I'm just wondering about how much TV and other chefs are influencing what we think is good to eat ?

Suppose for instance you can cook a particular dish with minimum preparation, a few ingredients, almost no cost but it looks great and you can sell it a huge profit, wouldn't it be in your best interest to make people want it ?

Things like oysters that are expensive to buy now and most people don't like the taste (or feel) of them, you are told to swallow them whole (so basically you can't taste them !)but years ago they were a cheap source of protein that you just added to a meat pie to save on using too much of the expensive meat !

Champagne, doesn't do anything for me ! I've had several different bottles ok none was more expensive than ?25 (back 15 years ago)but it was just a poor wine. I do drink white and red wine and find a bottle at ?2.50 is better than any of the Champagne I've tried !

Are we being controlled by the media ? How many of you have tried these things as your supposed to like them if you know about good food ? How many found that they didn't have "the aquired taste" for it ?

Asparagus, Champagne, Fois Gras, Oysters, caviar etc ?

I know that some people will actually really like some of these things much like I love liver and black pudding where others don't. The only difference being, we aren't told that "black pudding is an aquired taste for the rich" and anyone with a interest in food should love it ! So thousands of people are trying to eat it by swallowing without chewing or smothered in something etc..

Steve

can't say I disagree with what you say, Steve, though I do love sparkling wine (even at ?7.50 a bottle), asparagus (if boiled/steamed, but not pan fried) oysters (I chew them raw, though very nice lightly poached) but don't appreciate real caviar (though love the cheap alternatives), I suppose the latter says a lot about me.

Like all things subjective, be true yourself, and decide what you like (art, food, music) and don't be (too) persuaded by others.

I agree to a point Steve. This is not something new of modern chefs though. If anything, people are more willing to say no these days to things they don?t like the taste of. I remember the time when people couldn?t say no to champaign/expensive wines/caviar because that meant they were not ?in? with the hoi polloi (?sp). Snooty waiters ruled the restaurants. It is only when you get more mature (older) that you get the guts to say, ?can?t stand the stuff, even if you give it to me free or it is yuk?.

As Lapis says, you have to be true to yourself and not be persuaded to have things you don?t really like or positively hate. I will also say the same of some of the hugely expensive meals. Don?t go for them unless you have money to burn, in order just to keep up appearances.

I'm glad to see I'm not alone in my thinking !

As soon as everyone starts thinking the same way (ie not judging someone because they order a chip butty with fried haddock rather than caviar on specially imported rye bread) the better !

Steve

Oysters do nothing for me, especially if swallowed whole raw, as one is "meant" to do --- it's like swallowing a large lump of snot with a spoon of salty water and there are much cheaper ways of having that experience!!!

Champagne doesn't do much for me either but then again I'm not a big wine drinker. But my sister likes champagne and will just as happily go for Cava or other champagne-method sparkling wines. Just as good if not better for the prices.

Caviar doesn't do much for me either. If I need a hit of extreme fishiness (which I never do) I can always have taramasalata - much cheaper and equally vile.

I do however adore foie gras (and yes, I do know how it's produced). There is absolutely nothing like it and it's one of the most delicious things I've eaten. I eat as much as I can any time I'm in a region of France where it's readily available.

I love black pudding too!

fois gras and black pudding.... thats offal !... lol..

Steve

Yup and I love it!

Can't stand the taste of kidneys though.

It must be different down here in NZ because if anything I think the TV chefs are now focusing more on getting the most out of cheaper cuts of meat and "real" local homegrown foods.

And the other day there was an Italian chef on TV and he was asked who eats best the rich or the poor and his answer was the poor (this must have been in Italy because in NZ the poor seem to survive on cigarettes and KFC ...go figure?)

Personally I love champagne, if you have a taste of a sparkling wine and then champagne you can tell the difference ...the bubbles are a lot smaller and more fizzy (I was never very good at describing things well!) It's just very expensive, even more so 12,000 miles away so the price dosn't justify the buying ...and there are lots of nice cheaper sparklings out there!

Liver fried with onions in gravy -yum

fois grois (sp?) yum

lumpfish caviar with aoli or mayo on crackers - yum

Black pudding, congealled pigs blood and fat - yuck!!

Oysters - It's amazing how attitudes are different around the world. We moved form the UK 8 years ago and didn't know many people that would eat oysters (including me). But here in NZ they have an oyster season where (arguably) the best oysters in the world are harvested, Bluff Oysters. Everyone here loves oysters and eats them any which way ...In fact when the season starts a lot of people will order a dozen even though they probably cost about 20% of the weekly food bill.

At the end of the day it's all about trying new foods and making choices based on what you like and not what people tell you you should like.

If one day Black pudding and apple sauce become the new "it" foods I will be very happy to be "uncool" :)

ps, how can someone say that Tarasmalata is vile ???? when people ask me what i miss most about the UK I always say Tescos Taramaslata!