Bread rolls with Christmas dinner

That's like fruit cake with cheese....some folk are strange.

You don't have starters down south? You've got to have something to dip in your soup.


It has to be crumbly cheese, preferably Wensleydale.

As it happens, my friends don't live in the jungle or in caves either

Allright, call me a snob.

bad manners??

Pouring wine backhanded. Considered impolite in many cultures, best not to do it just to be sure.

Hey, what ever works for you!

Correct me if I am wrong.... But with sushi/sashimi when using soy sauce and wasabi (wasabi-joyu) one should not make a stash for the whole meal but instead replenish when needed so not to waste or leave a load in the dipping dish..the ratio is totally down to the consumer..but it is supposed to compliment the sushi/sashimi not over power it...

Also..coming from a family with three siblings I tent to eat food rather quickly..(possibly due to the fact that if I didn't eat it someone else would) Is the speed of food consumption of importance also..??

I still think I am a eat to live not a live to eat...person...

In CH, one should not keep hands hidden (below the table) when they are not used to hold cutlery. Quite the opposite in anglophone countries, I believe.

One should not switch hands using knife and fork while dining (common in North America) so that the fork could be used as a "shovel". And don't try to cut with a fork and avoid using a knife.

One should eat fondue by taking the bread and cheese on the lips and not letting the mouth touch the fork.

And to add something based on the OP's inspiration:

In Japan, never pass an item of food using chopsticks. Always put it down and let the other pick it up. This is because in Buddhist cremation ceremonies, the small bones of the cremated are passed among family members using chopsticks into the urn.

Yes it is important. To eat your food very fast is bad manner to the one who took time and effort to prepare it. By eating it fast, you don't take the time to taste the flavors and enjoy it.

And it can means that it doesn't taste good (and this is why you try to get over it as fast as you can) or not enough warm.

Not in blightly, old bean.

Same for us, never pass the bread pieces with your hand but pass the basket to let the person take the piece himself. Do not touch someone else food.

Do not also eat from someone's plate without asking. If you want to taste, ask!

Yes that's correct. And for nigiri sushi, it is the fish on top that is dipped into the soy sauce, not the rice. This is to avoid having bits of rice fall off into the sauce. Not as easy to do with chopsticks compared to fingers.

So you dip jam butty's in soup? Now you're really worrying me.

[strikes one guest off list for Xmas 2011]

Exactly (apart from the little typo). Even the US tape manners still are based on the times before toilet paper was invented.

For those who don't understand -- go to a country where toilet paper is a thing for tourists only. You'll learn quickly, as soon as you leave your ghetto.

what about the ones that are tighten to the nigiri like Hamachi?

You just reminded me of something Nil. One time I asked my dad to "chuck me the bread" so he picked up a bit and threw it at me. I couldn't believe it and neither could my sister as this is the man who always quotes "manners maketh man". He then turned to me and said "if you wanted to have a piece of bread young lady, then in future I suggest you ask me to please pass you the bread".

Thank goodness I hadn't asked for the butter dish instead!!

I was taught to sit up straight, not talk across people at the table, sip soup quietly from the side of the spoon while tipping the bowl backwards if needed. To use the prongs of the fork to stab food, not as a shovel. The pace of one's consumption should be in keeping with one's company - don't eat to quickly or too slowly. Never push the plate away from you when finished, never spin around in your chair (in case you knock the waiter, but be aware food comes from the right and plates are cleared from the left). Oh and no phone, no phone rings or beeps - all on silent please.

If you don`t push the plate away when you have finished. where do you put your elbows then?

I see what you mean, on the other hand I find it annoying if people eat super slow (like MG's sil) which means I have to slow down so we finish more or less at the same time and towards the end everything is cold

I must be dreaming!A perfectly well-mannered gentleman!If you were taught so, does it mean you act as you were told too?