A Gourmand, a Gourmet, a Gastronome, a Glutton and an Epicure accosted me in quick succession on Green Lanes today:

Confused by recent heated argument over whether Open Kitchen can be included in the so-called Paradise for ?Gourmands that is Green Lanes, I was unable to guide any of the five with confidence. To which culinary establishment should I have directed each of the Quintet?

Some Hints:

Oxford Dicts: 'gourmet - a connoisseur of good food, one with a discerning palate.'

'gourmand - one who enjoys eating and often eats too much.'

'epicure - one who takes particular pleasure in fine food and drink.'

Brewer, Dict of Phrase & Fable, 1898: 'gourmand - one whose chief pleasure lies in eating, a glutton. In England a gourmand regards quantity more than quality, a gourmet quality more than quantity.'

Merriam-Webster: 'gastronome - a lover of good food, especially one with a serious interest in gastronomy.'

Cambridge Dicts Online: 'gastronome - someone who enjoys and knows about high-quality food and drink.'

Merriam-Webster's Dict of English Usage, 1994: "The meaning of gourmand is now certainly closer to gourmet than it is to glutton, but our evidence shows clearly that gourmand and gourmet are still words with distinct meanings in the bulk of their use, and are likely to remain so."

The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, 1993: 'Gourmet, a French borrowing meaning 'a connoisseur of food and drink, a person of discriminating palate' is much more in use in English today than its compatriot, gourmand, which sometimes means 'a big eater and drinker', or even 'a glutton'. and sometimes simply 'a heartier sort of gourmet'. Gourmand is fading, gourmet is overused."

The Free Dict: 'epicure - a person with fine taste in high quality food and drink; a person devoted to sensuous pleasure.'

The British Potato Variety Database: 'epicure - a distinctly floury First early Ayrshire potato, much cultivated by Finnegan pére in former days.'