TABLE TALK #112
Today’s Table Talk is dedicated to the trials and tribulations of trying to look like a local when travelling the world and tasting new cuisines.
From Tehran to Turin, what counts as best behaviour can vary vastly, so get ready for a delve into the extraordinary world of food etiquette around the globe.
🍝 MAIN COURSE 🍝
Whether hop, skip and ferrying to France or flying further afield, most trips abroad come with a certain amount of planning.
Everything from how many prongs your adapter should have, to the temperature in May and whether SPF 30 will cut it gets googled, but what’s easy to forget to research are the culinary quirks of a place. In other words, what constitutes good dining etiquette and what will have us looking incognito in no time.
Almost every country and region has its own ways of doing things, but here are a few of our favourites. A little handful of top tips to remember if planning a trip to the continent or beyond.
ITALY: A land of long lunches and resolute opinions about how to enjoy them. Just make sure you don’t cut your pasta with a knife (it’s a fork affair), mix seafood and cheese (it’s a cardinal sin) or order a cappuccino after dinner (it may curdle inside you, pick an espresso for safety).
JAPAN: A place of poise and particularity. Just make sure you don’t wash your whole face with the oshibori towel (it’s for sticky sushi fingers not a facial), pour your own sake (it’s rude) or tip (it’s not expected, or common and will most likely be turned down).
THAILAND: Forget everything you know about your fork being a real doer. In Thailand, your spoon's the real Wonder Woman. It’s held in the right hand and is the star of the show, forks are secondary, used to help assemble mouthfuls but never lifted to the mouth.
INDIA: Another nation where your right hand will have its work cut out. Whether you’re a lefty or not, the right hand is where it’s at and should be used in the place of knives, forks or spoons for eating. Your left is just the back up dancer, used for drinking water and passing dishes.
🍮 SWEET ENDINGS 🍮
As much as international etiquettes fascinate us, so too do domestic ones. Whether it's how to eat a Cadbury's Cream Egg, Jaffa Cake or Burger & Fries it seems almost every Brit has their opinions and were here for each and every one of them.
🍷 WHAT'S NEW
FROM
WEDNESDAY'S DOMAINE? 🍷
It's very easy to be swept up in the madness of day to day start up life, and not take a step back to catch ones breath or indeed just reflect.
Being invited on a podcast, in a funny way feels like a bit of an indulgence. It's a moment to pause, to look back and to look forward.
Last week the Low No Drinker Podcast released a conversation we had a couple of months back. If you fancy hearing about my love of craft, controversy and the wonderful world of Wednesdays, please do give it a little listen.
Luke x
