Of Course There's a Book Called Foodies: Democracy and Distinction in the Gourmet Foodscape

Canada's Globe and Mail has an interview with University of Toronto sociology professors Josée Johnston and Shyon Baumann who wrote the book Foodies: Democracy and Distinction in the Gourmet Foodscape ($28.75 at Amazon). For this very important cultural analysis, the authors interviewed a whole thirty people and analyzed hundreds of articles (hundreds!) for research. We learn many things from the interview, including:

· "When we asked people what was something they’d never eat, they mentioned chain restaurants like Olive Garden. It failed on all of those exoticism and authenticity criteria."
· "Men often emphasize their expertise more, and they’re often much more interested in the exoticism, especially eating things that are wildly unconventional, like goat testicles."

· Foodies: Culinary democrats or cultural snobs? [Globe and Mail]