Foodie culture is very diverse and can take different forms depending upon one’s socioeconomic status. Though it may not be right to generalize on the preferences and the tastes of the people based on their socioeconomic status, in general the foodie culture of people differs on the basis of their position in society. People with higher socio economic status will have their own unique taste and luxurious preferences as compared to those with a lower socio economic status that take expense more into account. Those with a comparatively lower socioeconomic status would prefer a different taste such as fast food and dishes that are not so exquisite and luxurious. It can truly be pointed out that recession has affected the tastes of both the segments of people, may it be the middle class or the elite class, which in turn has had an effect on the strategies of restaurants and cooking shows. A family's socioeconomic status is based on family income, parental education level, parental occupation, and social status in the community (such as contacts within the community, group associations, and the community's perception of the family) 1.
Food is one of the most crucial factors for a human being. There are some individuals who eat to live while some live to eat! But whatever be their choice, the world indeed revolves around food. Therefore, understanding the socioeconomic status of people is critical to understanding what a foodie is.
Why define art as something expensive and time consuming? A “Foodie” is merely a connoisseur of his art: food. Being placed in different socioeconomic statuses would affect how food can be prepared, served, and eaten, but it takes no amount of importance of food itself. For a middle class “Foodie”, the key to his or her art is merely creativity; designing new recipes around the obstacles of a busy work week, a hungry family, or a tight wallet. As having noticed the fact that a middle class “Foodie”, tries to save his/her expense, but they are yet creative at cooking through their use of Internet, innovative cooking shows, and a solid love for food.
Each person is different in his or her own way. Thus it would not be right to categorize them in groups and label them. To contradict the above statement it is also true that, it is not really possible to look into the preferences of each and everyone, thus it is appropriate to categorize them to some extent. Average middle-class people are very foodie in nature; but yet they restrict their expenses on food due to their socioeconomic status. On the other hand, rich-class people who too are foodie in nature spend money on eating at costly restaurant joints, hotels. Both being foodie in nature, puts a question mark as to who is a “real foodie”. The major difference is that, middle-class people, are lot more concerned about the expenses made on foodstuff than the rich class people.
If one thoughtfully looks at the middle class segment, it would definitely consist of the low earning income group and of teenagers. Looking at the teenagers, one would reminisce their school life, fun times, parties and a lot many fun things. This group lives on lower incomes given by their parents or lives on their own expenses. These groups are lured by these fast food joints, which sell foodstuff like hamburgers, cheeseburgers, French fries, chicken products and milk products like milkshakes. Though these are not abundant in nutrients and proteins but as we mentioned in the thesis, people go for what they like and not necessarily for what is healthy for them. Also, a major factor supporting these fast food joints is the monetary aspect and quick service. As these joints sell their goods at cheap prices which tend to attract a lot of people including the middle class people and also the other segment of people. Let me ask a question here. Does anyone in here know who Ronald McDonald is? Surely, everyone won’t know about him, but a popular survey, which was carried out amongst the American school children, found that ninety-six percent could identify Ronald McDonald. I guess it would be wrong if I do not introduce him here for those who don’t recognize him; he is the mascot for McDonalds, a popular fast food joint worldwide. The only fictional character with a higher degree of recognition was Santa Claus. Does his popularity strike us with something? Yes, the popularity of fast food joints amongst the teenagers and thus the middle class segment.
On the other hand, the elite class tends to spend more money on food since they give more attention to the brand and the quality of food. Dining out is matter of pride and elegancy, as money is rarely a hindrance for this segment of people. The only criteria for them are excellent food quality and exceptional dining experience.
Looking at the current situation, recession has become the epicenter of all problems. Recession is defined as “Period of general economic decline, defined usually as a contraction in the GDP for six months (two consecutive quarters) or longer”2. Recession has brought about a drastic change where people have switched to saving each and every penny in order to use it in the near future. This recession has also struck hard upon the food industry and has affected it adversely, for instance, less people are seen to visit the food marketplace and the restaurants during periods of recession. Studies from the Tribune and the Dish column of Chicago Magazine have showed a significant slowing in plans to open a number of restaurants. Yet there are some places, which are still opening. But the ones with more elaborate and expensive undertakings have been reported on hold.
In these days of recession, the insatiable need to win over clients; has made the restaurants to make their menus look more attractive with competitive prices of each item on the menu. Also, what is being seen is that restaurants are going through a major change in their menu plans to encompass most of the age groups. Restaurateurs have come up with new offers, which will attract more number of customers and thus let the restaurant make more money. One would come across several signposts saying ($15 instead of $25) for a Sunday lunch or a dinner. Also, restaurant owners are trying to set different prices for weekdays and for weekends, objective remaining the same, to attract more people. However, the exquisite restaurants are not part of this rat race since these usually cater to the elite class.
Once on a vacation trip to Chicago, I happened to visit and dine at La Sardine, this place offered delicious food. Although the dining here was quite expensive, yet it attracted loads of people to dine here because of its fine dining experience. But as recession struck, it was believed that this restaurant too would suffer great loss in terms of decrease in the number of customers and thus a fall in the price value. But a visit to this place last month really startled me. The place was still packed for its $25 three-course deal. So, though recession has a vast effect on this food industry but yet there are some competent players in the market who set up a bench mark for themselves and go ahead to serve their finest meals, thus attracting more and more customers. Places that provide a good value continue to do well, these are not only the “cheap eats” part of the business, but these also include the sober places whose prices compare approvingly to competitors, whether or not they offer any deals.
Looking much more into the lives of a middle class people, as value seems to be what everyone is yearning for, this segment of people are trying to make themselves comfortable in front of the television sets, as to reduce their trips to restaurants and thus save upon some money. Popular shows like Julia Child’s: Lessons with Master Chef on television have brought about many audiences to sit in front of their TV sets and has taught them the principle of “Watch and Cook”. This has made people learn to save money, cook by themselves and experiment with different foodstuffs. An Indian television news channel, on its live poll showed that there has been a rise in the number of people switching to such shows and enjoying their own cooked recipes in these recent months. There have been many positive points in favor of these shows aired on television. People try and experiment with new cuisines; they spend less, which is very important in this period of recession. These shows have taken a different path and have popularized them by altering their way of presenting to their viewers. Innovative ways like reality shows such as Hell’s kitchen, Iron chef America and many more have caught the viewers’ attention. These have made the culinary shows a lot more interactive as it is not only about making different dishes but also about competing between two or more teams.
In addition to reality shows, Danny Meyer (CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group), talked about “The future of cooking and dining out”. He covered many topics under it like what will be the effects of recession, what is food television doing to society and many more. Moreover, what I really appreciated was, that even in the times of recession, people would ask for good food. Time will never come wherein people will sacrifice quality food for the cost of money. They will try to save money by forgoing the extra toppings and by dining in a cheaper restaurant, which doesn’t have unnecessary trappings like the real comfortable chairs or even great artwork done on the walls. Also I really appreciated his optimism about the food industry. He concluded by saying, “Behind every leaf that falls off, there is a new bud that blooms and that is what keeps one going”.
Having studied all the above pointers, food industry is one of its kind, which will never completely ruin its business during a recession period. The reason for this is simple: people need food to survive. To boost this industry, there are the online/television shows, which help people, keep in touch with new recipes. In the end I would like to say that in this period of recession, where not only the people but also the entire industry is trying to reduce their loses, may it be entertainment industry, food industry or any other. It can be rightly said that if one bellies up to that white tablecloth lightened up by candlelight and a well-dressed waiter approaches one for his/her order, there are great chances of one asking, “Can I get a burger, please.” I would like to conclude by asking everyone in here “Has a restaurant dining experience stung you lately?”
REFRENCES:
1 http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea7lk5.html
2 http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/recession.html
The New York Times: Dining and wine: Restaurants stop playing hard to get one
TV Shows: Hell's Kitchen, Iron Chef America, 30-minute meals with Rachael Ray, The French Chef starring Julia Child
Library cookbooks
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-12-08/the-ultimate-recession-food
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