Gourmet is a cultural ideal associated with fine food and dining. Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic Food is any substance usually composed primarily of Carbohydrates Fats water and/or Proteins that can be eaten or drunk by an In general terms eating (formally ingestion) is the process of consuming Food to provide for the Nutritional needs of an Animal, particularly

Contents 1 Person 2 Food 3 Gourmet pursuits 4 Origin of term 5 Related concepts 6 References 7 External links

Person

The term gourmet may refer to a person with refined or discriminating taste or to one that is knowledgeable in the art of food and food preparation. Food preparation is the act of preparing foodstuffs for consumption ^[1]

Food

Gourmet may describe a class of restaurant, cuisine, meal or ingredient of high quality, of special presentation, or high sophistication. Cuisine (from French cuisine, "cooking culinary art kitchen" ultimately from Latin coquere, "to cook" is a specific set In the United States, a 1980s gourmet food movement evolved from a long-term division between elitist (or "gourmet") tastes and a populist aversion to fancy foods. ^[2] Gourmet is an industry classification for high-quality premium foods in the United States. In the 2000s, there has been an accelerating increase in the American gourmet market, due in part to rising income, globalization of taste, and health and nutrition concerns. ^[3] Individual food and beverage categories, such as coffee, are often divided between a standard and a "gourmet" sub-market. ^[4]

Gourmet pursuits

Certain events such as wine tastings cater to people who consider themselves gourmets and foodies. Wine tasting (often in wine circles simply tasting) is the sensory examination and evaluation of Wine. Television programs (such as those on the Food Network) and publications such as Gourmet magazine often serve gourmets with food columns and features. Food Network is a cable network that airs specials and recurring (episodic programs about food and cooking Gourmet magazine is a monthly publication of Condé Nast Publications (which also produces its sister publication Bon Appétit) A food column is a type of newspaper column dealing with food Gourmet tourism is a niche industry catering to people who travel to food or wine tastings, restaurants, or food production regions for leisure. ^[5][6]

Origin of term

The word gourmet is from the French term for a wine broker or taste-vin employed by a wine dealer. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people ^[7] Friand was the reputable name for a connoisseur of delicious things that were not eaten primarily for nourishment: "A good gourmet", wrote the conservative Dictionnaire de Trévoux, employing this original sense, "must have le goût friand", or a refined palate. In the eighteenth century, gourmet and gourmand carried disreputable connotations of gluttony, which only gourmand has retained. Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow gluttony is the over-indulgence and Over-consumption of food drink or intoxicants Gourmet was rendered respectable by Grimod de la Reynière, whose Almanach des Gourmands, essentially the first restaurant guide, appeared in Paris from 1803 to 1812. Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière ( 20 November 1758 — 25 December 1837) trained as a lawyer acquired fame during the reign Restaurant ratings identify Restaurants according to their quality using various notations such as stars or other symbols or numbers Previously, even the liberal Encyclopédie offered a moralising tone in its entry Gourmandise, defined as "refined and uncontrolled love of good food", employing reproving illustrations that contrasted the frugal ancient Spartans and Romans of the Republic with the decadent luxury of Sybaris. Encyclopédie ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences des arts et des métiers (Encyclopedia or a systematic dictionary of the sciences arts and crafts was a general Spartan may refer to pertaining to Sparta Spartan hoplite, heavy infantryman in the Spartan army Spartan The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the Sybaris ( Greek:) was a celebrated city of Magna Graecia on the western shore of the Gulf of Taranto. The Jesuits' Dictionnaire de Trévoux took the Encyclopédistes to task, reminding its readers that gourmandise was one of the Seven Deadly Sins. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, are a classification of Vices that were originally used in early Christian

Related concepts

Foodie is often used by the media as a conversational synonym for gourmet, although it is a different concept (that of a food aficionado). Foodie is an informal term for a particular class of aficionado of Food and Drink. This article deals with the general meaning of the term "synonym"

References

External links

• William Safire's distinction between gourmets and gourmands

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