History Main / SnootyHauteCuisine

A subtrope of FoodAsCharacterization. Compare GrapesOfLuxury, which is also a trope about showing luxury but is more about a character being fed by servants while seated or lying in a comfortable cushioned dias, and ExoticEntree, which is about eating endangered species or cruelly-prepared meat to show a character's immorality. Also compare ExpensiveGlassOfCrap.

* In ''Literature/ArtemisFowl: The Time Paradox'', Damon Kronski acquires a slab of glacial ice that has the last specimens of an extinct species of fish frozen inside it, just so he can serve the fish to guests at a conference he's hosting for [[CruellaToAnimals The Extinctionists.]]

* ''[[Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey Fifty Shades Darker]]'' has Ana and Christian attend a masquerade ball held by Christian's adoptive parents, and among the menu items served are salmon tartare, roast breast of Muscovy duck, foie gras, and {{wine|IsClassy}}. All this serves to show how wealthy the Grey family is, and is but one of ''many'' instances of Christian showing off his affluence.

** Anton Ego is the personification of the snobby eater who feels that only ''haute cuisine'' could come close to meeting the exacting standards of their palate. This is best demonstrated by Ego's taste for ''Chateau Cheval Blanc'', an extremely expensive vintage.

* ''Manga/{{Tomie}}'' loves caviar and foie gras, often refusing to eat foods that aren't either and acting with revulsion toward them. In one chapter, however, when she gains a fan club who can afford it and feed it to her every day, [[RadishCure she gets sick of it]].

-->--''Website/TheOnion'', "[[https://www.theonion.com/layoffs-are-necessary-if-we-want-to-keep-the-lights-on-1819573007 ‘Layoffs Are Necessary If We Want To Keep The Lights On,’ Says CEO Halfway Through Tasting Menu]]"

Caviar, foie gras, and other such foods are notable for how expensive they are -- and, as such, buying them can serve as a [[ConspicuousConsumption status symbol]]. Whereas PovertyFood such as cans of pork and beans are meant to show how [[LowerClassLout poor and lower-class]] a character is, Snooty Haute Cuisine is instead a symbol of a character's wealth and sophisticated palate.

A form of ConspicuousConsumption, it identifies a character as rich by showing them eating these expensive and highbrow foods. In addition, consumers of Snooty Haute Cuisine will likely have high standards for their palate and shun "commoner" foods, insisting on only the highest-quality, most expensive, imported foods. They will react to a diner hamburger as if it were revolting MysteryMeat. The commoners, in turn, will often hold the opinion that HauteCuisineIsWeird (frog legs, octopus, etc).

A form of ConspicuousConsumption, it identifies a character as rich by showing them eat these expensive and highbrow foods. In addition, consumers of Snooty Haute Cuisine will likely have high standards for their palate and shun "commoner" foods, insisting on only the highest-quality, most expensive, imported foods. They will react to a diner hamburger as if it were revolting MysteryMeat. The commoners, in turn, will often hold the opinion that HauteCuisineIsWeird (frog legs, octopus, etc).

Caviar, foie gras, and other such foods are notable for how expensive they are -- and, as such, buying them can serve as a status symbol. Whereas PovertyFood is meant to show how poor and lower-class a character is, Snooty Haute Cuisine is instead a symbol of a character's immense wealth.

A form of ConspicuousConsumption, it identifies a character as rich by showing them eat these expensive foods. In addition, consumers of Snooty Haute Cuisine will likely have extremely high standards for their palate and shun "commoner" foods, insisting on only the highest-quality, most expensive foods money can buy. They will react to a simple hamburger as if it were revolting MysteryMeat. The commoners, in turn, will often hold the opinion that HauteCuisineIsWeird.

Caviar is the go-to example, and [[WineIsClassy pricey wines]] and {{French cuisine|IsHaughty}} are also frequent examples of this. A FancyDinner will always serve these. See HighClassCannibal for a particularly extreme and menacing version.

A subtrope of FoodAsCharacterization. Compare GrapesOfLuxury, which is also a trope about showing luxury but is more about a character being fed by servants while seated or lying in a comfortable space, and ExoticEntree, which is about eating endangered species or cruelly-prepared meat to show a character's immorality. Also compare ExpensiveGlassOfCrap.

* ''LightNovel/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon'': In contrast to Hestia scraping by on potato croquettes, leftovers from her part-time jobs, and whatever food Bell buys with the money he earns from dungeon drops, Freya is always surrounded by luxuries. She's often depicted watching Bell with a glass of red wine in her hand, and as the leader of the most powerful familia in Orario, she's constantly lavished with food and drink. But while Hestia enjoys her Jagamaru-kuns and takes pride in her handiwork, Freya is ''bored'' with constantly having everything handed to her and much prefers to be challenged and surprised. This illustrates the vastly different perspectives of the two goddesses after Bell's heart.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'':

* ''Series/BlackLightning'': In “The Book of Blood Chapter 1: Reqiuem”: Tobias Whale offers Khalil caviar as a symbol of what wealth can bring. Khalil is less than impressed with the taste.
-->'''Tobias''': “Like it or not, every successful person remembers two things in life: the first time they tried caviar, and the first time they could enjoy it without worrying what it cost.”

* {{Invoked}} on the "high roller" episodes of ''Series/{{Chopped}}'' and ''Series/GuysGroceryGames'' in that the contestants have to work with high end ingredients, but you can still end up with a plate full of crap because sometimes those ingredients won't work together or are mishandled.

** They debuted their "Haute Dog" on National Hot Dog Day 2010. It was a foot-long frank grilled in white truffle butter and garnished with black truffles and foie gras, and sold for [[LOL69 $69 dollars]].

* ''LightNovel/TheCaseFilesOfJewelerRichard'': Wealthy BlueBlood Richard adamantly refuses to drink any tea that comes in a bottle, claiming it has "died" and the soul is gone -- which means making fresh tea from expensive leaves imported straight from Sri Lanka, every time. He also refuses to let Seigi buy sweets on sale, on the idea that buying sweets with an eye to price is less meaningful and is disrespectful to the people they will later be served to. Of course, he also frequently takes Seigi out to fancy dinners together -- and then orders himself strawberry parfaits.

* ''Manga/{{Tomie}}'' loves caviar and foie gras, often refusing to eat foods that aren't either and acting with revulsion toward them. Though in one chapter, when she gains a fan club who can afford it and feed it to her every day, [[RadishCure she gets sick of it.]]

* [[GoldMakesEverythingShiny Gold leaf]], sometimes referred to as edible gold, is one of the most infamous examples of this trope. These incredibly thin sheets of gold were originally used for gilding metal surfaces but later found use as a shiny, expensive culinary decoration. Though it's typically used sparingly as a garnish, some chefs have taken to covering the entire dish in gold, such as the chicken pictured above from the [[https://www.ediblegold.co.uk/edible-gold-gallery/ Edible Gold Gallery]]. Keep in mind that while gold leaf is safe to consume as it is not absorbed by the human body in any way,[[note]]There is evidence that nanoparticles of gold could interfere with the body at the cellular level, but the effects of such are fleeting to define.[[/note]] that also means that the only thing it ends up doing [[SolidGoldPoop is being defecated]]. A literal use of the term "flushing your money down the toilet".

** There's the Le Burger Extravagant at $295. It consists of a Wagyu beef patty, truffle butter, black truffles, a quail egg, James Montgomery Cheddar Cheese, caviar, buns with gold flakes, and ''a gold toothpick with diamonds on top''.[[note]][[ComicallyMissingThePoint Do you get to keep the toothpick?]][[/note]]

** There's the Le Burger Extravagant at $295. It consists of a Wagyu beef patty, truffle butter, black truffles, a quail egg, James Montgomery Cheddar Cheese, caviar, buns with gold flakes, and ''a gold toothpick with diamonds on top''.

* In 1975, New York Times restaurant critic Craig Claiborne wrote about a $4000 (almost $22,000 in 2022 dollars), 31-course meal in Paris that he won at a charity auction[[note]]for the comparatively bargain price of $300 (roughly $1600 in 2022 dollars)[[/note]]. Satirical journalist Russell Baker used this as a jumping point for his subsequent column [[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/354970-francs "Francs and Beans",]] where he writes about scrounged leftovers in a high-handed tone.

* In 1975, New York Times restaurant critic Craig Claiborne wrote about a $4000 (almost $22,000 in 2022 dollars), 31-course meal in Paris that he won at a charity auction. Satirical journalist Russell Baker used this as a jumping point for his subsequent column [[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/354970-francs "Francs and Beans",]] where he writes about scrounged leftovers in a high-handed tone.

* In 1975, NYT restaurant critic Craig Claiborne wrote about a $4000 (almost $22,000 in 2022 dollars), 31-course meal in Paris that he won at a charity auction. Satirical journalist Russell Baker used this as a jumping point for his subsequent column [[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/354970-francs "Francs and Beans",]] where he writes about scrounged leftovers in a high-handed tone.

* [[GoldMakesEverythingShiny Gold leaf]], sometimes referred to as edible gold, is one of the most infamous examples of this trope. These incredibly thin sheets of gold were originally used for gilding metal surfaces but later found use as a shiny, expensive culinary decoration. Though it's typically used sparingly as a garnish, some chefs have taken to covering the entire dish in gold, such as the chicken pictured above from the [[https://www.ediblegold.co.uk/edible-gold-gallery/ Edible Gold Gallery]]. Keep in mind that while gold leaf is safe to consume as it is not absorbed by the human body in any way,[[note]]There is evidence that nanoparticles of gold could interfere with the body at the cellular level, but the effects of such are fleeting to define.[[/note]] that also means that the only thing it ends up doing is being defecated. A literal use of the term "flushing your money down the toilet".

* [[GoldMakesEverythingShiny Gold leaf]], sometimes referred to as edible gold, is one of the most infamous examples of this trope. These incredibly thin sheets of gold were originally used for gilding metal surfaces but later found use as a shiny, expensive culinary decoration. Though it's typically used sparingly as a garnish, some chefs have taken to covering the entire dish in gold, such as the chicken pictured above from the [[https://www.ediblegold.co.uk/edible-gold-gallery/ Edible Gold Gallery]]. Keep in mind that while gold leaf is safe to consume as it is not absorbed by the human body in any way,[[note]]There is growing evidence that nanoparticles of gold could interfere with the body at the cellular level, but the effects of such are fleeting to define.[[/note]] that also means that the only thing it ends up doing is being defecated. A literal use of the term "flushing your money down the toilet".

* [[GoldMakesEverythingShiny Gold leaf]], sometimes referred to as edible gold, is one of the most infamous examples of this trope. These incredibly thin sheets of gold were originally used for gilding metal surfaces but later found use as a shiny, expensive culinary decoration. Though it's typically used sparingly as a garnish, some chefs have taken to covering the entire dish in gold, such as the chicken pictured above from the [[https://www.ediblegold.co.uk/edible-gold-gallery/ Edible Gold Gallery]].

A subtrope of FoodAsCharacterization. Compare GrapesOfLuxury, which is also a trope about showing luxury but is more about a character being fed by servants while seated or lying in a comfortable space. Also compare ExpensiveGlassOfCrap.

Caviar is the go-to example, and [[WineIsClassy pricey wines]] and {{French cuisine|IsHaughty}} are also frequent examples of this. A FancyDinner will always serve these.