On Being A Foodie: Part II

The Evolution of Epicuriosa’s Epicuriosity

Not always a foodie: The contents of this dish would have once inspired fear and loathing.

The other day I explained my theory on the two camps of foodieism and divulged the extent of my food nerddom. But contrary to popular belief, I was not always such a foodie.  In fact, by the time I was eight years old, my only culinary activity involved washing the sauce off my chicken and picking the garlic out of my rice.

So in order to explain how I went from an abnormally picky eater with a penchant for cinnamon pop-tarts to the omnivorous real-food lover you now know as Epicuriosa, allow me to present you the following retrospective:

Epicuriosa is raised in the U.S. by Peruvian parents firmly entrenched in foodie camp number one. (Little known fact: Peruvians are serious foodies by birth.  Also, Peruvian food will soon be the next Thai food in the U.S. — you heard it here first).  As a baby, things are looking good: she adores raisins and rejects canned baby food, insisting solely on the real deal.

Suddenly things take a turn for the worse.  Epicuriosa, once the raisin fan, rejects this and nearly all other somehow “slimy” textured foods.  By the age of 8, she is adept at picking every single green pea, green onion, and garlic scrap out of her rice.  By the age of 10, she has mastered the art of washing the sauce off her chicken in the sink and reheating it in the microwave.  Dietary mainstays: cheese quesadillas (no ham NO HAM); fried egg sunny side up with white rice.  Epicuriosa discards her dream of becoming an astronaut when, upon noting her untouched plate of legumes at the dinner table, an uncle remarks that she’ll have to learn to eat such things if she wants to go to outer space.  No, thanks.

On Being A Foodie: Part I

The Two Camps Theory of Foodieism and How Food Makes me Cry

Foie Gras Bonbon at Coque by Mario Sandoval

You’ll notice in my About page that I introduce myself as a foodie before all else.  That’s because I’m completely enamored with food, in the many, many ways you will see detailed in this blog.

Allow me to give a little bit of context on what I think a foodie is, exactly.  But before I do that, I’d just like to emphasize that the purpose of this blog, and my “mission” so to speak, is not to convert everyone into a total food nerd like me.  Nor is my writing here necessarily intended for foodies (though I’m happy to have you, obvs).  Getting all psyched about obscure ingredients and trying innovative techniques — or realizing the genius behind a concoction like the above dish, a foie gras bonbon that looks and tastes like the candy by Ferrero Rocher — is my thing, but it needn’t be a turn on for you.

So while I feel like having the basic skills to prepare meals for yourself is something everyone should have the right (and maybe the responsibility) to learn, what I will discuss now belongs firmly in hobby territory.

Some people get totally excited and giddy about things like experimental house music, sports rivalries, or ultra-hip card games like Magic: The Gathering (you know who you are).  For me, it’s food.  I spend an abnormal amount of time thinking about, talking about, and reading about food.  Maybe you read Perez Hilton and TMZ; I read Eater, the Internet Food Association and the Amateur Gourmet.  I can tell you why the boutique Gin & Tonic is the cocktail of 2010.  I can explain to you the major techniques used in avant garde/ technoemotional cuisine – but please don’t call it molecular gastronomy, its founding father doesn’t like that term.

So what is a foodie exactly?