what is a foodie?

ok. so i have come up with this awesome title for my blog, now all i have to do is figure out what a foodie actually is so i can become one. i kind of know what a foodie is. i could name some, but you wouldn't know who they were, cause i would say brian, or justin or liz, and you would say, "who the hell are brian, justin and liz?" so i won't do that. i'm definitely around foodies at work. i am a food and prop stylist, mostly prop stylist, and mostly props for food, i.e., i would pick the plates, napkins, glasses, etc for a photoshoot for bon appetit or something like that. so then, i'm definitely around foodies at work. to me, foodies are the people that intimidate me. they know about wine (other than charles shaw) and flambe and haricot vert. they are the kind of people that i am embarrassed to tell that i enjoy the all you can eat soup, salad and breadsticks at olive garden. they are the kind of people that would probably not associate with me if they knew that. i did a little research, and have come to find out that i am kind of wrong. wikipedia (the best source for information in the world) defines a foodie as "an informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink." and distinguishes them from gourmets in that "gourmets are epicures of refined taste who may or may not be professionals in the food industry, whereas foodies are amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news.[1] Gourmets simply want to eat the best food, whereas foodies want to learn everything about food, both the best and the ordinary, and about the science, industry, and personalities surrounding food.[2] For this reason, foodies are sometimes viewed as obsessively interested in all things culinary." interesting. ok, so maybe brian, justin and liz are gourmets? slashfood.com had some good news, "Anyone can be a foodie." adding to that, "To be a foodie is not only to like food, but to be interested in it. Just as a good student will have a thirst for knowledge, a foodie wants to learn about food. A foodie will never answer the question "What are you eating" with "I don't know." There are some basic traits of being a foodie, as there are basic traits that come with all labels. Generally, you have to know what you like, why you like it, recognize why some foods are better than others and want to have good tasting food all or certainly most of the time. This doesn't mean that you can't eat flaming hot Cheetos every now and again, but it does mean that you don't fool yourself into thinking that it's a nutritionally balanced meal. Do you have to know the difference between a beefsteak tomato and an heirloom tomato? No, but you might be interested to find out what it is. Do you have to only shop at farmer's markets? No, but you still look for good, fresh produce. Are there some foods you just don't like or weird foods you like? That's ok - it doesn't make you any less of a foodie. Just like food, learn about food and, most importantly, eat food."

i guess in some ways, i already am a foodie. now i'll just become an even better foodie.