I actually think that it would have started out of desperation rather than wealth. When you get to the point that you don't have a choice, it's either eat the dog or die. I think most delicacies would have started like that. Think about it, who would eat a mollusc or scrape fungi off the forest floor unless they were bloody desperate for food? Yet nowadays snails and mushrooms are delicacies that most people only buy if they have a bit of extra cash to spare.
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