What Does ‘Fine Food’ Really Mean in 2012?

So many things are subjective because they mean totally different things to cross-sections of the population. One man’s fine food is another man’s steak and three veg. Back in that notorious decade of excess, the nineteen-eighties, fine food meant lobster, caviar, champagne and anything that was imported. Nowadays, so much of our food is imported that ‘fine food’ is more likely to refer to something that is lovingly produced by artisans here in Australia.

Elbows off the table

Fine food used to also refer to whatever was served in fine dining establishments. You know, the kinds with white tablecloths, real fabric napkins, more than one glass at a table setting and silverware that was polished to a mirror sheen. Waiters held those dangly cloths over their forearms, menus usually included questionable use of the French language and patrons dared not request any changes to their order. All very pretentious but it didn’t stop those with the moolah from indulging.

Thankfully, fine food is now no longer associated with imported notions of food snobbery and unaffordable delicacies. The average punter seeks out and purchases fine food on their weekly grocery expedition.

The definition has changed along with our more mature palates and willingness to explore beyond the culinary horizons of our parents and grandparents.

Everyone deserves fine food

The world is full of average and ho-hum. We’re also pretty well accustomed to eating ‘normal’ meals that don’t tax our cookery expertise. So when a treat is in order – and that could well be on a daily basis, why not? – fine food comes to the party, as it were. For teenagers, the golden arches is no longer a treat but a worryingly regular punctuation between actual meals. No one in their right mind will argue that fine food is served there but you have to admit, alongside the French fries and McCalorie offerings are genuine attempts to bolster the menu with healthier and more upmarket choices. Hopefully as teens grow out of their youthful McHabits, their tastebuds will steer towards more discerning choices.

Back at home in their parents’ pantries and fridges, fine food is likely to be found beneath shiny silver wrappers and in hearty brown paper bags. Cheeses, speciality breads, preserves and olives jostle for space amongst the eggs, milk and margarine. Farmers’ market stalls beckon every weekend so that consumers can appease their cravings for fine food treats. Food halls and specialist online retailers also play their part and folks after something truly special and ‘local’ will traipse to the source, even if it’s a hundred kilometres away. Who hasn’t planned a day trip to a chocolate factory, cheese house, celebrity chef outlet or exotic spice providore at least once in their lives?

Fine food is a privilege and a right

How much ‘fine food’ each person consumes is up to their wallet, their preferences and their joie de vivre. There are so many purveyors of fine foods in Australia that consumers are thoroughly spoilt for choice. And what’s wrong with that? Not a damn thing. Long live fine foods … whatever they are and whatever they mean to whomever buys them!

Search the numerous categories and fine food producers via the search box to the right.