Ten Food Etiquette Rules From Around The World

Every person on this earth is different from others and so has his own habits and personality. Similarly, every country on the map has got its own culture and traditions relating to a style of living, eating food, celebrating events and so on. Today, I am going to tell you some strange food etiquette prevalent in countries which might come as a pleasant surprise to you. You might give different expressions after knowing them but still, you will be surprised 😉

10. Thailand

Welcome to Thailand where you cannot use a fork to put food into your mouth as it is against their traditions or way of eating food. You can only use a fork to put the food on your spoon and eat with the spoon. Most of the dishes in Thailand are eaten with hands. Food items that are not part of the rice-based meals can be eaten with a fork.

9. Middle East, India and parts of Africa

In these parts of the world, using your left hand even to touch the food plate is considered against etiquette. That is primarily because the left hand is used for bodily functions due to which it is considered dirty. I wonder what left-handed people will do in such a situation. Leave food? Nah…They can take their plate and go eat in the backyard.

8. Georgia

Let us talk about the traditional feast (supra) of Georgia. In this event, one can only sip the wine in a toast. So, in order to taste the wine, you will have to wait for the next toast. There is more to this as you will have to gulp the whole glass at once. If you want to go to Georgia, start practising this right now!

7. Mexico

How about sharing some interesting food etiquette of USA’s neighbours? In Mexico, using a fork and a knife to eat tacos is considered foolish and inappropriate. Never mind! Just wash your hands well to eat tacos with them. It is a job made easy!

6. Britain

Requesting a port is seriously funny in this part of the world. How? One, the port is always passed on to the left side and it goes on like this so if you are, unfortunately, sitting to the immediate right of the person with the decanter then please stop thinking about wine. Wait for your turn no matter how earnestly you want wine. Two, my personal favourite etiquette is that you cannot ask for a decanter directly from the person holding it. You have to ask a strange question about that. “Do you know the Bishop of Norwich?” if the reply comes that they don’t know the answer to this then reply, “He is a very good chap, but he always forgets to pass the port.”

5. Italy

It is fairly easy to spot a tourist in Italy as the locals there do not drink cappuccino after noon. They believe that it renders the stomach upset. In order to avoid being spotted as a tourist there, take an espresso instead of a cappuccino after noon time if you really want one.

4. France

Here in Central Asia, we guys deem it appropriate to place the bread on a plate. French dudes seem to follow some other trend contrary to us. They prefer placing the bread directly on the table, in fact, it is considered more respectful and in sync with the traditions.

3. Middle East

Here, there is a special rule for drinking coffee when you are with Bedouins (desert-dwelling Arabian ethnic group). They will keep on pouring coffee until and unless you tilt the cup upside down twice or thrice before handing it back to them. This is an indication that you don’t want any more coffee. If you will not do it, then get ready to drink coffee for an indefinite time.

2. Russia

Welcome to the land of Russia where drinking vodka isn’t as simple as it looks. There are two conditions attached to it. One, don’t mix anything with it not even ice to make it cold. Two, never turn down the offer of anyone to drink vodka as it epitomizes friendship and trust in the person offering you vodka.

1. Chile

In this part of the world, somewhat more stress is laid on manners as compared to the other South American countries. Here, you are not even allowed to pick up the fries with your hands rather it is always considered well to use a knife and a fork for this purpose. Thank God! Here in my home, I rarely use a fork to eat fries.