For the food and eating manners (etiquette) varies from country to country . In India it is rude to eat with your left hand, in Japan upright chopsticks, in Mexico eat tacos with a fork, in England add a drink on the right side, and in China turn the fish. In Japan you can cause a real mess at the table if you hang your chopsticks in the wrong direction, because you will make inappropriate gesture and perhaps remind the Japanese about the funeral of his grandmother, said Dean Allen Foster, author of the manual “Global etiquette”.
He explains the rules of etiquette at the table in 15 countries around the world and how to avoid trouble if you don’t know someones culture.
So in Japan between bites chopsticks should be placed in front of the one who eats, parallel to the edge of the table and nowhere else, explains instructor cooking Mineko Takane Moreno. Putting sticks upright in the rice is the worst thing you can do because at the traditional japanese funerals bowl with rice with upright chopsticks puts at the coffin end of the deceased.
In Thailand – without fork in your mouth. While eating a dish with rice instead of putting food in your mouth with a fork, use it only to push the food into the spoon. There are exceptions for traditional dishes from northern Thailand that are eating exclusively with hands. Also, if only one food is on the plate, it can be eaten with a fork, provided that it isn’t rice. Leela Punyaratabandhu culinary celebrity blogger says that eating foods with rice using chopsticks worst thing you can do in Thailand. Their culture considered it rude. Use only your right hand. In southern India with left hand you shouldn’t even touch the plate. The reason for this is the belief that the left hand is “dirty” because it is associated with bodily functions. If you are left-handed, freely you use your left hand, but then during the meal doesn’t use the right. The same rule applies to the middle east and in some parts of Africa.
In Georgia it is rude to sip wine. Of what residents of Georgia called “supra”, which means “the traditional celebration”, the rule is that whoever finds at the celebration must drained a glass of wine.
In Mexico, tacos don’t eat with a knife and fork. Mexicans believe that eating tacos with a knife and fork is ridiculous and snobbish. That experience considered like someone eating a hamburger with a silver cutlery.
In Italy, cappuccino is drinking only at the morning. Some Italians say that cappuccino afternoon disturb the functioning of the stomach, others see it as a poor substitute for a meal, so you will never see italian who ordered it after 15 hours or after a lavish dinner. If you need a dose of caffeine the better solution is espresso.
In Britain, the drink is added to the left side. In England, the porto wine, according to tradition, is added to the left side, because sailors used to do that for happiness. Therefore, it is considered a large mistake if you forward a bottle of port on the right side, but it is a big mistake not add it at all.
In France, for appetizer don’t eat bread. Eat it with other foods, especially with served cheese . In almost all traditions it is considered as rude to placing slices of bread on the table, not in your plate, but it is quite acceptable to the French.
In China don’t turn the fish, you may be used to turn the fish after one side is baked, it doesn’t work in China, and especially not in Hong Kong. This is because the turning fish considered bad luck in China and superstitious don’t touch the bottom of fish. In Italy, don`t looking for parmesan. Inserting the parmesan in pizza in Italy is a sin, and many other traditional italian dishes with pasta aren’t eaten with parmesan cheese, some of them are eaten with another kind of cheese or completely without it. Therefore, the rule is that if they don’t offer you, you don’t look for it.
In Chile, eat without using your hands. Decency the table is a bit more formal in Chile than in other Latin American countries. Because of that, even French fries don’t eat with hands, eat it with cutlery.
In Korea, the cup takes with both hands. If you drink in Korea and someone older than you give you a drink, you should take the cup with both hands. Also, don’t eat before the oldest man in the house doesn’t sit down to eat and not leave the table until everyone has completed the meal.
In Russia, vodka can’t be rejected. Vodka in Russia is always drink clean, even without ice. Adding any ingredients considered to be polluting the purity alcohol. If someone offers you vodka, consider this as a welcome sign which you couldn’t refuse.
While drinking coffee with the Bedouin, shake a cup at the end. Typically, each Bedouin will pour you cup of coffee as long as you don’t shake two or three times you cup in hand. This is a sign that is enough for you.
In Brazil be careful with coins. The Churrascaria, a Brazilian steak restaurant, the food is ordered with chips. If the waiter comes out of the kitchen with something you like, make sure token that is on your desk facing the green side up. If you don’t want to give you more returns, turn the red side up.
