Very très goormay

[Coffee Break]

Hello everyone. I encountered this expression, "Very très goormay", but am struggling to understand it. Could you please let me know what it means in the following sentences:

We waited for the theater to grow dark. Another surprise. She dug deeper in the same paper bag and produced two halves of a large sandwich. “Very très goormay,” she whispered, taking an indirect swipe at Manhattan’s love affair with the finer things of the palate. The sudden smell of garlic cheese and prosciutto was overpowering. Once again she burst out laughing. Someone asked us to be quiet.

- André Aciman, Eight White Nights, Second Night

This is a novel published in the United States of America in 2010. This novel is narrated by the nameless male protagonist. The protagonist meets Clara at a Christmas party in Manhattan. The night after the party, the protagonist runs into Clara standing in front of the movie theatre. (He had mentioned to Clara that he would go to the Rohmer festival during the previous night's party, and she appears to have waited for him.) To his surprise, he realizes that Clara even brought him something to eat.

Here, I wonder what the underlined expression means.
I guess that "goormay" expresses how the French word "gourmet" sounds, but I am not sure why it is spelled that way.

And, if my guess about "goormay" being "gourmet" is right, I learned in the dictionary that "gourmet" means someone who appreciates delicious food, but I am not sure whether this "goormay" means "a person appreciating good food" or "good foot itself".
I wonder because she seems to be referring to the sandwich itself, though I may be wrong. Perhaps it might mean some other thing I couldn't guess...

I would very much appreciate your help.

 

[emsr2d2]

The speaker is simply having a bit of fun. They are exaggerating the pronunciation of "gourmet", hence the spelling. They included "trés" because it's the French for "very", which they'd already said in English.
It refers to the sandwich.
It makes fun of the fact that some people think that French cuisine is the most sophisticated in the world, so calling something "very trés gourmet" makes it sound better than it is.
"taking an indirect swipe at Manhattan’s love affair with the finer things of the palate" also indicates that she's being a bit silly.

 

[Coffee Break]

@emsr2d2,

Thank you very much for the explanation.
So "goormay" is an exaggerated way to pronounce the French word "gourmet"! And it refers to the sandwich.
She is deliberately repeating what she has said in English, again in French ("very"-"tres") to ironically indicate the fact that some people would think that French cuisine is a finer food.

In that case, would it be okay to understand that "gourmet" (noun) here means "good food" rather than "the person who appreciates good food"...?
Or, would it be that perhaps "gourmet" here is an adjective, as in "gourmet coffee"...?

 

[emsr2d2]

"Gourmet" isn't a noun. It's an adjective. If it was a noun, we wouldn't be able to precede it with "very".

 

[Coffee Break]

@emsr2d2,

Thank you very much for the additional explanation.
So "gourmet" here is an adjective! I guess then it would have this first meaning:

gourmet

1. (of food) very high quality: 2. producing or serving food that is very high…

dictionary.cambridge.org

gourmet
adjective [ before noun ]

(1) (of food) very high quality:
gourmet coffee
a gourmet meal

(2) producing or serving food that is very high quality:
a gourmet restaurant
a gourmet chef

So she is saying, "This sandwich is a very high quality food (=gourmet food)".
I sincerely appreciate your help, for letting me understand.