Are you a foodie?

The word "foodie" has become so popular that even trendy grandparents know the term now.  But who exactly is a foodie? A foodie is not a greedy person, but someone who enjoys the high culinary art that food is. Could that be you? Here are some of the things that indicate that your interest in food lies beyond the normal basic human desire to eat to sustain life. It's also about living to eat, right?

You know you are a foodie when.
. You wake up in the morning with a precise routine which includes the way you make coffee and tea, as well as the way you have or serve breakfast.
. You have an entire cupboard for coffee or specialty teas and have different apparatus to make them.
. You decide who you will share the good exotic coffees and teas with and never waste the hard-to-come-by stuff on people who couldn't tell an instant coffee mix from whole beans.
. You actually use a coffee grinder to make your daily cuppa.
. You have specific pots for specific purposes.
. You own a cast iron pot or have every intention of adding one to your collection.
. You have a collection of pots and cooking utensils.
. You go pretty wild shopping for kitchen and table items.
. You feel right at home in a fine kitchen and table retailer. In fact, you could just live in one if they allowed it.
. You detest bad food. Bad-tasting food is not worth the calories.
. If you could show up to dinner parties with a bag of spices, you would - just to be able to avoid food that is not cooked to your liking. So, instead, you end up throwing all the parties and entertaining all the time, just so you know that bad food will not be served.
. You don't mind shopping in five to ten different places to get the right quality ingredients at the right prices.
. You don't have to cook from a recipe. You can cook free style or simply use the recipe as a guide for flavours but freely adjust ingredients according to your tastes.
. You love to shop at the markets. be it farmers' market, fish market or local markets. You love the exchange with the farmers and the local vendors and actually have good relations with them.
. You buy what looks good, not just what is on your shopping list.
. You pay attention to the seasons and buy and cook in season to reap the tastiest and most nutritious meals and drinks.
. Your local butcher knows your name.
. You know what serveware is.
. You understand how challenging it is to cook so you are actually gracious to hosts when you dine out, even if the food doesn't meet your exacting expectations.
. You are pretty adventurous with your food. You never eat only one type of cuisine. You enjoy the different flavoured profiles of multiple cuisines.
. You buy kitchen appliances like a tech nerd buys gadgets.
. You wish that everyone would just give you gift cards to your favourite kitchen and table retailers or restaurants instead of  any other type of gifts.
. You love looking at food blogs, and food Instagrammers and feel the need to snap pics of your own plates from time to time.
. You have at least three varieties of salt in your cupboard.
. You spend way too much on food but wouldn't have it any other way. Good food is good medicine.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com