Would you call yourself a picky eater? I got labeled that once, and it hit me like a slap with a wet napkin. My crime? I dared express disappointment when a dish I ordered was completely different from the last one I ordered. “You're a picky eater!” she scolded. I was shocked. Annoyed!
But her comment got me thinking: what is a picky eater?
Take my old colleague. His diet was non-adventurous: burgers, fries, repeat. The man went to Paris, home of gourmet everything, and ate at McDonald's the whole time while his wife and friends dined at famous spots like Café de Flore. But no one ever called him picky. Maybe because he never whined about it.
My colleague is in good company. Billionaire Warren Buffett says he has childlike tastes: burgers, Coke, and ice cream. A lot of us would prefer that, too, but have to watch our waistlines and cholesterol.
Then there was another coworker—a bachelor. One day he proudly announced, “I’m branching out. I usually eat steak and peas for dinner, but last night I had steak and corn!” Picky? No. Weird? Absolutely. Maybe he was just keeping it simple—steak’s probably the only thing he knew how to cook.
I never thought I was picky. I eat all kinds of cuisines: Indian, French, Moroccan, Thai. You name it, I’ll try it. Okay, maybe not liver or caviar. Or applesauce. Or ketchup. But does that make me picky? I bet many of you probably gag at the thought of liver too.
I was a vegetarian for years. At our retirement community’s restaurant, there’s just one vegetarian option. If it’s not appealing, my only fallback is salad. So I don’t have 10 choices like the woman who called me the picky eater. Aren’t I entitled to a gripe if I don’t think my option for the night isn’t up to snuff?
Now, here’s the kicker. The woman who called me picky? She won’t touch shrimp, lamb, steak, or vegetables. Half the time, she skips the entrée altogether and orders onion rings with chocolate ice cream for dessert. Is it possible that she’s a picky eater?
Hubby, on the other hand, isn’t picky—unless his food’s overcooked or under-flavored. Then it’s going back to the kitchen. But overall, he’s a champ. Once, while working in Taiwan in the '90s, a local friend said to him, “Mr. David, you’re funny for a round eye. You eat stuff I no eat.” Well, almost. He did draw the line at a soup that wiggles.
And another thing. I tend to accept dishes as they are, without tweaking the details. My main tweaks are asking for salad dressing and sauces on the side. I’m not like Sally in the restaurant scene in When Harry Met Sally. Sally’s dessert order is “Apple pie ala mode, except like the pie heated and the ice cream on the side, and l I want strawberry instead of vanilla, if you have it, and if you don’t have it whipped cream, but only if it’s real. If it's out of the can nothing.”
Google says a picky eater is “Someone who eats a limited variety of foods or refuses to eat certain foods, especially new or unfamiliar ones:
They may eat the same foods over and over
They may have strong food preferences
They may complain about what's served
"They may make mealtime unpleasant for others
"Picky eating is also known as selective eating, fussy eating, faddy eating, or choosy eating. There's no single, widely accepted definition of picky eating, and there's little consensus on how to assess it.”
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t include people with food allergies or who exclude certain foods because of health issues in the picky eater category. I recently had to adopt a high-fiber, low-fat diet because of gallbladder issues. I also don’t include people who don’t eat meat or other foods for ethical or ecological reasons.
I noticed Buzzfeed has a Picky Eater quiz. I was curious to see if Buzzfeed would consider me a picky eater. I took the quiz and scored low—just 12 out of 100 things I wouldn’t eat, e.g., candy corn, gummy bears, liver, anchovies, etc. It was interesting to see what foods they listed veggies, meats, and some snack foods. If you are curious, take the quiz yourself.
I can’t help but wonder, why does anyone care if I’m picky? I’m not slowing down their order or making them cater to my every whim.
I guess if occasionally complaining about what’s being served is being a picky eater, I’m guilty. I’m a picky eater. But maybe being a picky eater just means I’m discerning. Yeah, let’s go with that.
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