Foodie culture

Cannot believe the $ ppl now spend on food over other types of entertainment. Friends of all ages seem to regard eating out as the exemplary social activity but also to dress it up as adventurous, discerning, politically engaged (organic) , and an everyday thing. To me it is just a combination of gluttony, mid class aspiration, and a lack of imagination. I cringe when i see cooking shows using religous words like divine, heavenly, bliss and frame the chef(cook) as an important vocation. I see murder when someone tells me how amzing their barrista (cooffee maker) is.

How does the descent into foodie culture sit with ozbargainers who must hold a latte and compute that since milk is$1 a litre and a 5kg tub of instant roast is $9 that this fad is for the sheeple

Comments

  • +3

    ozbargin isnt just about getting cheap seven eleven coffee, its about getting a bargain what ever price.

    • +3

      This^

      I think people get confused with being cheap and finding a bargain.

      I personally can't stand cheap people that never spend a cent on anything. When they do, they buy the cheapest price no matter the how bad the quality is.

      The reason I joined Ozbargain is from all the fantastic bargains (means good value) that pop up every now and then like that Galaxy Note 8.0 couple weeks ago! Thank you OZB!

      I consider myself a bit of a foodie with my gf. But we don't necesarily go to all the posh and upmarket restaurants around town. We like to keep our minds open and try new places. We are so lucky in Australia to have such a great variety of cultures. I think the best way to save is with an Entertainment Book. We get a double whammy with saving cost and trying new places at the same time!

  • I agree. It's an absolute disgrace. I don't drink coffee so it's not an issue for me but people I work with spend $5 a day on the $hit that's $25 a week. Then they go and buy lunch there's another $10 or $50 a week so we're already up to $75 a week on something that should cost no less than $20 a week and that includes 1 eat out lunch / 4 packed / 0 coffee's.

    As for the brown nose brigade that sit out on the streets eating their overpriced food hob nobbing, that's another story. I would prefer to spend what they spend at my local shops and bring the food home to enable me to eat for 1 week.

    • +6

      coffee is an addiction worse than any substance I took at uni…

      • +2

        plus they get to leave the office for 15mins and get it together.
        It seems as though if it's accepted amongst colleagues then it's ok to all go and waste time together and feel better about themselves with the addiction.

        "PACK MENTALITY"

        • You have to be talking about work every so often though. If you do, it's fine :P

        • +5

          Thats an offsite meeting.

  • +5

    Funny thing is, this over expenditure in our society is acceptable, i.e. $25/week in coffee = $1250/year - yet people then complain about how expensive certain goods are ones that last years or how expensive a certain service that is given (i.e. plumbing/sparky/doctor/pharmacy/dentist - which ultimately lasts for years/decades). I remember reading someone complaining about a repair/replacement of leaking tap (I think they were charged $150-200 for the call out and new tap) and ranted how expensive this 15min fix was… but forgot to put into perspective this fix would keep you leak free (saves water) and problem free for probably 10-20 years or so - which works out to be 10-20 bux a year!…. Real first world problems.

    • Tradies/insurance/rego/dentist/pharmacy bashing is a national sport of sort?

  • +12

    Food only tastes good if you're with good company. I've tried the great and expensive, but a crap burger at Maccas will still be better if it's with your best mate.

    • Food v overall experience. I'd probably prefer it alone as I could focus on the experience. I might not enjoy the experience of being alone, though.

    • I like this. +1 for you sir/madame.

  • +24

    "Cannot believe the $ ppl now spend on food over other types of entertainment"

    Got that far in & turned off. How other people spend their money is on them. Don't like a Prius, but couldn't care less if people buy them. I drive a V8, don't care when sanctimonious twats start to belittle what I enjoy because they feel some sort of entitlement. For mine, focus on your own life, don't worry about others. You don't like expensive coffee or dinners, don't buy them. Problem solved.

      • +7

        You must be a delight to live with…

        • +1

          suki suki?

      • ?

      • +4

        It's ironic your screen name is Mel Gibson.

        You act like a twat just like him.

        • +1

          Hows that ironic? Are you stupid? Buy a dictionary

        • +3

          So you admit you're a twat?

          Cool story bro

  • +2

    Found a place in sydney $1 for an espresso at the counter :) perfect.

    • +1

      I know of people who got coffees from HJ's for $1 and the $5 coffee drinkers abused the $1 HJ's coffee drinkers.

      This pretty much summed up everything I previsouly thought about buying coffee and wasting money and time in the mornings.

      If they want a $1 HJ's coffee then who cares? Brown nosers

      • +2

        It's great when people abuse you over your lifestyle choices. You realise they are idiots and you (hopefully)find new friends.

        • What about at work?

        • +1

          I call them this decades sheeple… ala the op…

      • The $5 coffee drinkers were trying to do them a favour.

        I've had the HJ $1 coffee….better off filling a thermos with instant.

    • +6

      I once drank the $1 coffee offered by Hungry Jacks. Never again.

      • You can find cafe's that will do an espresso shot at the counter for $1. Still a great coffee and only $1.

  • +1

    Put it this way: if I eat out it won't be at a restaurant where a plate is $50 with a tiny piece of meat in the middle of a huge white plate with half a slice of lettuce on the side. If you want to go waste your money. I'd much rather buy a triple quarter pounder with extra everything containing enough calories for half the week. FOOD COMA.

    • This.

    • Well I remember my first experience of that 15 years ago… haven't turned back… wow that was good

    • I guess all your food money goes into that beast computer of yours!

    • +1

      Or better yet, buy the meat and fry it yourself; 2-3 kilos of similar quality meat for the same price

  • +9

    You know, you don't have to like what other people like, or even understand it. It's kind of natural that people talk about the things they like/enjoy. You shouldn't categorize people based on what their interests are, its not nice.

    But hey, to each their own.

  • +5

    I know someone who spent $100 on a glass of wine. Utter madness

    • +1

      If that makes him look like a baller and assisted him with pulling birds, might not be a bad thing afterall.

      • +1

        the birds he's pulling are probably just as plastic as what the wine sits in.

        • +1

          Glass?

        • Glass or wooden wine casks?

  • +1

    Yeah I'd much rather see a band at the Hopetoun, the Annandale, the Gaelic, the Excelsior, the Manly Fishos, the Sando, Notes….oh um, maybe I'll just go to Spice I Am

  • +5

    LoL. This guy…
    "Foodies. I don't get it, therefore they're all stupid."

    • He seems to categorise them as a different "breed" of stupid.
      He makes reference to v8 drivers as another group he doesn't like. :/

      • Nobody likes V8 drivers.

        • +1

          You're in the wrong coutry then.

          I don't drive a V8 but doesn't mean I categorise every single person that drives one.

  • +2

    When I tell people that I eat for nourishment and avoid eating 'purely for taste', I get looked at like I am from another planet.

    I've found that most people i've met who eat purely for taste and pleasure tend to be mostly overweight yet seem to find a way to justify their eating habits.

    On the other hand, society has been built upon social gathering around food. (probably from the caveman days when we had to use teamwork for survival), so I would think that it would might make sense from a cultural and perhaps evolutionary standpoint that it is still innate in today's society whether it be 3rd world or 1st world countries.

    • +2

      I know a lot of people who eat purely for the enjoyment of it, but aren't overweight.

      • Perhaps its strong self control on your friends part and moderation which is always a good thing. Perhaps age has a part as the people I'm referring to were fine til they hit their mid 30's.

        Although that probably falls into other territories such as stress, kids and comfort eating.

        I don't know really :)

        • +1

          ah, my friends are mostly in their 20s.

          Don't you ever treat yourself? I myself like to stuff myself from time to time, its fantastic!

        • Don't get me wrong, I do have splurges.. but if that urge is strong it usually means I haven't had the right amount to eat. My problem tends to be that if I splurge I overdo it and tends to make me feel horrid..and probably sleepy too.

        • Fair enough :P
          Every time my family and I go to a buffet we make sure we don't each much before it and then stuff ourselves haha

  • +2

    I make my own coffee at home, grind my own beans and froth my own milk =) Works out to be $0.63 a cup (coffee+milk). I guess working at a cafe back in the uni days did have its benefits

    • I roast my own beans. It's really easy (in a wok for 10 minutes - keep it moving.) It makes a huge difference as the beans lose their flavour after about a week.

      Cheap + tasty + quick* = win!

      (* 10 minutes a week isn't a hassle imo.)

  • +4

    not only that, they have to take a picture of their food and post it on facebook as well

    • +1

      don't forget instagram

  • +1

    Same goes for wine. Some people love telling others about the fancy wined they bought/drank. Nobody goes on message boards to talk about cheap wine.

    Except on here lol :D

    • +1

      They are douchebags. "I just pulled this one I had stored since 1426"

    • +1

      Its worse when they're talking about champagne rather than wine. All champagne tastes like crap and is utterly undrinkable for me.

      Although I would do the same with whisky. Makes me feel like Don Draper on the outside. Gives me a sense of prestige which I can only hope to achieve (not that I actually want to live like Don Draper), but that's just me.

      Maybe has something to do with personal insecurities? Or maybe a deviation from the monotony of their everyday lives? I'm not sure but everyone is bound to have reasons.

      Nothing worse than someone just naming other people they don't understand 'douchebags' without a deeper understanding of why a person behaves in a particular way. It's arrogance on the same level as the wine connoisseurs, convincing themselves that they are better than everybody else.

      • I love wine and the expensivr stuff is great, but just not worth, like, 10 times what reasonable wine costs for me. It's the law of diminishing returns.

  • So costly too. I went to Nandos with someone, they suggested we buy a meal. I was fairly young at the time and wasn't really aware that everything was so expensive, and the bill came out to $40 for two people! All we got was some burger, a few chips on a plate and a small bottle of coke each. Was so shocked.

    Eating out is definitely not affordable. Browsed the TGI Fridays menu and saw burgers in the $20 range. You can find good restaurants where you pay $5-10 per meal, but some of these trendy restaurants are very expensive..

    • Fairly young, how long ago was this?

      Currently a burger range from $9 -$14
      large chips $6 and 2 drinks $6

      Those are separate orders that would at most be $41

      There are no burger meal deals.

      Going to Nandos is like going to Mcdonalds for an expensive salad.

      Your friend made some very bad choices

      I like to get the half chicken meals, I get a 600m coke a half a chicken and rice. That's $18.95, that is very filling and tasty.

      • Still pretty expensive for just good spicy chicken.

        Enjoyable, but i tend to avoid it when so many other food places are around with better range and cheaper prices.

  • +7

    Seems like a lot of whinge threads on OzBargain lately, y'all need to relax.

  • +4

    Did you just compare instant coffee to a espresso!?!? OMG Why don't you just drink mud water!

  • +7

    Cannot believe the $ ppl now spend on sport over other types of entertainment. Friends of all ages seem to regard playing and watching sport as the exemplary social activity but also to dress it up as adventurous, discerning, politically engaged (exercise) , and an everyday thing. To me it is just a combination of pride, mid class aspiration, and a lack of imagination. I cringe when i see sports shows using religous words like sacrifice, commitment, spirit and frame the "player" as an important vocation. I see murder when someone tells me how amzing their team is.
    How does the descent into sporting culture sit with ozbargainers who must look at a Foxtel subscription and compute that since electricity $1 a day and a the network infrastructure is already paid for, that this fad is for the sheeple

    • +2

      One post was probably sufficient

      • +2

        The additional posts were free.

  • +9

    Cannot believe the $ ppl now spend on computer games over other types of entertainment. Friends of all ages seem to regard playing games as the exemplary social activity but also to dress it up as adventurous, discerning, politically engaged ("indie" games) , and an everyday thing. To me it is just a combination of addiction, mid class aspiration, and a lack of imagination. I cringe when i see games shows using religous words like soul, angel or demon and frame the "developer" as an important vocation. I see murder when someone tells me how amzing their Wii U is.
    How does the descent into gaming culture sit with ozbargainers who must look at an xBox and compute that since games can be had for free on your phone, that this fad is for the sheeple.

    • +1

      That template works for everything!

      If you don't like it, don't obstruct that person's lifestyle.

      • -3

        Yeah but adults playing vid games would be retarded anyother time but the market is big so its ok.
        Art at least has questioned itself and duchamp gave the game away a century ago. If i was on masterchef i would serve up a bowl of the finest dog faeces

  • +5

    Cannot believe the $ ppl now spend on art over other types of entertainment. Friends of all ages seem to regard buying "art" as the exemplary social activity but also to dress it up as adventurous, discerning, politically engaged (think Biennale!) , and an everyday thing. To me it is just a combination of aesthetism, mid class aspiration, and a lack of imagination. I cringe when i see art shows using religous words like inspiration, creation and sublime beauty and frame the "artist" as an important vocation. I see murder when someone tells me how amzing this old Picasso is.
    How does the descent into art culture sit with ozbargainers who must look at the Mona Lisa and compute that some paint costs less than $10 and a canvas for $8, that this fad is for the sheeple.

    • You should write a book

    • People generally also buy art for the investment. No one is buying the Mona Lisa only for it's asthetic value that's for sure.

  • +6

    Cannot believe the $ ppl now spend on travel over other types of entertainment. Friends of all ages seem to regard travel as the exemplary social activity but also to dress it up as adventurous, discerning, politically engaged , and an everyday thing. To me it is just a combination of dissatisfaction with home, mid class aspiration, and a lack of imagination. I cringe when i see travel shows using religous words like pilgrimage, spiritual and timeless and frame the "pilot" as an important vocation. I see murder when someone tells me how amzing their Bali trip was.
    How does the descent into travel culture sit with ozbargainers who must look at the cost of a trip to London and compute that you can buy a ticket to Western Sydney for $8 and eat plenty of ethnic food there, that this fad is for the sheeple.

    • +1

      Are you planning to do this for many more topics? You could at least be original

  • +4

    Nice…

    I noticed it first with the anti "hipster" brigade… now I see it everywhere, it seems to be the new fad to deride life/society. "Sheeple calling others sheeple". People seem to get some sort of self importance out of it.

    Not liking something doesn't mean its not good for others.

    • "Not liking something doesn't mean its not good for others".
      Lol talk about the limp feebleness that makes hipsters so loathsome. A perfect mix of self conscious identity forged on alterity (beards, fixies) and a refusal to acknowledge the earnestness of that alterity. And no, "its not good for others", to use your pathetic consumerist rally cry…. Lol

      • +2

        consumerism is what fuel society.

        I see hipsters as no different to any other tribal cultures we have, from the lycra cyclist, the grunge students to the toffee nose race goers.

        People have made a choice to uniform themselves in such a way.

        I bet the op here and many of the whingers here would be saying a lot different if they were in 'other' people's shoe.

        • +1

          Hipsters bring it on themselves. I deliberately drink tea at work so I don't have to talk coffee with Blake who is a complete hipster tosser. He started drinking tea recently but oh no not just any tea but organic green matcha processed by amazonian pygmies or some crap and now he tells me I am not drinking real tea. Eff off Blake you didn't even drink tea till a month ago if you see him please kill him he rides a fixie in a plaid sweater and has a beard.

        • +5

          Everyone has their own special interests. It becomes a pain when someone uses their insider knowledge of something prestigious deliberately to make you feel small.

          Do you think
          1. Blake is deliberately trying to put you down, or is it
          2. That he is so enthusiastic about his tea/coffee that he hasn't noticed you couldn't give a toss?

        • +1

          That's the crutch of it.

          You're being a presumptuous axs most of the time if you think its mostly 1.

          Its most likely 2. Especially when they don't converse with you, just going by day to day, while idiots like the op sit there and make judgement.

          My experience is point one rarely rarely happens.

        • +1
          1. Blake is deliberately trying to put you down

          My experience is point one rarely rarely happens.

          And that's another crux.

          Some people sadly lack self esteem; they think the hipster is being snobby and putting them down, but really the hipster is just bubbling over with a new enthusiasm, generously wanting to share it with everyone.

          Confession time: (looks around guiltily) I've shared my new loves in music with 100s of people, many times and I don't think anyone has really appreciated it. On the other hand I put a lot of people onto Studio Ghibli films and their lives are objectively better for it. Isn't it lucky they didn't see me gabbing on about a kids movie with subtitles as snobbery.

        • +1

          Actually I'm quite like that in things I get interested in. Its called enthusiasm.

        • Its like any article of faith. Hipsters look at me drinking tea bag tea in my Kmart business shirt and think: how can that person possibly be happy?

          Its just like believing in Jesus. If you really think that no one can be happy without Jesus, the mere presence of someone who fits that card is a serious threat to your belief system.

    • Has anyone actually thought that that these people are not actually hipsters but that we have decided to label them and hate on these people based on what they are doing?

      ie. "That person over there is drinking expensive tea, he must think he's better than me so he's a hipster and I hate him".

      Have you stopped to think for a second that perhaps that person is drinking that tea because they just like it? Or are enthusiasts?

      Have you wondered if people have done the same to things that you enjoy/are enthusiastic about?

  • +6

    I agree with the point that MrMarkau67 is trying to make.

    What people do with the money they've earned isn't really any of your business. Sure you can judge. rant and even delete them (which you did) but don't try to dictate what people can or cannot do.

    You might not think food is worth spending $$$$; Conversely my position could be that I can't believe you spend less than $50 per meal - what are you some kind of peasant?

    • Agree.

      However no point with sensible response as the op is obviously a troll.

      You can't reason with trolls.

      They exist to make the smarter people in the world look good.

      Do you like how I've placed you in a stereotype basket op?

      sarcasm out

  • +3

    Just a few points of clarification.

    Cheap nasty stuff hurts the little guy

    The OP rails against people for enjoying food and being a snob about it. Fair enough, I agree. There are a lot of pretentious knobs out there.

    The OP suggests instant coffee, and $1.00 per litre milk is the way to go. I disagree, on the basis that products in those categories at those prices puts a lot of financial strain on both the coffee farmer and the dairy farmer.

    I'm all for sustainable living, and that includes paying the producers a living wage. I'm also all for free-range eggs, but not because it's better for the chickens, the eggs themselves have a richness that you just don't get with cage eggs. The big shame there is that agribusiness has successfully lobbied to expand the definition of free range. I anticipate we will see new labelling from smaller producers noting stuff like, "true free range" or "x number of hens per square metre" or something of the like.

    Coffee

    • Fair trade certification takes so much money out of the farmer's hands that it ends up hurting more than helping. You'll notice that fair trade certification is heavily marketed by companies such as Nestle and Starbucks to greenwash their brands. It's bs.

    • direct trade, where the local roaster has a relationship with coffee farmers or cooperatives provide (usually) a higher dollar amount to the farmer. By cutting out the middleman, it established relationships whereby the roaster and co get to have a deeper appreciation of what they are making and selling, and the producer gets to make more money for what they do.
      You will find that the real hardcore hippies in the industry will disclose the price that they pay to the farmer, as an act of transparency because they are proud of the fact that they have gone so far away from just the ordinary every day consumer coffee.

    • Cup of Excellence micro-lots and all that other super fancy stuff. This is an auction system whereby we have taken western ideals of individual excellence and applied it through an auction system to various coffee growing cultures. Through the use of grading/certification coffees are scored, and then placed at auction. It is meant to help find extremely unique (and delicate) coffees that have different flavours that you ordinarily would not associate with coffee. It is also a celebration of the hard work and dedication that is required to produce such coffees. If you're into it, it's pretty special and there are some very intriguing stories about the whole process.

    For instance, to a coffee farmer, this might mean receiving something like US$150/pound for their winning coffee. This is genuinely life changing stuff, and people who get listed as runners-up also receive much higher prices for their coffee. It's beneficial for everyone who chooses to participate.

    Socially Conscious Consumerism

    What we consume affects what companies get away with. If more people buy $1.00 milk, then more farmers feel the squeeze. It's not just the dollar value of what we eat and drink, but the effect on our surroundings, and the people involved that matters too. I don't like the fact that some people hop on just for the ride, but if their poser money is going towards what is effectively a good cause, then yay I don't care if they not true believers.

    ** $50.00 for a Tiny Bit of Meat on a Plate?!**

    Here I agree with Ethereal88, I wouldn't be keen to spend that much on say, a wagyu or kobe beef dumpling. But it's up to the market to decide, and there are plenty of options elsewhere.

  • +1

    Some people collect stamps, some people eat out.

    • +1

      I eat collection stamps! I win the internet!

  • Well I cringe when I see the money wasted on coffee by Mates at work, not once but several times a day. It just seems to be stylish buying coffee when there is a perfectly good machine in the pantry

    • Well some people can't tell the difference between coke and pepsi… others can.

      They say chilled tab water is the same as expensive bottled water.

      Tests show many people can actually tell there is a difference between tab, and various of bottled water.

      There is a lot of variance between barrista's/machines/beans

      This is very obvious when a coffee store changes something slightly.

      Our tastebuds are quite extraordinary

  • +3

    My uncle runs a coffee shop amongst other things. The coffee setup he has is swanky and almost fully automated. The grind is automated, so is the pour. The only control the barista has is the tamp and adding the milk.

    Despite this customers will still swear by one particular barista or another. Men in particular will swear coffee tastes better when served up by some hipster girl with big boobs.

    • +1

      And those men are right. Because they love the paizuri =D

  • AMAZING steak, have a piece of this then say its no big deal

    http://www.gposydney.com/best-restaurant-menus/Prime/GPO_Priā€¦

    Go to the bottom

    Full Blood Wagyu,
    Marble Score 9+, 400g $295

    This is a score of 9.

    The 12 score Wagyu, is near impossible to get outside Japan… what would they be priced.

    • Ahhh matsusaka soy beef, what I'd give to try that.

  • +2

    The foodie culture is justified. Read Modernist Cuisine, the amount of technical detail in making food is astounding, a perfect blend of art and science. It's hard to not be passionate about it.

    I see food as more than just a tool, it excites the senses - visual, taste, texture, sound, smell and even the mind with its novelty . Most of the time people aren't bragging about the food they eat, they've experienced something nice and can't help but share it with a friend. So you say they go out and eat together, what's wrong with that? They're doing something they like with the people they like. It's not snobbish to have a good time with your friends.

    On another note, I've only eaten one time at a single michelin star restaurant in hongkong and the difference was night and day. High dining isn't always about being a hipster, sometimes it's just because the food tastes good.

    • -2

      "The foodie culture is justified. Read Modernist Cuisine"
      Lol
      What a sheep

      • +1

        Wow your judgment shows profound depth and character. Go back to school and hopefully you'll learn something more than the one liners you use to cut other people down to bolster your weenie sized confidence.

        Modernist Cuisine is a technical manual on food safety, history, science and innovation. I encourage everyone to read it.

        • I think she was being sarcastic. Hoping.

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