How would you call such mental attachments related to food and cuisine?

Question

How are the.following two cases called?

• Some people are very stuck to gourmet or tasty food, rather than plain food, and hooked to exquisite or sophisticated preparation or cooking styles，rather than simple preparation and cooking.

• Some people are very stuck to food and cuisine that they grew up with or are used to. That doesn't change even after they migrate to a place with different food or cuisine.

How would you call such mental or psychological dependences or attachments? Would it be called "a complex of ... (gastronomy)"?

Answer 1

In the first case, you could say has a taste for, meaning a preference for a certain type of food without the connotation that the person is actively avoiding other types. A refined palate would imply that the person appreciates fine foods. Epicurean also works and has a neutral/positive connotation, though not every listener may understand the meaning.

There's also foodie which is someone who seeks out new or unique foods. In some contexts it also implies that the person is a food snob and scorns simple or fast food and the people who eat it. This is a connotation I reject. I think of a foodie as someone who, when visiting a new country, will try the local cuisine instead of going to McDonald's.

In the second case, there's not a single specific word that comes to mind, though I do know many people who fit that description. Depending on how much negative connotation you want to attach to it, you could say "not adventurous" (fairly neutral), "a steak-and-potatoes type of person" (if they eat that kind of food), "boring" (negative), etc.