EPISODE SUMMARY:
"I am my own audience when it comes to food. I am my own customer. I’m my own witness."
In this special Edible Series, Wish reflects on why the label “foodie” no longer fits, tracing its shift from an unpretentious celebration of good food to a status-conscious, performative label shaped by social media. She argues that meals should be experienced through the senses and personal joy, and introduces “food adventuring” and “food shed fidelity” as more thoughtful ways to describe curiosity about food.
REFERENCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Foodie description on Merriam-Webster
The Foodie Handbook by Ann Barr & Paul Levy on Amazon
Exotic Appetites: Ruminations of a Food Adventurer by Lisa Heldke on Amazon
Listen to the Episode
MAIN TOPICS:
00:00 - Rethinking the “foodie” label
02:15 - How the meaning of “foodie” changed
04:26 - Food, status and influencer culture
07:34 - Dining for the camera—or for the experience?
08:55 - Food adventuring and cultural context
10:46 - Being present and savoring a meal
14:20 - Defining your own relationship with food
17:06 - Your most memorable meal and closing**
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Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (00:00)
Hi, hello from York. If you're watching this podcast video format, you will see that I finally managed to record my first ever podcast video episode on location.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (00:14)
I am in York in the UK. so full disclosure, sitting here in front of a camera feels profoundly awkward and I am actively trying not to look like an idiot. Public nuisance. I'll only be doing this video formats on very rare occasions. So
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (00:36)
Please bear with me Speaking of not wanting to be an influencer, let's start. So throughout the years a lot of friends and even acquaintances describe me as a foodie. I just accepted it without question. But the past few years I started to kind of veer away from being described as such. Honestly, I didn't dig
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (01:00)
deeper into this and I should have done so as a logophile. I just dined with a professional restaurant and food consultant recently. So he gave me a highly salient point as to why he's not a foodie, even though he's in the food industry and he loves dining out and eating out.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (01:25)
when he told me why I go whoa spot on and I could safely say I am also not the foodie. But what? Let's explore this.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (01:48)
Welcome to Human Thesaurus presents Epitome Anatomy Edible Series. My name is Wish, a retired tech operator, cat mom, indie author, and a self-aware life explorer. Epitome Anatomy is an opinion piece on the power of words and their ethos that I extracted from this life. Ready for the epitome of foodie? Let's go.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (02:15)
Our keyword is foodie. According to Merriam-Webster, a foodie is a person having an avid interest in the latest food fads. The linguistic journey of this word is what makes it current state so ironic. In the early nineteen eighties, food critics like legendary Gail Greene and Paul Levy
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (02:38)
Along with Anne Barr in their 1984 official Foodie Handbook, coined the term as a playful rebellion. It was designed to mock the stuffy rigid gourmet or epicure. Back then, a foodie was a normal, unpretentious person who genuinely loved the craft ingredients.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (03:02)
and joy of good food without the aristocratic snobbery. It was a democratic welcoming word. However, as the internet birthed review sites, food blogs, and eventually Instagram and TikTok, the meaning mutated. The democratisation went into overdrive, shifting the focus from
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (03:26)
The plate to the camera. Over the last decade, foodie devolved from a label for pretension it originally tried to destroy people obsessed with performative dining, viral hype, and aesthetic fads rather than the actual sensory joy of a meal.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (03:47)
This 1980s meaning of unpretentious, passionate food lovers as a foodie devolve into this label who care more about likes and being viral or about, annoyingly recording in restaurants with their annoying ring lights.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (04:06)
and camera eating more performative than it's an actual craft. but I think there is still a parallelism across the board because I think snobbery is the main theme when you say a foodie. I progressively realise that throughout time.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (04:26)
Because when you say you're a foodie, it seems like you have access to everything when it should not be anyone of any status would just love food and cooking and it doesn't matter whatever part of culinary experiences you have, it should not be this way. There's a main theme from then when
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (04:49)
the foodie was coined and apparently the term foodie was coined in the 80s but it's always being described throughout time especially even 20 years before that there are lots of documentation and food critics and food authors who describes a foodie but without having the term just yet.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (05:07)
there's this culture and anti culture now. I think that some people are really getting tired of influencers, let alone food influencers who kept on just asking establishments for free food. bless you. my gosh. It do you hear that? Anyway, I'm not gonna cut that out because I'm really in public and in the beautiful park and look at that behind me.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (05:31)
Yeah, so going back I keep on getting distracted. This is how it is, so just listen.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (05:39)
So yes, okay. Going back to the culture and anti-culture of food on the internet. Ooh, hear that. Let's hear that first. That's beautiful.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (06:03)
Amazing. I recorded at the right time. Okay. I go back to the culture and anti-culture of, the food environment in this world right now, especially on media. there's pro and cons when it comes to covering food. I think we all need to have a responsibility on how we even support or reject the
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (06:28)
food industry. there will always be, more reliable or more trustworthy, let's say, food critics or food influencers out there. And they take it also seriously and ever so passionately. And I think that's also still beautiful. I just saw a bird. I told you I get distracted. That's why I'm not doing a lot of this kind of videos.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (06:51)
And also during my opening, I told you about having dined with a very good friend of mine who's a professional restaurant and food consultant. the exact revelation that he shared with me over our afternoon tea that crystallised my discomfort about specific behaviours in a dining room instantly is
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (07:15)
some great epiphany when he said that he's not describing himself as a foodie being a pro in the part of his life is dining out and eating out and seeing the trends and the culture in the industry to support them as well. this is a very powerful
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (07:33)
quote which is the basis of my epiphanies. He said they dine, take photos to be seen, and barely eat them. That is for me the status quo for the spoiled elitists. That's not really helping much. It creates more divide and
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (08:00)
complacency in how we have to perceive food not just literally the food that you eat, it's the entire industry of it. So when he explained that to me, that's why he rejects the word foodie or how people would describe him as such and he would reject it immediately. I was like, my god
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (08:22)
gosh, yes. that's really for me it's a point of realisation that that's why I'm beginning to be uncomfortable about the the word. It's just I didn't focus on it enough until now to fully understand why. And this is why. The snobbery is something that I never liked. You
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (08:45)
Eliminate a group of people or several groups of people just for your own fun and reference. That's not nice.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (08:55)
So now, having rejected this hijacked label that has good intentions versus now, I prefer to describe my own discerning palate and relationship with food to protect the sensory joy of a meal from modern influencer culture. so let's go back.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (09:18)
To when I said that 20 years ago there are still some terms before foodie was coined. I'm gonna read this to you. So, philosopher Lisa Helke uses the term food adventuring in her book. her book was called Exotic Appetites: Ruminations of a Food Adventurer. This was published in 2003.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (09:41)
So food adventuring is to describe the passion, fashion, and urge to experiment with ethnic and foreign cuisines. Helke suggests replacing the food colonialist mindset with a cultural food anticolonialist attitude. This alternative approach is built on food shed fidelity, quote unquote. Food shed fidelity, which means paying deep.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (10:08)
respectful attention to the specific context, origins, and local realities of food rather than treating other cuisines as exotic trophies, beautiful and profound. I think this is the inward pivot for me on how I could label it. Because sometimes you know labels are I don't really like labels, but we do it. It's just
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (10:34)
an adjective for us and it's helpful to make things simpler to explain to people what you're doing and what you are and how you're doing things more simply
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (10:47)
So if you strip away your smartphone and social clout whoring, let's say, there's this dining habit for me that would always prove to me how I love eating and feeling the flavour and
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (11:07)
rather than taking photos. I had this beautiful meal last night here in York. Really, really wonderful. And the way I even describe it is joyful. It was such joyful food. I barely use my phone to take photos or videos of it. Especially nowadays I used to document it a lot, but I'm beginning to do that lesser and lesser by the minute.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (11:31)
So for me it's the sensory of it all using all of my senses when I'm dining is something way more important than documenting it it's that feeling that moment, but
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (11:46)
Sometimes as well, I know I have a duty to still document only because there are a few people that I love and I care for in my life who would want to be on the ride to all of my eating experiences because they find it also fascinating. I document them because I care about these people and they enjoy what I enjoy and sharing with them some food that blew my mind.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (12:10)
through photos and videos, it's still something that I would do, but it's not documentation for mass. It's not documentation for clout. going back to the the senses of feeling and experiencing dining out. the important thing is always the presentation of it all, the presentation of the experience.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (12:31)
the visuals as soon as they welcome you the visuals how the restaurant looks like and the smell I always smell each dish that's being served to me before I dig into it instead of taking a photo or video I would sniff I would have a nice smell and then of course the taste the texture
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (12:57)
the feels of the different layers of flavours that was conceptualised and being brought to life by the restaurant, by the chef, by his staff, by all the cooks. for example, I'm very, very specific about sauces. I always wanted to be a saucier if I go back to the kitchen.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (13:18)
sauces for me, dances in my soul
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (13:21)
when I taste some sauces they dance along in my soul. That's how important it is to me. okay let's let's do a very quick memorable dishes. again I've eaten a lot so this is in no particular order or in no particular
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (13:39)
I know the restaurants, but I'm not gonna disclose that. you can message me if you wanted some suggestions, but I still remember up to this day the white chocolate potato puree, it blew my mind. I thought it was gross at first, but that was amazing. And what else? Ooh.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (13:58)
there's this preserved baby pine cone that tasted like heaven and nuts together combined. yeah, th those are just like the quick ones. I'm sure there would be more, but yeah, I mean this will be longer if if I tell you everything. with all of my thoughts all together.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (14:20)
The sense of belonging to pop culture and media just always exacerbates how we view foodies. It's always the fucking status quo, I'm telling you. I'm cursing behind the church. I'm really terrible. So foodie is a term. Now cloudy as a canned cream of mushroom served in the
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (14:47)
Best food bowl made by the by an artisan up the buttfuck nowhere of a mountain heated with an open fire of charcoals from a forest harvested by low-wage foragers. You catch my drift, it's ridiculous.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (15:11)
in conclusion, how would I describe myself if I reject the word foodie? I am a verb. I eat, I cook, I travel, I experience, and I try to find joy. You know that I'm already thinking of my next meal or I've already booked my next dining experience.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (15:34)
And I already have bookmarked where I wanted to go and try something new.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (15:39)
It's not for you. It's for me.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (15:43)
For my own joy.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (15:43)
I am my own audience when it comes to food. I am my own customer. I'm my own witness. And if you happen to sometimes see what I eat or where I dined or what I cooked, consider it as me sharing my bliss, my celebration of life, and my blessings.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (16:09)
What a good timing. This is a good timing.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (16:21)
See, that's my genuine background music. How about you? Ooh.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (17:08)
Isn't that wonderful? wow. So yes, how about you? think of the most spectacular meal you've had this year. Do you remember it because you captured the perfect photo or because of the hospitality or the conversation you had with the servers and the flavour?
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (17:29)
If we are officially burying the word foodie today, what term are you claiming to describe your own relationship with dining out and food? Leave a comment below if you're on YouTube. I think there's a a few of the podcast platforms where you can comment about this. Or as usual, please send me a text or voice note through the link right at the
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (17:54)
Top of the podcast description of this episode. please do, I'd love to hear your story.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (18:01)
I'm going to put this camera away now, find a quiet spot here in York and I still have a lot of research and historical pilgrimage to do and actually enjoy my coffee. And apparently there's a very good bakery here for that. without me staring at the screen anytime today, this is enough.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (18:23)
If you enjoyed this episode, please comment, like, subscribe, and share wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also visit humanthesaurus.co.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (18:37)
Until next time. Ciao from York.
Wish Ronquillo Peacocke (18:43)
Epitome Anatomy is produced by me and Jeremiah Ronquillo. Music by Ketsa UK and Pixabay. All rights reserved by Wishblizz Media. Thank you and see you in the next episode.
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Licensed Music:
freesound_community via Pixabay
Transcript & Show Notes: Riverside
Editing & Scoring: Wish Peacocke & Jeremiah Ronquillo
