Seven Food Etiquette Rules From Around The World
In Chinese culture, flipping a whole fish after
eating one side is considered bad luck, as it’s
associated with a capsized fishing boat, and
that makes total sense. Instead, remove the
bones completely if you want to get to the
other side, or just stare at that delicious fish
meat taunting you from your plate.
In Japan, never stick the chopsticks into the rice
bowl or pass food from chopsticks to chopsticks.
These behaviors are only acceptable at funerals.
Stick the chopsticks into the rice bowl can resemble
funeral incense, which considered as offerings to the
ghosts or ancestors.
Also, during funeral rituals in Japan, bones are
passed from one set of chopsticks to the other, so
passing food this way is considered taboo.
In South Korea, Never place your chopsticks
parallel to each other across the top of a rice
bowl as this is considered to be very rude.
It is also not appropriate to hold the rice bowl up
to your lips: you should keep the bowl down on
the tabletop.
In Italy, don't ask for parmesan cheese for your
pizza. Putting parmesan cheese on pizza is seen
as ignorant. And many pasta dishes in Italy
aren't meant for parmesan . In Rome, for
example, the traditional cheese is pecorino, and
that's what goes on many classic pastas like
bucatini all'amatriciana, not parmesan.
In Italy, only drink a cappuccino before noon.
Some Italians say that a late-day cappuccino
upsets your stomach, others that it's a replacement
for a meal (it's common to have just a cappuccino,
or a cappuccino and a croissant, for breakfast).
In Mexico you should never eat tacos with a fork
and knife. It's kind of like eating a burger with
silverware
In France, you are supposed to use two hands to
eat -- either fork and knife or fork and bread.
Bread isn't meant to be an appetizer -- instead it
serves to assist the food to the fork. When you eat
the bread, tear off a piece of it to eat instead of
biting directly into the bread. When not in use, the
bread belongs on the table or tablecloth instead of
the plate.