A Professional Parody...

'Do not eat to stay alive...Live to eat'. No, not a tongue twister but just an old saying I have heard somewhere...

Look up the thesaurus and very interesting synonyms come up for the word FOODIE. Connoisseur, gastronome, gourmet, gourmand & sensualist show up in the dictionary as related words. They do sound rather sophisticated & professional. Connoisseur or gourmet sound somewhat like higher qualifications for someone who would be an authority on wines or fine dining or cigars, when essentially they just describe a person who...LOVES TO EAT GOOD FOOD !!! Foodie is a soft, fun word...sometimes mistaken for a less serious person who just macerates every ounce of good food thrown at them. It is almost as if there is a touch of gluttony involved in being a foodie, while being a gourmet seems very calculated & analytical. But I prefer the 'foodie' as it is less pretentious, does what it says on the cover !!

The life of a foodie is not easy though. It needs a lifetime of devotion, an oath that cannot be broken...It means being constantly in search of good food, good recipes, savouring every mouthful and still looking forward to the next one. It means pushing yourself to the brink of a tummy explosion every time you are around delicious food. And getting close to great food is also a part of the job, constantly understanding flavours & textures to determine what tastes good...often being frustrated but never to give up. A real foodie gives up diet plans, religious taboos or even financial constraints to make sure no opportunity to taste something new is squandered...just so that the common lot are spoon fed information about which cuisine is good, or which restaurant not to step into. A foodie is like a soldier who marches on...from one battlefield to another, head held high & honoured to serve. (will leave it at this...probably getting carried away)

Being a foodie is not everyone's mug of beer !! It is not just the eating. It involves interest in everything that is edible. Every meal is a ceremony, an occasion to remember, and every mouthful a story in itself. Butter chicken to most is just another tried and tested, never to fail, standard curry that will taste exactly of what you expect. So order a nice garlic naan to go with it and in the end polish the bowl off with some rice and you are done! To a foodie, it is a burst of flavours every single time...the aroma of kasoori methi tickling your senses as you dunk the first mouthful, fresh tomato, the subtle but prominent cardamom & cloves, the pulled tandoori chicken combined with the buttery-creamy gravy...a classic, comforting yet royal after taste that irresistible, and so you keep gobbling until the plate is so clean it doesn't need washing up ! But that is the simple bit...A foodie does not only eat, but thinks, sleeps, talks, walks, breaths & dreams FOOD. Passion for cooking is a must...an unconditional clause in the contract of a lifetime. This is followed by the urge to try every different restaurant in the vicinity with the need to try a new dish on each visit until the menu itself gets engraved on the intellect. Then there is the reading (or in modern terms 'googling'). A foodie's spare time is often taken up in researching about famous Chefs, different cuisines, watching television food shows, tweeting about food or even blogging !!
There are other prominent traits that are found in some extreme specimens...

• interrupting or ending most conversations with something related to food.
• getting involved in a meal to an extent as to forgetting that they are in a social circle and are expected to behave normal !!
• not realising that sharing is considered as an etiquette of dining.
• staring at somebody else's plate and wondering what makes it look so delicious and being oblivious to the fact that that person might get uncomfortable.
• thinking about 'lunch' while eating 'breakfast' and about 'dinner' while eating 'lunch'

Believe me, it is all worthwhile. The most exciting part about being a foodie is that life never gets mundane. New ingredients, new dishes, new cuisines...there are absolutely no restraints to the world of gastronomy. And for some of us who are fortunate enough to be working around food, every day is packed with intrigue and adventure.

I am sure you would relate to some of the traits that I mentioned above. Think twice, are you really a foodie?? 

And if you aren't, the time is right...fall in love with food and you will understand. LIVE TO EAT..DO NOT EAT TO STAY ALIVE. Slurppppp!!!!!!