Democracy versus Distinction: A Study of Omnivorousness in Gourmet Food Writing

TLDR

The American culinary field has broadened, with gourmet cuisine now drawn from diverse cultures beyond the traditionally high‑status French, reflecting a broader sociological trend of omnivorousness. The study uses gourmet food writing to investigate the rationales behind this omnivorous shift. Analysis reveals that authenticity and exoticism frames valorize select foods, reconciling democratic inclusion with exclusionary taste and showing how consumption maintains status distinctions amid blurring high‑brow/low‑brow boundaries.

Abstract

The American culinary field has experienced a broadening in recent decades. While French food retains high status, gourmet food can now come from a broad range of cuisines. This change mirrors a broadening in other cultural fields labeled “omnivorousness” within the sociology of culture. The authors take gourmet food writing as a case study to understand the rationales underlying omnivorousness. Their findings, based on qualitative and quantitative data, reveal two frames used to valorize a limited number of foods: authenticity and exoticism. These frames resolve a tension between an inclusionary ideology of democratic cultural consumption on the one hand, and an exclusionary ideology of taste and distinction on the other. This article advances our understanding of how cultural consumption sustains status distinctions in the face of eroding boundaries between highbrow and lowbrow culture.