ABSTRACT
In this chapter we examine how issues of status distinctions and inequality play out in the gourmet foodscape. Like the broader American discourse surrounding wealth and inequality, the foodie discourse around wealth and class is fraught with contradictions-particularly the contradiction between an overt democratic populism that seeks solidarity with others, and a more covert but perpetual drive to achieve social distance and distinction. In the foodie world, a conversation about cooking with truffles may coexist with an earnest discussion on street food in Juárez, Mexico, which in turn can be accompanied with an in-depth knowledge of food in Spain’s most celebrated fine dining restaurant, El Bulli. The term, “foodie” itself contains these contradictions, and is both rejected and embraced for similar reasons-not wanting to appear snobbish.65
