Can someone tell me what make a cupcake gourmet?
I see it more as unique. Something that you won't find at the supermarket deli...something that stands out.
Why thank you lol I just looked and realized I basically rewrote what you had already said.......*sighs* long day
Price also makes it a gourmet cupcake - lets be real when you evaluate things do you do it solely on the quality and materials? Is a coach purse for $600 that much better in quality than an 80 leather purse you get at Macy's? Of course not but you are paying for the "gourmet purse". Same thing with gourmet cupcakes on a much smaller scale. You are paying for the hand made specialty cupcakes that proabably have the same ingredients as the grocery story cupcakes. You might get unique flavor combinations but really is it worth the money probably not. But we live in a world where paying more for something is perceived as a good thing.
Now understand I okay with this - I sell gourmet cupcakes - so the perception works for me. 
I totally disagree with Mrs and so does the dictionary. I use it on my website because my desserts are gourmet and in no way comparable to a grocery store. Gourmet refers to a person with a discerning palate for fine food. Gourmet food is the food a gourmet would eat. It would consist of exotic or fine ingredients prepared in a skillful manner. Yes, you can call yourself gourmet and taste like a grocery store, but the public isn't stupid and rarely pays for a name. And yes, those handbags are worth more than the cheap knockoffs that copied the top designer. And just like cake, the materials matter. With an upper income, usually it is accompanied by upper education and these people are not fooled by words.
If it has a cheap price and inferior ingredients, add the word, "gourmet", and some people who know no better may think it is true.
I am agreeing with both sides....I have had some "gourmet" cupcakes that were....WOW....just gross, at a very expensive price....then have had cupcakes from a bake sale that were to die for....Sometimes paying 6.00 for ONE cupcake is not worth it, then sometimes you get an outstanding one. I just made over 100 cupcakes of Caramel Apple Pie, Grasshopper, and White Choco Chip....I consider these gormet because these flavors aren't in stores, however if someone wants to pay me for a gormet cupcake I won't refuse....lol!!! I think it's the Baker and the time and love put into it that makes it gourmet.
gourmet
noun
1.
a connoisseur of fine food and drink; epicure.
adjective
2.
of or characteristic of a gourmet, especially in involving or purporting to involve high-quality or exotic ingredients and skilled preparation: gourmet meals; gourmet cooking.
3.
elaborately equipped for the preparation of fancy, specialized, or exotic meals: a gourmet kitchen.
I believe #2 applies here.
@scp1127 - I want you to know that I am not disagreeing with the fact that gourmet cupcakes should use the finest ingredients available. All my cupcakes are from scratch and I have done tons of research to come up with, modify and perfect my recipes. My cupcakes consistently get comments from people stating that "they are the best cupcakes they have ever eaten". My point was that if I sold my cupcakes for grocery store or bake sale prices - they may be really amazing cupcakes but regardless of the looks or taste they would just be cupcakes and not gourmet cupcakes.
People expect to pay more for quality (gourmet). Hence my comment that Price is also a factor in making it gourmet.
As far as my comment about Coach - I know for a fact that Coach purses are created in China and Turkey - you no longer get the workmanship that you originally got when you bought a coach purse when they were created in New York. This is not a knock on Coach. I'm just saying as with everything you are paying for the name and reputation.
My reference was to the idea that people blindly pay for something because of a word or a higher price. Some less informed do, but as the income goes up, so does the research, and expectation that the product will perform as expected. With social media and all of the sites with reviews, the old idea of fooling the public even the first time is no longer easy.
In my business, I know that my customers vacation and dine in fine restaurants where they are exposed to gourmet fare and great desserts. When they return home, that taste is not available. I offer that taste. Other bakeries claim to be gourmet, but a quick inspection finds box mixes with imitation flavors meant to mimic fine ingredients.
The reference to upper income was to point out the buyer of gourmet food. As a rule, those with upper income/education are more informed buyers.To sell to those customers at a price point well above the norm and expect repeat business, a business must deliver a product where the value exceeds the cost.
Coach is not a high end handbag. It's mainstream.
Well I prefer Louis Vuitton and Hermes bags, as well as a few Gucci, which are all real, but I am hardly any where near well off or upper class. I know some who are filthy rich, but buy boot leg and cheap food. "Wealth" does not define what people research and expect all the time. I know a lot of down home people who expect quailty food EVERY time, with quality ingredients and can tell the difference.
I think we can all agree that income level doesn't automatically indicate good taste, just as education level doesn't indicate intelligence and price doesn't necessarily indicate value.
Some people are willing to pay for a name or a label, while others expect performance and value. Just because something claims to be gournet doesn't necessarily mean it's better, just more expensive.
Over the years I've found that the word "gourmet" means absolutely nothing. I was at a grocery store the other day -- they had "gourmet cream" right next to the "cream." SAME ingredients!! Different price!!! Same in the steak dept -- gourmet steak, regular steak. Only difference is in price. And these steaks were RAW because they were still at the grocery store. So tell me, how do you "gourmet" a cow anyway???
Well, I don't think it takes a genius to know there are differences with meat. Forced corn fed cows versus free range grass fed, Kobe versus Grade AA, etc., etc.
I grew up with those "free range grass fed" little darlings - - even went on a few round-ups. I always thought their meat was tougher than the meat that came from a store, although granted, I didn't eat much of that.
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