On a more practical note: Having a rather unpleasant (and sometimes quite sticky) food intolerance, I'd rather have my own plate, which I know is safe to eat, than have to ask the waiter fifteen times if those little plates of eastern delight in the middle of the table contain any of the substances that will result in a night and a day of intestinal misery should I inadvertently gobble them up attached to a strip of beef or a sauteed prawn.

This my plate. That yours.

Now bugger off and let me eat, dabizi!