What is gourmet cooking?
Gourmet cooking is any food preparation done to a degree of high quality. The term gourmet comes from the French term for wine tasters, but has taken on the meaning of pertaining to fine food or drink. Gourmet covers a wide variety of food and drink. It can refer to the quality of the ingredients, or the preparation of the food itself. The only thing really required for a gourmet meal is premium quality.
Gourmet cooking can be juxtaposed to something along the lines of frozen dinners or fast food, where the ingredients are cheaper, of less quality, and often not particularly healthy. This is not to say that all gourmet food is expensive, but due to the quality of the ingredients it is often pricier than average fare. The same meal could be cooked in a gourmet or non-gourmet fashion as well. For example, you could cook spaghetti with a store bought pasta sauce, but you could also cook it in a gourmet fashion, with a home made pasta sauce with high quality tomatoes and fresh herbs and spices.
Some well known foods associated with gourmet cooking are pate, caviar, and game birds such as quail or pheasant. Wine is also often associated with gourmet meals, and wine tastings are a common event for people who consider themselves gourmets. Another common recent term that is synonymous with the word gourmet is “foodie.” This word may have risen to usage due to the negative connotation gourmet has to some people. These people associate it with snobbery and/or elitism. However, that is not necessarily the case. Gourmet cooks are simply people who prepare food with the best ingredients they can fine. Anybody can enjoy gourmet cooking if they want to financially invest in it.
gourmet cooking is simply a buzz word. A true gourmand is someone who enjoys well made food. simple as that. Gourmet is just a label. Let’s face it if fresh ingredients and methods is the sole qualifiers all our grandmas are gourmet chefs. People could write umpteen paragraphs describing “gourmet” to you, but the opinions differ depending on cultural ideas. They also differ on more simple issues such as taste. I personally believe most “gourmet” items sold in markets or restaurants are better labeled as trendy or opportunistic. Think about it. a “gourmet” pepper sauce is often the same ingredients as all the others with a fancier label.
