Gourmet.....In my old faithful Websters Dictionary, the meaning of the word is relatively simple. It is someone who is an expert judge of good food and wine. The Wikipedia meaning is much the same and goes on to suggest that the meaning is also a description of a class of restaurant, cuisine , meat or ingredient of high quality, of special presentation, or high sophistication.  Wikipedia does point out that the word is an industry classification for high quality premium foods in the United States.

Few of these meanings suggest that a high price equals a gourmet designation. Agreed, most often the designation does result in higher prices but it’s not the other way around.

Today, that designation is being uses more and more as a descriptive adjective of everything from baked goods to high end exotic menus.  And even now, the term is losing its impact.

There are a few other adjectives that are now being uses to describe various foods and restaurants that might be giving a false impression too.  It appears that a lot of restaurants have jumped onto the natural, organic, hormone-free, free range, etc. bandwagon and these words or terms are also fast losing their impact through the over-use and misuse.

All of these claims might be very easily chalked up to an over-eager advertising copy writer were it not for the fact that we are living in the ‘age of the whistleblower’.  And with social media, these ‘informers’ can find a waiting audience, regardless of the purpose or the accuracy of their information.  An everyday case in point are the follow up comments that so often appear in the social media reports on everything from the color of toothpaste to whether  there was a moon landing in 1969.  Some people simply enjoy the platform and when it’s anonymous, it just fuels the fire.

As an industry and as business owners within the industry, it is important to be cautious not to misrepresent your offerings.  While all this social media is great to make people aware of who, where and what you are, there’s another edge to that sword. And it can cut just as quickly.  Just make sure you can back up your claims………..WP