Male attitudes to food lie at two poles, with practically nothing in between. There is he who knows about food, and he who knows when he is hungry.
You may think the term “gourmet” could apply to the former and “gourmand” to the latter. But though “gourmet” denotes someone who is knowledgeable about and likes food, the suggestion that the other kind of male is an habitual overeater is false. Some men like to eat a lot, and in that sense like food; but some (a lot) are indifferent to what they eat, so long as their hunger pangs are appeased.
The gourmet male likes well-prepared dishes and the wines that go with them. For him, quantity is inimical to quality. The consumption of fine viands and sauces needs time and the right setting, so he seeks out the restaurant with three Michelin stars. By contrast, the man who likes to eat usually likes food that comes in bulk and is served quickly; he seeks out the transport caff. Note the simplicity of this classification of male eaters. Women have a vastly more complicated relationship with food because it has other dimensions for them, from its effects on appearance to the fact that women are usually far more engaged in its provision than men. That is another story for another day.
You may think that the gourmet male merits being described as an epicurean. But so, in the now-corrupted sense of this term, does the man who likes to eat in a transport caff. In the teaching of Epicurus, philosopher of classical Greece, the good life was characterised by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. But pleasure for Epicurus meant sitting under an olive tree discussing philosophy, sipping water and nibbling a crust; pain came from overeating, alcohol and sexual indulgence.
Today’s pursuer of pleasure and avoider of pain thinks that the good life is one of sensual indulgence, partying and not having to work. To him, Epicurus’s actual life would be painful. So the man who likes chips with everything, and pudding with custard to follow, is an epicurean in this modern sense. To label accurately the man who likes to linger over well-prepared dishes, we need to call him an epicure.
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The men who could not care less what they eat have no name.
A.C. Grayling is Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London