The Poor Foodie

A friend shared an article on Facebook about a middle-class foodie. The article is written by a self-confessed middle-class diner who has come to discover the joys of cooking as well as the practical advantages this gives as compared to dining out.

I can very well relate to Lars Roxas, the guy behind the article. As a student perpetually struggling with financial difficulties, I found it very hard to sustain my food-tripping hobby. I relied on special occasions to get the chance to eat at classy restaurants. When my sisters entered the workforce, I would often ask them to eat out but they'd be the ones to foot the bill. (I am very grateful to them for being understanding in my plight as a poor student with a big appetite.)

In college, I decided to try my hand at cooking. I think being exposed to different cuisines awakened in me that desire to experiment with food. Always known to be eclectic (since I rarely think that things are mutually exclusive) and quite the adventurous one, I never cook the simple way. But this has always been a trial-and-error thing since I usually just envision the resulting flavors in my head instead of creating small samples to taste and adopt them to big batches when found to be satisfactory. So everytime I volunteer to cook, people at home would tremble in fear out of either my awesomeness to blend flavors or a terrifying taste that will lead them to boycott my concoctions and for a time, ban me from the kitchen.

Most times though, my family are happy with my cooking. There were occasions when I would feel guilty because no one would eat the food I cook but these are isolated cases. Most times, too, I forgot to add in important ingredients but at least the next time around I am sure to remember and learn from my mistakes.

What helps me greatly in deciding what to cook are TV cooking shows and recipe books at home. My relatives on my mother's side are certified foodies and all my aunts are wonderful cooks, probably because my maternal grandmother is also one of the best cooks ever. Of course, exposure to restaurant foods also is a great factor, especially fusion cuisines since I learn a lot on what goes well with what.

Now employed and earning my own money, I still find myself a poor foodie. But compared to my student days, I have the means to treat myself out to dinner relatively more times a month. Still I do not forget my humble past and I still find the same enthusiasm in trying out even the ubiquitous carinderias, small cantetens and food stalls. It's a wonderful experience especially when shared with a friend who cooks, too. We would discuss different cooking techniques, and speculate on how to cook the dishes we order at the restaurant. We assess the food we eat based on serving size, flavor, and texture--- all these correlated to price and we then evaluate on the whole. Ultimately we ask ourselves, will we come back to this restaurant?