I went to and looked it up online and here is the definition at dictionary.com:
–noun
| 1. | a connoisseur of fine food and drink; epicure. |
–adjective
| 2. | of or characteristic of a gourmet, esp. in involving or purporting to involve high-quality or exotic ingredients and skilled preparation: gourmet meals; gourmet cooking. |
| 3. | elaborately equipped for the preparation of fancy, specialized, or exotic meals: a gourmet kitchen. |
I was indeed surprised to see the word "purporting" in the definition and I guess that would answer my question. As long as people imply that it is high quality or full of exotic ingredients, then they are ok to use the phrase and they would be correct to use it.
It does indeed seem to leave a lot of room for interpretation.
Enjoyed reading the definition of gourmet. We probably do overuse the word but, like you said the word may be up for interpretation as the definition can be relative.
ReplyDeleteToday, is a sad day as we say goodbye to Gourmet magazine. A magazine that truly defined the word gourmet!
The loss of a good magazine. Another victim of the internet.
ReplyDelete