Dear Lebanon's overpopulated foodie scene,
What makes you think you have the knowhow and influence to convince people where they should and shouldn't eat?
There's a tremendous difference between foodies and those aspiring to be foodies and a majority of you that claim to be one are just people who like to eat and make others crave what you devour.
Be it foodie, food enthusiast, gastronome, or cuisine connoisseur, today's overeaters have diminished its meaning. Dictionary.com simply states that a "foodie" is a person with a particular interest in food; a gourmet. Other definitions expand on that meaning to include people who eat food not out of hunger, but out of interest, passion, and as a hobby. However, what we're seeing today is random Instagram accounts popping up like groundhogs claiming to be food bloggers and certified reviewers.
Several years of abusing the platform should have taught us that uploading pictures to Instagram doesn't make one a blogger. Yet, bios shamelessly state "personal blog" without any trace of a link to decent content marketing.
But I digress.
Thanks to Zomato's abundant popular foodie meet-ups at some of the country's newest, hippest, and even dullest eateries and fine dining outlets, everyone and their mothers has started submitting mediocre reviews of every coffee shop, snack, and hole in the wall they've stepped foot in in order to increase their review ratings, and ultimately their chances of eating for free.
Genuine reviews are a thing of the past. The content we're being fed these days is tasteless, unreliable, and unfortunately a waste of time. Some of the better-known accounts like No Garlic No Onions, Fuck The Diet, and Nonstop Cravings at least make us drool and encourage us to follow our taste buds to new corners of the country. But what I've been witnessing is a bunch of lame accounts with harsh reviews and unappealing pictures.
Some wannabe foodies are even taking extra measures to brand their pictures with hats, t-shirts, watches, and logos for their measly 935 followers to scroll past. I can't help but wonder what they're getting in return for that time wasted. If it's just for the free food, is it really worth it?
As a former "foodie" (whatever I thought that meant) it is with great pleasure to announce that I no longer feel the addicting urge to let my food freeze as I try to capture the perfect picture for Instagram.
I'll close with this note: Food tastes just as good, if not better, when you have to pay for it.
Regards,
A former foodie
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