PrintJim Leff: 'Foodiots' Need to Get a Life
Jim Leff in the chowhound disguise he wears to speaking events. [Photograph: radioopensource.org]
Jim Leff, founder of Chowhound, where he once wrote a column titled "What Jim Had for Dinner," weighs in on the Observer "foodiot" piece from last week. On the surface, you might think Mr. Leff would take issue with the story, but if you're at all familiar with his philosophy, his reaction isn't that surprising:
But I also see untold thousands of giddily obsessive food crazies who've made chewing the very center of their existences, and who endlessly scamper after the usual spotlit shiny big things. And who need everyone to hear about it ad nauseum. I was hoping to galvanize intrepid, iconoclastic chowhounds, but what I mostly see out there is more and more materialistic, hype-following foodies.
As William Shatner famously told the world of Trekkies, these people need to get a life.
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6 Comments:
My response to Jim's post:
I enjoyed Joe Pompeo's piece in the Observer, even though I seem to embody exactly what he seems to take issue with. But I found it interesting, and I am not offended by his opinion, since to me, it seems as though he does not understand why so many people enjoy talking about food/restaurants/etc. He's on the outside of this, and since he does not understand it, I'm pretty sure that is where his opinion stems from.
Jeff, what I take issue with your post is that you have this tone of superiority in your language. It appears that you believe what you were eating in 1997, was better than what the rest of us are eating now. Maybe that is true in some cases, and maybe you were doing this for some higher purpose, but you cannot disregard the fact that some people truely enjoy this.
Like you write, food was not in the top 5 interests of yours in life. Well, then are you the best person to be passing judgement on the activities of someone whose main interests are food related?
I can relate to your and Joe's frustrations, since for years I have had to listen to most of my coworkers, friends, and family drone on and on about, let's say, sports. Why should I care about college basketball? I don't know. But it has always been more socially acceptable to discuss sports in detail, then it is to describe food with the same passion. Yet we don't really see anyone coining the phrase "sporidiot", do we? Nope, so its okay for people go on about the pitching stats in the AL, but not to talk about why their dinner last night was great.
While I think we can respect your "Shatner-esque" role in what has become a new internet fad, it is unfortunate that you are judging those of us that aren't interesting enough to reach the level that you did. Some people just enjoy eating, photographing, and discussing food. Why you take such issue with that, I don't know.
Hans_Moleman at 3:28PM on 09/30/09
I can understand how Mr. Leff might come across with some supriority in his tone, but I don't think that compares to the vanity and superficiality of babbling foodiots. There's no passion for food to inspire them, so much as reveling in the experience of dabbling in the fashion of cuisine and broadcasting that to the world. Foodiots might obssess over food much as anyone here, but engaging with them is often like talking home economics with toddlers playing House. There is no depth, no real interest in food because they are not talking about food in the first place, so much as they are talking about themselves and their narrow rung on the ladder. When Mr. Leff talks about Hounds chasing the "shiny big things," he speaks to the deeper self-absorption of the foodiots who aren't writing about food; they're sharing their personal takes on the hottest and the newest, holding forth on their rarest open secrets as if beating UrbanDaddy to the punch earns them a medal as they grandstand on the Manhattan boards, monologue on their Blogspot self-shrines and populate our Facebook Feeds with endless portraits into their special lives.
JungMan at 12:44PM on 10/01/09
JungMan - I tend to agree with you, but I don't see either Jim or Joe Pompeo making the same distinction that you do (though to be honest, and as you point out, Jim makes more of an effort to do to). They both seem to lump everyone into this foodiot category, without conceding that there is a large group of people who have this genuine interest, where it is not a trend, but a true passion. I read the Serious Eats website and similar sites, not to jump on the latest bandwagon, but because, simply, eating good things makes me happy. And to discuss these good things with people who are interested, allows me to further enjoy the initial experience. And yeah, I photograph good food that I've eaten, but not to show off the 'shiny big things', but because just like taking pictures on a fun vacation, I want to remember the experience. And maybe by posting pictures like that, someone will want to share the same experience on their own.
But the bottom line is that if someone doesn't like looking at pictures of food, then instead of getting worked up about it, they should quit looking at my pictures of food.
Hans_Moleman at 2:09PM on 10/01/09
The brilliant irony here is that Leff is the biggest foodiot of all. He is the godfather of every boring, detail obsessed food blog you have ever read ... the biggest yammering moron in an endless, infinite field of screaming morons. This is your legacy, Jimbo. Hope you're enjoying it.
f650gsd at 5:33PM on 10/07/09
p.s. FYYFF
f650gsd at 11:51PM on 10/07/09
Ahh, I see. So when Jim Leff raves about a pizzeria, it's because it's important, useful, and life-improving information, but when other people rave about a pizzeria, they're idly frothing. Gotcha.
amadaun at 7:49PM on 10/16/09