12 Signs that You Might Be a Food ‘Snob’ instead of a Food Lover!

Food snobbery exists (sad to say) but should never be confused with being a ‘foodie’. A foodie to us means an appreciation of good food, beautifully cooked and mouth-wateringly tasty. Food snobbery is beyond the realms of quality and taste, it is a whole different echelon, wrongly directed towards ‘best must be the best to have’ – it is no different to ‘having to have the fastest and most elaborate car’, or only designer clothes. Same principle, different commodity, and at its very worse – utterly pretentious nonsense!

There are lots of reasons why and how food snobs demonstrate their obsession. Some of these are downright hilarious, and some, quite frankly, verge on being pathetically pompous!

There is no real stereotype to a food snob, but perhaps you will recognise some of the ‘symptoms’ we list in this article.

Is food snobbery a way to show off or boast about your wealth? It certainly can be when nothing less than Michelin Star all the way will suffice! Whilst the Michelin Guide is supposed to be the equivalent of the bible in terms of belief, it somewhat trades on its long and unchallenged reputation.

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Classic Signs of Food Snobbery

You may or may not recognise these, and equally so, have your own ideas as to what a food snob is. Getting to grips with ‘real food’ can be tricky, whether it is a shack on the roadside, or an elaborate damask, crystal and fine porcelain kind of number. It is all about the food, isn’t it? Feel free, to throw up your hands in horror or shake your head in disbelief – we do.

Here we say what we think could be categorised as ‘food snobbery’.

1. You do not often get invited to friends for a meal – could be because you either criticise or show no interest in what is on your plate.
2. You name drop all the way through a social occasion about the places you have eaten and the chefs who know you personally!
3. Makes and brands are all important to you – you would not serve food on a normal everyday dinner set.
4. You have every piece of kitchen equipment in the world, from normal to ultra-expensive to quirky – but you have hardly ever used it. That fancy, expensive gadget has not yet been out of the box.
5. Everything must be organic, and not necessarily because you believe or understand the reasons why.
6. Perhaps you potentially pronounce difficult foods with more of an accent, or correct a guest when they say something wrong? (Quinoa is a classic example!)
7. There is no such thing as a ‘gourmet’ fish and chips, burgers or other relatively fast food – the term gourmet is strictly kept to anything above 4.9 stars, even when it tastes good…
8. You will travel copious miles to source a fresh, but out of season produce. Never mind about the carbon footprint.
9. Takeaways are not a word in your food dictionary, in fact you have no leaflets or phone numbers for local ones, they all go in the bin.
10. You may have subscriptions to ‘gourmet food clubs’ but end up throwing a lot away.
11. You do not visit everyday supermarkets or inexpensive outlets; in case someone sees you!
12. If you carry a shopping bag, it has to have a top quality outlet written on it – no reused supermarket plastic bags!

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There are a multitude of other potential signs, including never buying things in packets, ready-made salad dressings and dips are a no-go zone etc.

There actually is not much wrong with being a food snob if you use it in the right way and the right direction! Your opinion is yours, but others are entitled to their own!