Some words in the English language leave me stupefied every time, ?Etiquettes? being one of them! I mean, how can a word present the idea behind its meaning so beautifully! You just say the word, and boom! You know exactly the kind of luxurious, Prim N? Propah idea you?re talking about.
The word itself is so amazingly refined, that one just wonders what the action or the attributes it is implying will seem! Try it, say?Etiquettes? to yourself(quietly!), and notice how you automatically feel superior and appropriate in your manner!
After having said all that, let me introduce this word with a word that is so essential to life, that the mind and body refuse to function without it! Yes, you guessed it right, Food!. Putting the two words together is like juxtaposition of two concepts. While?Food? is as primitive as the basic needs of a human being(umm, lets not go into?those? details!), ?Etiquettes? is the epitome of elegance! So, putting the two together, one can arrive at some sort of a mid-way path, where we intend to find ways to impose one concept onto the other. Without delaying the task any longer, let me proceed to emphasise on the topic of Food Etiquettes at a Restaurant
Note: I?m not particularly offering a manual on how to?Eat at a Restaurant? or introduce a snobbish account of how to be snotty and uptight, but rather intend to propose ways in which one can enhance their experience while eating with company and overall feeling comfortable with the entire idea of Eating Out!
Ready?Get Set?Go!
The first thing to take care of before you enter any restaurant is What to wear and How to carry it off? Basically, the answer to this, depends on a lot of factors, one of the main being, the kind of restaurant that you intend to eat at. Different eating joints have different kinds of clientele and an overall ambience unique to their restaurant. For instance, if you know in advance that a restaurant is extra-fancy-shmancy-snobbish-with-a-capital-S, you know better than to go dressed up in torn jeans, a casual white t-shirt and an running shoes! So, my advice is to find out what kind of restaurant you?re going to, and dress accordingly. Trust me, this is NOT the time to be a rebellious freak!
L?entrée(The Entrance)
As you enter the restaurant, don?t just barge in and create a racket, but wait patiently by a welcome desk and ask a waiter to guide you to a table. If the restaurant happens to be a totally casual, just look around(quietly!) and spot an empty table. It is generally advisable not to go and harass a seated person into changing their seat with yours. Its very important to respect other costumers and their privacy. Be Patient, it pays!.
Take a Seat, Please!
Once seated at a table, do NOT just start screaming for the waiter. The poor fellow probably has 15 other customers to look after too. If you want the guy to catch you attention, just catch his eye, and politely say?Excuse Me?. Yelling and screaming is totally unacceptable! If seated at a relatively formal place, place the napkin on you knee *before the first dish arrives.
Here comes the food!
When the food arrives, its impolite to just place everything around your plate and start putting heaps of it in your plate! Especially if you?re the host for the evening, offer the dishes to the guests first and then take them for yourself. Avoid dumping lots into your plate at once!
Helpful Tip: Something that has boggled me for ages: The Forks! When you see lots of forks and knifes next to your plate(often seen when the food is served in several courses), the best technique is to work your way in! For example, if you?re served with the starters first, use the fork and knife which is placed outermost. And then, as the meal proceeds, just keep going inward!
Chomp, Chomp, Chomp!
That, is exactly the noise that you don?t want to make while eating! Food tastes best when eaten, and not heard! Be considerate of the others around you and avoid chewing like a starving cow! Food also tastes good when not seen?in your mouth! Meaning, eat with your mouth closed! Using hands while eating may be quite acceptable at certain restaurants, specially if you?re eating Indian( yeah?try eating a chapatti with a fork n? knife and you?ll know what I?m talking about!), but that doesn?t hold true for all eateries( don?t even Attempt eating Chinese, for instance, with your hands!).
Helpful Tip: You can probably make out what kind of a restaurant it is by observing the setting at the table. If its laden with cutlery(forks, knives, spoons, this and that!) you can tell that you?re not eating at some road-side dhaba!
Another Helpful Tip: This one is for After you?re done eating(something I?ve been scolded for a hell of a lot as a kid!). The Finger Bowl is another Brit introduced concept in India. As my parents always reminded me when I was kid, is that its NOT something to play around with! And its not for brushing your teeth and washing your face with either! The purpose of a Finger Bowl is solely to delicately rinse your fingers, and that?s it!
Yet Another Tip(yeah I know, I can get annoying!): Try not to drink anything while you have a bite in your mouth. Not too polite!
Pay up!
Arre yeh kaise ho sakta hai, aap kaise pay kar sakte hain!(oh, how can this be, why are you paying!) If you?re a true Indian, you?ll know by now that I?m talking about the?I?ll Pay? routine! Oh come on, fess up, even you and I have done it! Haggling right when the bill comes and fighting over who?ll pay! Its amusing to a certain extent, but don?t take it too far! Don?t keep the waiter waiting for half an hour while you decide who?s pay! Try to be as subtle about it as possible!
Helpful Tip: When you finally decide who?ll pay, don?t make a big deal out of the bill and the high rates just then. Not only will it make your guests uncomfortable, but will also make the waiter/ manager feel awkward.
Tata!
The concept of paying tips varies from place to place. I personally always get thoroughly confused at this point! So I usually leave a tip ranging from 1% to 6-7% of the total bill. At different places, this varies, so you just have to like go with the flow!
Finishing thoughts
After such a lengthy review on how to eat proper and stuff, I might be sounding like a Nose-In-the-air-typical-NRI(Non Returning Indian), so I feel like clarifying?* Do as I say, and not as I do!* All the?rules? that have been mentioned above are my observations and things I?ve been taught by experience over the years. Personally, I LOVE eating at dhabas, chicken curry and naan with my hands:D! My policy: Enjoy and others will enjoy with you! Enjoy in a way so that others CAN enjoy with you!
