What does gourmandise mean?
Gourmandise means the enjoyment of good food and the pleasure taken in eating it. In contemporary English, it is often a refined, complimentary term, suggesting an appreciation of carefully prepared dishes, abundant ingredients, or the pleasures of the table. It may also carry the older and less flattering sense of excessive appetite or gluttony, depending on context. The word is especially common in literary, culinary, and travel writing and can describe anything from sampling regional specialties to indulging in an elaborate dessert. Its interesting history lies in a shift in tone: a term once associated with greed and overindulgence can now evoke connoisseurship and celebrates pleasure. Gourmandise is consequently more expressive than simply liking food, because it implies both discernment and indulgence—the careful enjoyment of something worth savouring, occasionally with a suggestion that too much of it has been consumed.
nounThe enjoyment of good food and the pleasure derived from eating it; by extension, excessive appetite or gluttony.
- The enjoyment of good food and the pleasure derived from eating it.
- Excessive or greedy appetite for food; gluttony.
"The tour ended with a memorable demonstration of gourmandise, sampling pastries, cheeses, and preserves from across the region."
"The restaurant is famous for its gourmandise rather than for elaborate technical cooking."
"The satirist portrayed the emperor's gourmandise as both a comfort and a moral weakness."
The plural is possible but uncommon; gourmandise is normally used as an uncountable mass noun.
"The memoir is full of small gourmandises, from market stalls to midnight suppers."
Once a warning against gluttony, gourmandise can now celebrate the sheer pleasure of eating well.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gourmandise come from?
English borrowed the word from French gourmandise in the seventeenth century. The French term developed from gourmand, meaning a glutton or a person who takes delight in food, which in turn came from Old French gormand. Its related culinary vocabulary includes the English forms gourmand, gourmande, and gourmet, the last of which ultimately reflects the same older French base.
How gourmandise is actually used
The word is literary and relatively uncommon in everyday speech. In modern English it is often complimentary, especially in writing about travel, dining, and culinary culture, though it can be used critically to mean gluttony.
Easily confused with gourmandise
A gourmand is a person who takes conspicuous pleasure in good food, whereas gourmandise denotes the enjoyment itself or, critically, the appetite associated with it.
A gourmet is someone with refined knowledge of food and drink, while gourmandise is the activity or quality of indulging in good food.