Food snobs

You are what you eat.

I’ve heard this saying since fifth grade, when I was given an assignment to define what I was by what foods I ate. I completely screwed up the assignment, not realizing that the teacher wanted us to figure out how healthy we were, not simply list the foods we ate.

But that’s what I did. And my list was really, really long.

My tastes greatly range from the finest culinary preparations in the world to greasy fast food. But I’ve typically been labeled as a food snob.

This has been going on since my childhood.

As a little girl, I preferred ordering calamari, or fried squid, in Italian restaurants instead of spaghetti and marinara. I was one of the few kids I knew who was able to try and like pate, caviar, buffalo mozzarella and other “luxury” foods.

As I got older, my tastes became broader and more curious, and I began trying more foods, including junk food. My high school extra-curricular activities essentially forced me into acquiring a fast-food diet for my odd hours.

My appreciation for junk food began, yet I was still teased for not liking pizza and apple pie similar to everyone else.

College really changed me, as I’ve had to rely on food through Residential Programs and Services. I keep a variety of treats in my room for floormates and friends when they’re stressed, and since they know about my column, I have become their resident
“foodie.”

Apparently, because of my food history from childhood, and my desire to be editor-in-chief of “Gourmet Magazine,” this makes me a food snob. It’s understandable, but at the same time I’m disappointed that that’s all I’m seen as to acquaintances.

The other day in class, I won a Buffa Louie’s gift certificate. The teacher knows I want to be a food writer and joked that Buffa Louie’s wasn’t good enough for a foodie.
My reaction consisted of me whimpering and defending my love for buffalo wings.

I find it absurd that because I like and appreciate higher quality foods, people assume I automatically dislike junk foods. I am quite possibly the biggest fan of buffalo wings, as well as Aver’s Pizza, and on a regular basis I will bug my boyfriend beyond belief to get late night Taco Bell or White Castle.

My idea of celebration is going to Steak’n’Shake at midnight for bacon cheese fries and a milkshake.

Does this mean that I have stopped appreciating finer foods because of my current financial status as a student? Not at all. I love and appreciate all sorts of foods, with the exception of blue cheese because I’ve never been able to stomach it.

So, in case I have not made it clear enough yet, I am not a food snob.

I am willing to try anything once (as I only have one life that I know of) and will also do whatever it takes to fill my stomach. If that means relying on cheaper junk foods until I get a real job, so be it.

After all, if I am what I eat, I don’t want my palate to be so close-minded.