Does an interest in food go hand-in-hand with elitism? Does a person need to be rich enough to afford "white-glove service" to have a passion for the innovation of local chefs? Should people who use LivingSocial and Gilt to broaden their cultural horizons be mocked because their only way into the world of fine dining is through a discount?

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These are all questions I asked myself, exasperated, after reading a short interview published in Washingtonian last week with Jill Richmond, founder of the dining clubs The Coterie and its predecessor, the Number 68 Project.

The Coterie, conceived by Richmond along with Nick and David Wiseman, asks members for $42 per month to get access to special menus, or "black box tastings," at five local restaurants — Birch & Barley, PS7's, 701, Bibiana, and Fiola. The five-course, off-menu prix fixe meal will cost diners $135 per person, which includes tax, tip, and at least two wine pairings. Members are required to give 72 hours advance notice for a reservation.

The Coterie's two other programs are salon-style dinners ("culinary salons," which is essentially what the Number 68 Project was) and "Sunday fireside cocktails." Membership gets you three free nights by the fire and discounts on the dinners, but these are open to the public.

The Coterie has almost reached its cap of 300 "premiere" members, and soon it will announce a "silver" level of membership with more available slots.

It doesn't sound so bad, right? Kind of fancy, but maybe better suited for someone who pays for spa treatments at their upscale gym. I roll my eyes at people who go to Vida, but only because I am jealous of them.

The Washingtonian article, however, made the Coterie sound, to me, like the summit of snobbery. Like this paragraph, for example.

Currently, membership is granted to anyone who pays the fee, though this may change. Richmond envisions members who are 'thirtysomething-plus, pretty dynamic, in this city for work but interested in travel and food. They probably watch TED podcasts until their heads burst. They’re not solid intellectuals, but they’re curious people I’d count as part of my friend network.' She envisions them working downtown but seeking 'more in this city than just a happy hour. They probably read the Monocle,' she adds, laughing.

I was also slightly annoyed by this paragraph's assertion that people would only live in D.C. for their jobs, but not the culture.

 After the jump: The real Jill Richmond

(Photo by Dallas Lillich)