Gourmet with Garnish

There is no such thing as gourmet food, and the distinction between so-called gourmet food and everyday fare is thus a phony one. The genuine goodness or worth of any dish or culinary raw material has little or nothing to do with its price or rarity or “refinement”—and I think that the perpetuation of what might be called the “gourmet cliché” is ultimately unfair both to those who produce food and those who (on whatever level) enjoy it. I also think it’s probably as responsible as anything for the suspicion and sense of disconnection with which we so often consider food today.