Lux-rexia

 Lux-rexia

Wealthy Appetite

I’ve always been taught that wasting food was a sin. As a kid, I was forced to finish my plate at dinner time, unless I wanted it served to me cold for breakfast the next day. It wasn’t that my parents wanted to force feed us, it was just that food costs money: money we didn’t have. So, if we didn’t have the money anymore, we may as well eat what the money bought. That’s all there was to do at that point, and that’s the case for plenty of underprivileged families… Everyone eats, whether it be out of necessity or indulgence. In terms of classism, when everything else in this world is divided up and given a “poor” connotation and a “rich” connotation, where does that leave food and groceries? Things are very different from when I was growing up and being fed by my parents, and by that I mean, now there are means by which the general population is in constant contact with celebrities and elites they idolize. Social media platforms, and I do mean all of them, allow for the average person to catch a glimpse of what everyday life might look like for these people. Let me tell you: They’re not eating at Applebees, and they’re not shopping at Key Food… before our eyes on our screens, the symbolism of food in contemporary society is revealed through where/what/how celebrities eat compared to who is staffing those same establishments. Take chain restaurants and compare them to local eateries, or even fast casual restaurants: the former being considered to be boring, generic, where the latter is considered to be artisanal, cool, and even healthier. Just saying, it is only on Instagram (the democratized platform where anyone can gain notoriety) that I’ve seen A-List pop stars collaborate with A-list grocery stores (ever hear about the Sabrina Carpenter Erewhon smoothie?), D-List Instagram Foodies collaborate with the American chain restaurant. 

And we all know what the “good” grocery store around here is… What makes it good, exactly? Nothing really in particular, aside from the additional features the establishment offers. So there’s a little cafeteria where you can buy takeout additionally to your hefty grocery list. Despite there not being huge differences from grocery store to grocery store, there are differences in the status of each one. This is dependent on the location and the community surrounding it. The “good” grocery stores aren’t in “bad” areas and so it kind of turns into a matter of meritocracy and classism: “For example, the myth of meritocracy, which is the belief that hard work and talent are inevitably rewarded by economic success and upward social mobility (McNamee & Miller, 2004), leads to the assumption that those living in poverty have not worked hard enough or are unintelligent, in effect blaming the victims of what is increasingly referred to (not inaccurately) as a “rigged” economic system.” (Adams, Maurianne, et al. “Introduction.”) There are plenty of reasons why one can’t “just go” to the “good” grocery store. For the people that those stores are not intended for, there are some extra steps involved. Extra money, too… Or, it might be totally out of their hands, as they live totally out of range. The same concept applies on a larger scale on social media– clips of celebrity parties, reports on groceries hauls from those who are fortunate enough to indulge. Ceramic plate upon ceramic plate stuffed with rainbow carrots and seasoned hard boiled eggs and slices– not shreds– of prosciutto being revealed to the camera as a “snack plate.” The irony lies within the fact that the viewer is watching on their phone, their own fridge full of questions. The viewer is most definitely out of range. It’s laid out in “Class Dismissed” from Readings for Diversity, too: “Although some of her college friends may have been aware of looking down on working-class culture, others likely were not and may have even felt that they were being helpful to her in explaining to her what “right” clothes and the “right” foods were.” (Smith, Laura, and Rebecca  M Redington. “Class Dismissed.”) Though the content creators that share their vibrant eats don’t necessarily mean any harm in their posting, and might even think they’re providing “meal inspo”, they mean the same amount of harm that any kind of show-off does. The same applies for restaurants and the creators that do menu reviews and restaurant tours: “independent, locally owned restaurants, despite their cultural status as scrappy underdogs, attract a more affluent clientele.” (Mccarron, Meghan, and Phil Donohue. “Where Will We Eat When the Middle-Class Restaurant Is Gone?”) This proves that it’s about individuality, not the literal uniformity of the working class. In the same article, McCarron describes chain restaurants as “really pedestrian” and “reliable”, explaining as to why people would want to stray from the path in the first place. It turns out, simply because there is a path to stray from, and that straying guarantees a change in status. People want the celebrity smoothies at Erewhon because of what the connection to the celebrity brings to the status of the food, not necessarily because they want to eat healthy. Or, they see that the smoothies cost upwards of $15, and understand what that means in the context of today’s society. If you could spend more than $15 on something you don’t even have to put in the effort to chew, you might be set for life. 

This isn’t something that just started happening with the rise of Tiktok, or something that started happening with the Trump administration. As food prices rise, its status as an object population rises. To have food means to be fortunate. It’s not very far off from more Medieval lines of thinking… a plump, paler woman was considered very attractive because her pallor proves that she doesn’t need to work, and her weight proves that she has the money to not just eat… eat in excess. So, in times when food and grocery prices are high (and people are feeling it), companies and brands know exactly what to do. Play up what is enticing. “They have a trade term for it: food romance,” said Mr. Gardiner, who described the genre as “extreme close-ups of food, slow-motion food being prepared, with a piece of music and an energizing voice-over.” (Newman, Andrew Adam. “Bold Commercials and Flavors Aim to Spice up Chili’s Brand.”). This quote is in reference to a time in history when Chilis was not doing too hot as a business, but it’s not like the economy was doing spectacularly well either in 2011. This “food romance” plays into the perceived notion that the people catching these commercials are hungry and wanting… notion, reflection. Whatever. A chain restaurant advertisement that revolves around food is not the most innovative, but would it make sense as to why it would be effective during a time where groceries are expensive and even just being reminded that a restaurant sells food is enough to… well, sell food. “A window washer nearby deadpans, “It’s the sun.” Then a voice-over says, “Get out of the office more often, with Chili’s $6 Lunch Break combos” and shots of half sandwiches with soup and French fries are shown.” The advertisement here recognizes its audience as the working class, and therefore serves as a gentle reminder of what they provide. They’re aligning Chilis (and chain restaurants alike) with working and being a worker with the “$6 Lunch Break combo”: it says, to me, that Chili’s is for me and you. For some families, or for some individuals, fancy restaurants or grocers are out of the question. So, they’re left to entertain the cheaper option (Chili’s), which also puts them in the position of the anti-progressive-fuddy-duddy population. Remember, fast-food is fast-food to the upper echelons, but to the underprivileged, fast-food is a treat.  The picture classism paints is when the poor family breaks their bread, they’re uninformed and tasteless. When the over-privileged break their bread, their pioneers of the cultural zeitgeist, or glamorous. What sounds more luxurious, a rainbow carrot, or carrots from a can? Of course, anything in a can sounds boring and dull, but that would just be the classism talking. What sounds even more luxurious than that? On Tiktok, @kfesteryg states, “As food becomes more expensive, it is basically being positioned as a luxury category because it is becoming expensive to afford it. So what screams wealth and excess wealth more than having an excess of food that you are not going to eat, that is particularly off-season, and it is now just tablescape for your parties?” While I was taught that food was a sin, others are off quite literally playing with their food, just because they can. She also discusses a makeup campaign comparing lip gloss to raspberry Jell-O, which I found interesting because it turns an underprivileged person staple (Hello, Watergate salad? Or maybe you’d prefer an .89 cent box of vanilla pudding?) into something gimmicky, like blue raspberry. The only difference is that Jell-O is necessary to the Underprivileged Man’s Dessert, and blue raspberries don’t exist.

I think, in terms of solutions, the most prevalent one would be language and wording. How you talk about food in your intrapersonal group, and what is the weight that it holds, compared to how someone who records what they eat for lunch every day might talk about or value food. This would also aid in dissolving the notion that there are “good” and “bad” restaurants and grocery stores, when really they all get their products from the same places. Who is anyone that’s not in the kitchen or the loading dock to say if it’s good or bad? Personally, I also think putting that much attention on food is generally not a good idea, since it can only lead to comparison in a plethora of forms. Whether it be how much is on the plate or how much it costs, there will always be something  on there that someone does not have. 

Works Cited

1. Adams, Maurianne, et al. “Introduction.” Readings for Diversity, 4th ed., pp. 163–172.

2. Smith, Laura, and Rebecca  M Redington. “Class Dismissed.” Readings for Diversity, 4th ed., pp. 182–185. 

3. Newman, Andrew Adam. “Bold Commercials and Flavors Aim to Spice up Chili’s Brand.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Sept. 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/business/media/chilis-uses-bold-spots-and-flavors-to-spice-up-brand.html. 

4. Mccarron, Meghan, and Phil Donohue. “Where Will We Eat When the Middle-Class Restaurant Is Gone?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025, www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/dining/middle-class-restaurant.html. 

5. (kfesteryg [kfesteryg]. “Part 2 | the real quiet luxury and wealth signaling is having so much food you can waste it like at the Grammys #foodtiktok #foodprices #groceryprices #foodwaste #grammys #taylorswift #lanadelrey #taylorswiftgrammys #decor #tablescape.” Tiktok, 2024.