Gourmet vs. gourmand

By By Robert St. John / food columnist
April 23, 2003
Robert St. John is the executive chef and owner of the Purple Parrot Caf and Crescent City Grill in Hattiesburg and Meridian. He can be reached at robert@nsrg.com or (601) 264-0672.
Last week, I walked up on a conversation between two friends. They were discussing the difference between a "gourmet" and a "gourmand."
Assuming I would be an authority in this category, they turned to me. I was expected to resolve the dilemma.
Did they ask me because I am in the restaurant business or because I eat a lot? Maybe it was because I am a food columnist who eats a lot. I could have been asked because I visit a lot of white-tablecloth restaurants and eat a lot.
Perhaps a combination of all of the above. In hindsight, they probably asked me because I eat a lot.
Gourmet, definitely
Webster defines gourmet as: "a connoisseur of food and drink." I am definitely a connoisseur of good food. I can devour a seven-course meal with the best of them. But I am also a connoisseur of bad food. I sometimes eat late-night meals in 24-hour diners and multiple bowls of Cap'n Crunch cereal at 3 a.m.
Restaurants white tablecloth or otherwise and good food are my hobbies. Our vacations are dependent on the quality of food found in that destination. For me, food is a passion. For that reason alone, I would be considered a gourmet.
Being a connoisseur of good drink might be a stretch. I gave up alcohol 20 years ago, mainly because I was connisseuring way too much. Actually, I quit drinking alcohol when I was 21. The extent of my drinking to that point included teen-age bouts with strawberry wine, Miller ponies, Malt Duck and cheap scotch.
However, good drink doesn't necessarily have to be alcoholic drink. I like sweet tea with mint, small bottles of Coca-Cola without ice and chocolate freezes from the Camellia Grill.
OK, so maybe I would get knocked down a peg on the gourmet ladder for lack of experience with "good drink." Fair enough. My business partner and Purple Parrot Caf general manager, Clint Taylor is certified by the Guild of Sommeliers. He is the wine expert. He takes care of our customers adult-beverage needs. He does wine, I do food.
Gourmands, etc.
Gourmand implies a hearty appetite for good food and drink, not without discernment, but with less than a gourmet's. Even though my wife questions my discernment, I would fall into the gourmand category if only for the "hearty appetite" clause in the definition. And then there are the gastronomes. A gastronome is not an elf-like creature with chronic flatulence. No, a gastronome implies that one has extensively studied the history and rituals of haute cuisine. I am certainly not a gastronome. I don't want to be labeled anything in which there is a lot of studying is involved. Studying takes time away from eating. "Gastro," maybe "nome," not. Have I mentioned that I like to eat a lot?
An epicure is: "one with sensitive and discriminating tastes especially in food or wine." I could possibly be an epicure, but gourmand sounds manlier, so I'll take a pass on the epicurean moniker.
Depends on when you ask
Tom Fitzmorris, noted New Orleans restaurant critic, food writer, broadcaster and all-around culinary sage, says one can answer the gourmet question in 30 seconds.
Tom instructs people to ask themselves, "Which is the last restaurant you dined in? What did you eat there?" This would be a good measuring stick, but for some, it would fluctuate depending on the day of the week. In my case, it would depend on the exact hour I was asked that question. I am good for a greasy-spoon visit about twice a week.
I like local, greasy-spoon diners, but the food police haven't uncovered too many gourmands sitting in their booths. If someone asked me the "gourmet question" after a midnight scattered, covered, smothered and loaded-with-factory-air-and-power-steering-order-of-hash-browns outing, what would my answer be?
Conversely, if I have just walked out of Commander's Palace and am asked the question, it would skew the results on the other end.
If someone asked me after a trip to Chicago, I would be able to tell them that I had just eaten at Charlie Trotter's, which would qualify me for the ultra-super, mega-gourmet category. But I would also have visited Flat Sammie's on Michigan Avenue and had an Italian-beef flat sandwich which would drop me down a few notches. There are also connoisseurs and foodies, but we'll save those definitions for another column on another day. Enough with all of the labels. Call me what you want as long as you call me full.