Gourmet Food?

Gourmet food can also be a matter of perception. Generally speaking, humans are more likely to perceive a rare commodity as superior as opposed to an everyday item.

As stated, many foods are less available because of their place of origin or growing season. These foods, particularly if they hail from an "exotic" locale, (another definition burdened by subjectivity), are more likely to be viewed as special.

Sometimes price alone can influence this perception. We all intellectually know that price does not presuppose quality.

But savvy advertisers and marketers also know that intellect often yields to emotion. Psychologically we still possess a tendency to equate expense with an item's inherent worth.

This is manifested in everyday mantras like "you get what you pay for," and "it pays to buy the best." Often this is true but sometimes we are merely inflating the coffers of shrewd businessmen.

Marketing techniques can be employed to manipulate public perception and ultimately revenues. A common ploy is to identify a variation of your product as superior and then sell it at a premium price.

The new version may or may not be better, but by selling the conception that it is, a higher price is commanded from the unsuspecting public. Although not considered a gourmet item, a good example of this process is "gold" tequila.

Gold tequila is nothing more than regular tequila with caramel coloring added and a higher price. The term "gold" is not an actual tequila designation but nevertheless, the word itself conjures up an air of supremacy.

It's this kind of mental gymnastics that results in a product being perceived as exceptional and sometimes "gourmet." At its absurd extreme, there's even a cat food company that endeavors to pass off its smaller canned, more expensive product as "gourmet."

Another example is Angus beef. Angus is nothing more than another breed of cattle. Yet clever marketing has resulted in a perception that it is the zenith of beef. Along with that perception comes a bigger price tag.

Angus may be better than the typical beef on supermarket shelves but the price to quality ratio is disproportionate. This is camouflaged however by the little signs decreeing "certified angus" and the fact that it is often housed in its own decorative case, separate from the undistinguished beef.

So I say we need to expand the definition of gourmet food to read something like this: An expensive, seasonal, non-native food, perceived as superior, that under the best of circumstances is also of high quality, accurately prepared and presented with artistic flair. How's that for a gourmet definition?

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