I know I’m a snobby person. This has never been a doubt in my mind. Snobby in that if people don’t agree with me, I have trouble keeping my sharp tongue in check (this never gets me in trouble. Ever.). As I recently got into good food (you noticed?) I have become snobbier about food. I try to claim I don’t dislike foods, that I’m willing to try anything–though you’ll rarely find me ordering marinara or chicken. But the biggest change is how snobby I have become towards people who don’t enjoy food.
This weekend, in Vancouver for my half-marathon, Vancouver my favorite food destination for delicious Izakaya treats and dim sum delicicies, I discovered I was with three food haters. They don’t come out and say “oh I don’t like food” but they don’t enjoy good food. They eat for the sole purpose of survival, not for enjoyment. It hurts me to watch. I hadn’t yet realized the extent of this when I suggested my favorite quick cheap dinner spot in the area, Legendary Noodle. The vegan (who eats seafood) among us ordered steamed chinese broccoli hold the oyster sauce add extra broccoli. I hung my head in shame. Other culinary disasters that were ordered included pan-fried dumplings, but steamed, and with chicken. Chicken, my friends, was not made for dumplings. If it must be in them, frying them can save it, but this, this was not saved. I can’t begin to recount the many culinary travesties that were commited this weekend (“Can I get the smoked salmon appetizer, but as my meal. And can you add something to it so that it isn’t just salmon?”), but there were alot. A favored meal for the weekend was accomplished by a trip to the grocery store: white bread, sliced chicken breast, provolone cheese (no condiments please), for one girl, plain whole wheat tortilla with bean dip for another.
So what is my point? In my striving for great food, have I lost the ability to enjoy food with normal people? Or are these girls abnormal? I make fun of vegetarians for sport, but let’s be honest, my friends that are vegetarians eat well, they still love food. Maybe I don’t have a point and I just wanted to complain about my weekend. Maybe I’m internally chastising myself for being unable to resist snarky comments about what these girls wanted to eat. Or perhaps I’m just said nobody understood why I was upset when my tagliatelli came and was actually fettucini and when my croque madame had tomatoes on it!
I can totally relate. I live in a city in Northeastern BC that is absolutely full of people who are happy living on KFC and standard meat and potatoes fare. In January, I was in Edmonton with my husband’s family and one of his sisters (she’s a chicken lover) and her husband continually ate McDonald’s and KFC when there were dozens of other options that we don’t have in this town. And just try getting these people to try something slightly experimental that I’ve made – I might salivate over it and greatly enjoy it while they turn up their noses and eat some more Mennonite food. Yum. And yes, it’s entirely possible to eat really well and be a vegetarian…I’ve been doing it quite happily for eleven years. Cutting meat out of your diet is no excuse for eating nothing but steamed vegetables and boring salads.
I’m from Auburn originally, and while moving here it seems people are worse, it’s obvious that food haters are everywhere – even where the best stuff is available.
im 22 years old. ive never liked food in my life, i cant even go out to eat like ur friends could. ive adopted veganism because it makes it easier for me to explain to people when im not eating anything… for me, something like ketchup is extremely spicy, yes laugh. im a vegeterian, and i dont eat any fruits or vegetables….seriously…. everything tastes bad to me, even when i eat plain pasta, i gag sometimes
I’m also 22 and I’ve never really enjoyed the action of eating. I do like food that tastes good. I am a great cook and love to bake.. but I hardly eat any of it. Eating is boring, no matter what you put in it or how it tastes. It’s also a pretty disgusting action. Watching people shove piles of crap into their faces – most often past the point of hunger – seems rather pointless.
Food is for survival. Eating for any reason other than that you’re hungry is just greed and glutony and is the reason why people are so morbidly obese.
I’m not a vegetarian, but what those girls chose seems fine to me. I like broccoli, but oyster sauce might as well be poison. I can’t imagine eating whole oysters, let alone distilling their foul juices into concentrated form. I wouldn’t choose white bread if I had a choice, but a chicken and cheese sandwich sounds fine, and it would take a titanic amount of politeness on my behalf to choke down condiments like mustard or mayonnaise and pretend not to hate it.
I had never heard of “tagliatelle” before Googling it just now, but it looks like fettuccine to me.
Not everyone has the luxury of experiencing delicious foods. One, it takes a lot of time and commitment to live that lifestyle and two, requires more money than most people can afford. Most people in this world are not complaining
about sliced chicken breast, especially in countries other than America. No wonder we’re hated around the world. But yes, good food is fantastic and a privilege to be envied.
I hate food. I’m 15, I refuse to eat. I only eat one meal a day, if I have to. Eating any sort of food makes me want to physically throw up, and sometimes I do. No, I’m not bulimic…
I understand how people would react, it is kinda weird, but if it’s some ones choice not to eat much, or only eat one thing, it’s theirs. People don’t need to judge that.
Oh my god try haveing these people as customers….I have a gorgeous three story art gallery cafe, we do beatiful antipasto, cheese platter, brushettas etc so fresh and all day I get ” I’ll have a sausage roll and chips with a milk shake” I mean seriously do I look like a milk bar!!! Why do I bother I may as well put snitzels, chips & pies on the menu. These peps make me maddddd
I’ts very depressing reading about these people who dont enjoy good food. I googled “people who hate food” and I found this blog as a friend of mine who is borderline (I think she is actually anorexic) anorexic says she doesn’t like eating and sees food as something to do to get it out of the way….She is a size 2. I am 110lbs, 5’6″, and a self-confessed foodie who loves cooking, baking and entertaining. I eat most things and I eat very well and balanced foods, but not when I am not hungry so I remain slim and I cannot stand to cook for friends who do not love food or who have a list of things that they do not eat. I feel a genuine pity for people who do not enjoy food. I believe that food is one of life’s pleasures to be celebrated and enjoyed. After all, whats the point of having taste buds? Surely humans could have been made to be satisfied with taking a little pill? In my culture, (Caribbean) as in many cultures around the world, food is at the very heart of living and enjoying life with family and friends.
http://www.amazing-trinidad-vacations.com/trinidad-food.html
I used to love most foods. As a young person I spent a lot of time on grandparent’s farms where everything delicious was grown, harvested and cooked by great old fashioned cooks. Now, in my waning years, I can hardly find anything bearable to eat. Maybe it’s age but most food turns me off; or, I find something I like and eat it and eat it until I can’t stand IT anymore. I just don’t want to eat and wish there were a pill that would handle all the nutritional needs of the human body without all the aggravation of dealing with food.
I don’t like eating. I can’t say that I hate it. I feel that it is a waste of time and shows my flaws of an entity. I don’t care for being a special kind of dieter out of belief. Only one I’d have trouble with is another human. I just know, everyone poops (the unmistakable byproduct), but some people act so high and mighty as if they are so great that their shit smell like roses, and tastes like candy.