That is just a preference. One at the far end of the spectrum, much as orgasmic joy upon contact is, but merely a preference nonetheless.
This is an attitude I just don’t get.
I don’t see the merit in trying new things. I don’t see the merit of expanding my horizons. I don’t see the merit of opening myself to new experiences.
Doesn’t make sense to me.
sven, for some people, food is just not that important. Their attitude towards food does not automatically correspond to their attitude in other areas. To them, it’s just food. They don’t find a new experience in that area to be especially rewarding. Why not just accept that?
Who’s not accepting it? I’m just observing that they’re immature, that’s all. They’re also buzzkills to have dinner with or cook for.
Do Dopers have that many dinner parties?
Dio and even sven, I’d like to know what you think about what I posted earlier about picky eaters versus food snobs.
I’m curious to know if you have a theory as to the psychology behind phenylthiocarbamide’s role in tasting? I think I understand the physiology, but I’m curious how one chooses the level at which they can taste it.
And what would be the functional difference between not liking a food for physiological reasons (taste buds send message to brain that the taste and texture of the broccoli in the mouth is unpleasant) and a psychological reason (a clown beat me with a broccoli floret). Isn’t the end result the same?
Also, my cat doesn’t like the “turkey and lamb” soft food I give her. She likes every other flavour in from that manufacturer though. Should I put her in therapy?
Different people do have different gag reflexes. But I suppose this is mostly just a self defense tactic to get people to just leave them alone and not force food on them that they don’t like or don’t want. It gets really, really annoying.
I am sometimes tempted to just say I’m allergic. It’s easier.
How sure are you? Broccoli, like cilantro, is a food that some portion of the population is physiologically unable to enjoy due to a taste-sensitivity to a certain chemical in the broccoli that most people lack.
ETA For example see here
Thanks! Of course, there are folks on here that sometimes manage to do the same thing for me - posting my thoughts better than I could form them - so I’ll try not to get a swelled head. 
Well I found out today that my new colleague doesn’t eat ANY seafood at all. Full stop. No fish, mullocs or crusteacaens (god I suck at spelling). I call bullshit on that sorry.
He also claimed that he couldn’t eat beef. A poultry only diet.
Seems suspect to me
Have you discussed with him how his choice not to eat certain foods is affecting you? Perhaps it’s simply that he doesn’t realize how important it is to you that he eat a wide range of items. Some people are very insensitive that way.
Why would you not believe him? I’m the same. I don’t like seafood. I need to prove this to you for some reason?
Tell him to move up the road to Peninsular Malaysia where it’s Nasi Ayam all round, all day, every day if that’s what he wants.
But yeah, I hate to think what it’s like trying to organise business lunches with a colleague like that…
Well, keep in mind, it’s not that you don’t like it. It’s that you have a psychological block brought on by immaturity and a lack of zest for life.
I’ve come to the conclusion that by rejecting food, some people think you are making a value judgment about them. They take it personally.
Why? He can go vegetarian or order chicken.
If you (as a Westerner) have spent any part of time in Malaysia/Singapore then you get sick of chicken pretty bloody quickly. And let’s not start on vegetarian food, which is, in many people’s experience, “unsatisfying” or not a “proper” meal.
How is this your problem? You don’t have to order Vegetarian or Chicken.
As opposed to the “oh my God, I’m going to puke if I swallow a single item on a plate at Applebee’s” type thing?
C’mon, admit it. Food snobbery pickiness is good, while regular “I don’t like some veggies/entrails/insects/certain combinations of foods/certain textures” pickiness is bad. Not eating something because it doesn’t provide a sublime, ethereal experience is a sign of being a refined, sophisticated diner, but an uncontrollable gag reflex for asparagus is just child-like immaturity. Right. You are superior to the rest of us. I bow down to you and your oh-so-refined palate.
I don’t eat at Applebee’s because I’ve had a number of bad experiences with food preparation (at varying locations), the final straw being the time my food contained a large piece of styrofoam.
I don’t judge or malign people for having preferences. It becomes an issue for me when folks over-dramatize their preferences, like when my brother pretended to vomit peas when he was younger to avoid finishing his vegetables. Or when someone else’s preferences make it a major hassle to eat anything at all with them. Haven’t you ever had a friend that would shoot down any restaurant suggestion (“I’m not sure I can find anything I like there”) until you finally suggest the one place they will eat? It gets really obnoxious when they absolutely refuse to eat at a place that is almost identical to their preferred location (like JITB vs. Wendy’s).
Dramatizing or burdening other people with your preferences is quite different from opting not to eat at a restaurant that’s routinely served you ill-prepared food that contains garbage.
Again, I’ve never met anyone who refused to eat at casual dining restaurants as a whole. How many people do you know who have such a policy?
Not wanting to eat at one particular restaurant (e.g., I think Olive Garden is crap) isn’t being a food snob. If I didn’t like Olive Garden and refused to eat at any casual dining place you’d have a point.
Picky eaters generally refuse whole classes of food: I don’t eat Chinese. I don’t eat spicy. I don’t eat anything that isn’t a chicken finger and Cheetos. Do you see the difference there? The difference between the snob saying, “I think Olive Garden has terrible food” and the picky eater saying “I don’t eat at any place that serves (blank)?”
This idea that there are lots of food snobs out there who won’t eat the gruel that the commoners eat appears to only exist in your mind.