food.  Since that time, I have been interested in eating and cooking different cuisines, studying and applying the techniques of cooking, learning about the quality of food and studying the history and cultures behind food. It has been a positive experience that has affected my life in very unexpected, yet positive ways.

Eating some great Korean ramen at Super H Mart Grocery Store in Fairfax, Virginia

Because of my passion for food, I am often called a "Foodie"...a term that I have come to dislike.  Why?  It sounds a bit "cultish" and fetish-like.  It reminds me of those people who are referred to as "Furries", you know, the nut jobs who come together at conventions dressed up as Chuck E. Cheese and Scooby Doo to shoot the breeze about who has the latest and greatest costume.  I am sure that the activities of these people are benign, and the people who are in this sub-culture are nice and intelligent people.  But again, this kind of fetishism is odd.  Food is necessary.  Food is comforting.  Food is an expression of love and culture.  One can be passionate about food, without going overboard with it.  I would prefer being called a "Food Enthusiast" rather than a "Foodie".  Perhaps this is an exercise in semantics, but I am not a food fetishist, which leads me to the main topic of this blog entry.

You do have some people who do take their interest in food far too seriously.  They engage in a certain level of food fetishism that is unhealthy, and borders on idolatry.  This Summer, marked a watershed moment in food fetishism with the introduction of the "cronut" into the American Culinary Lexicon.  For those who have been in a cave, the cronut is a pastry created by Chef/Owner Dominque Ansel, at his eponymous bakery in New York City.  The cronut, which is essentially a hybrid of a doughnut and croissant, and was introduced to the world in May of 2013.  Since it's introduction, it became a phenomenon.  People have lined up 2 to 3 hours before Ansel's Bakery opens (8 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday).  There has been such a demand  for the cronuts, Chef Ansel has set up a page on the bakery's website, specifically addressing the cronut, called "Cronut 101", which explains everything from the origin of the cronut, to ordering procedures for the cronut.  Stories about the cronut are abuzz in the culinary blogosphere.  Mainstream media outlets from the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times have reported extensively on the cronut.  On "Piers Morgan Live" on CNN, former chef and television personality, Anthony Bourdain, was guest hosting PML, and talked about the cronut and interviewed Chef Ansel.  Check out the clip below.

 

Bakery companies have taken note of the cronut craze, and are attempting to create their own versions of this pastry phenomenon, known as "imposter cronuts" (Think of fake Gucci bags). You have people out there paying people serious dough (Pun intended) to to wait and deliver cronuts throughout the five boroughs.  Aside from the idiots who are willing to pay $250.00 for a cronut, you have deviants who are willing to offer cronuts for sex.  WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO?  I told my wife the only way I would ever wait 2 hours in line for food is if Jesus was serving the food himself.  Other than that, it's just plain stupid.  This kind of food fetishism is not just relegated to pastries.  In Texas, Franklin Barbecue, a renowned BBQ joint, have people lining up as early as 6:30 a.m. to get Chef/Owner Aaron Franklin's award-winning brisket.  Mind you, Franklin Barbecue opens at 11:00 a.m., and closes when all the product is sold out (Which usually happens soon after they open).  Even Aaron Franklin, in a segment on "Dan Rather Reports", thinks people are crazy for waiting that long for BBQ.  Although I have to say, with my love for BBQ, I would seriously think about it (((Laughing))).  Check out "the wonder" that is Franklin BBQ in the clips below.

Franklin BBQ Clip #1

 

Franklin BBQ Clip #2

Whether one is willing to shell out $250 for a pair of Air Jordans, or willing to trample a person for a new IPhone, this is a sad commentary about America.  We have a society that is so wealthy and spoiled, that people are willing to spend a good portion of their day in a line to get food (good food, I am sure), and denounce poor and supposedly lazy people who wait in line at a soup kitchen.  We have people who have the luxury of waiting in the early-morning cold to get cronuts, while not too far from Chef Ansel's Bakery, you have people freezing their behinds off, who would do anything to be inside of a warm place.  Chefs and restaurants like these deserve the praise and patronage that they receive, if what they are producing is good.  But they would be the first to tell people to...CALM DOWN, IT'S JUST FOOD!!!  There is a huge difference between enthusiasm (Me) and fetishism (The Line Waiters).  

Oh, by the way, while typing this blog entry, I have been enjoying a cronut.  Don't believe me?  I took a picture of it (Below), and NO, I won't tell you where I got it from, or who my supplier is (((Laughing))).  OK...you got me, it's a cronut imposter, but it was delicious, and I didn't have to wait in line for it. 

AND THAT IS THE MARC-UP!!!