There can be very few people who don't appreciate gourmet food, but when was the last time you enjoyed some truly gourmet food yourself? Do you know someone who loves cooking and preparing meals for people, but hasn't ventured down the road of gourmet food for quite a while?
Sadly it seems that the past couple of years have meant that a great many people have strayed away from good, wholesome traditional gourmet food, and have been accepting a somewhat more lacklustre dining performance, in order to conserve the pennies.
However, there are two things to bear in mind with regards to this sad state of affairs. The first point is that gourmet food doesn't actually have to cost the earth, especially when prepared at home; the second point is that gourmet food is a celebration of fine dining and good quality food, prepared with good quality ingredients in traditional ways which help create a mouth-watering treat.
Without treats, we decline into the culinary equivalent of that word 'average', which often means anything but. Supermarkets sell food which is average, ingredients which are average, offering a range of tastes which are average and offering everything from ready meals to ingredients, almost all of which are at best average, and at worst, average.
This is what the recession seems to have done for so many households, and it's about time that we all did something about it. Admittedly you can't enjoy gourmet food every day, and in fact to do so would perhaps reduce its classification as a treat.
Anything can become average if it becomes the norm, but what we need is a treat every now and then to boost our culinary senses and appeal to the inner us.
It's a little like going on a roller coaster that only ever goes horizontally. No matter how slowly or how quickly, it becomes rather dull very rapidly. You need to be hurled upwards now and then. Hurl your culinary senses skywards and enjoy the delights of gourmet food, but without breaking the bank.
One of the best ways of enjoying gourmet food is to prepare it at home. There really is no need to empty the vault just to go off to a fancy restaurant and order a gourmet feast. Gourmet food primarily refers to the ingredients used rather than the methods employed or even the skill of the cook.
Even the best cook in the world is liable to struggle to create a gastronomic feast that is truly memorable if they are only supplied with average ingredients from the local supermarket. But by purchasing a few gourmet ingredients anyone with a passing interest in home cooking and preparing meals at home for the family or for friends to enjoy at a dinner party, stocking up on a few gourmet ingredients will allow you to take your culinary senses to another level, helping to hurl your family and friends through the taste bud stratosphere!
For example, think of a meal you might prepare which incorporates mushrooms - a risotto perhaps? Now think about replacing those average, fairly tasteless mushrooms available from your local supermarket with the gourmet equivalent. Supermarket mushrooms often tend to taste a little like everything else on the plate anyway - with no specially distinctive taste they become texture only.
But try adding some dried porcini mushrooms instead and see the difference it makes! You generally won't find dried porcini mushrooms in your local supermarket or high street because they're not average - but they're really not that expensive either. By purchasing a packet from a gourmet food specialist you'll be able to create an easy meal fairly quickly but which will immediately enter into the realm of gourmet food because of the gourmet ingredients.
Remember, gourmet ingredients aren't classified as such for no good reason. Gourmet ingredients have attained their status honestly, by providing sheer quality, taste and adding something extraordinary to the otherwise ordinary.
The same could well be true for many other meals you cook, such as using dried yellow chanterelle mushrooms, or perhaps trying fleur de sel de Guerande. For cooking your Sunday roasts, just try replacing your normal fast or oils with goose fat, and your whole family will discover what a roast potato really can taste like!
For just a few pounds you can easily take your cooking out of the realm of average and ordinary and ride the rollercoaster all the way to gourmet food, with just a few secret ingredients and a head for heights!
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