Dining Traditions

Miscellaneous

• “Cheers”-ing with glasses clinking on each other or “toasts” originated due to the fact that people used to drink and celebrate using a community cup being passed around. Clinking glasses together is a throwback to simulate that everyone is drinking from the same cup / source.
• The Michelin Guide (restaurant reviews) was developed to encourage people to drive and travel more to food destinations – to use up their Michelin tires.
• Inns or taverns, the origin to restaurants, were found in Athens, Greece and all over the continents. They offered rooms for travelers, as well as food and drink, albeit simple food such as grilled meats, bread, and salad. In the 16th century, traiteur in France (also Trattoria in Italy) meant for “treating” oneself, and offered take out or delivery for wealthier families. Cafes offered light fare such as drink and sweets, rottisseur offered roasted meats, and patisserie offered pastries, before restaurants were developed.
• Dining times – Breakfast – Etymology “break the fast” after the night’s sleep. The term “breakfast” wasn’t coined until 15th century Britain. Ancient Romans ate three large meals including breakfast – with eggs, if available. When the Romans were pushed out of Europe, breakfast left with them, and throughout the Middle Ages Europeans ate two large meals. Physicians and religious leaders (Catholic Church) of the time suggested that it would be sinful and gluttonous to eat before dinner and low social class status, and so breakfast was a meal reserved for the weak (children, the elderly) and manual laborers or noble travelers, who needed energy first thing in the morning. Those (non-workers) who could afford to eat more lavishly, later in the day, often did. In the west, in the early 16th century Britain, it was considered unhealthy to eat food (breakfast) before the prior meal was fully digested. Later in 1550, writers stated breakfast was essential and in the 17th century a medical writer brought back and suggested eating eggs for breakfast. The English began taking their dinners later and later (as late as four or five p.m. by the end of the eighteenth century), pushing supper back even later and creating the need for a third meal: breakfast. It’s in the 1800s that breakfast really became popular again. The Industrial Revolution ushers in the need for workers, who in turn needed heavy breakfasts, specifically low-metabolizing energy sources (protein, fat) to get them through the day that were a cheaper alternative that meat. The Second Industrial Revolution and rise of the nouveau riche sees the creation of the Full English: an egg-laden meal that can be dressed up (three-course breakfast spreads) or down (beans, toast, and an egg)
• Dining times – Lunch – Luncheon comes from the Anglo Saxon word Nuncheon, or noon drink, between mid-day dinner and supper in Medieval England.
• Dinner – Etymology – French “to dine” (even though the previous Roman etymology is dejeuner – to “de” break the “jeuner” fast, which implies breakfast). Main meal of the day in the Middle Ages.
• Supper – Etymology – “soup”. Late evening meal after dinner, which got smaller to a snack and eventually chased out as Dinner became later.

Latin Countries

• “Cheers”-ing by stating “Arriba (glasses up), abajo (glasses down), al centro (glasses to the front), y pa’dentro (inside)

Arab Countries

• In West Asia (Middle East) and most Arab countries, lunch is eaten between 1-4 pm and is the main meal of the day. Usually meat, rice, vegetables, sauces and is sometimes dessert. Yogurt drinks may be consumed.

🇸🇪 Sweden

• Fika – Means “coffee break”, which is the practice of taking a break with a drink and a snack in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon at workplaces in Sweden. And if referring to an informal meeting between co-workers and other work colleagues, it could be considered impolite to not participate.
• In Sweden, lunch is usually a full hot meal, much as in Finland.

🇮🇹 Italy

• Italian Proverb – “At the table, one does not grow old”
• Customs – Romans lied down reclined while eating (sitting up was for commoners). Main meal could go on for hours, and guests would frequently fall asleep at the table. Guests would bring napkins to take home leftover food. It is a myth that Romans would throw up after feasts.
• Abbiocco – Love to sleep after meals so much that they named the drowsiness you feel after a filling meal (abbiocco), i.e. after lunch time. More common to Italy’s North, where it is warmer and people are more susceptible to the laziness and sleepiness. A pisolinos is the Italian equivalent of a siesta. The word abbiocco, seems related to the similar-sounding word chioccia, meaning a mother hen, inspiring thoughts of warm snugness in the coop.
• Aperitivo – Little bits of food ie croquettas. Usually end of the workday to warm up to dinner. Milan is the place to go for the best aperitivo – lots of options for bars. Amaro (bitter) is drank – Vermouth (wine-based amaro), Campari, Aperol, Fernet, or Cynar (artichoke). Vermouth comes from the German word wermut for “wormwood” which was the main bitter used to make vermouth. Vermouth was first invented in Turin, Italy.
• Pasta was first brought to Sicily by Arab merchants (specifically from Libya) around the 12th century (along with spinach, eggplant and sugar cane, to the Mediterranean basin). Pasta eventually made its way to Naples in the 15th century. Was started to be eaten by fork in 14th century, especially when tomato sauce was used in the late 18th century. In the 17th century, pasta prices dropped while meat and veggies rose, and pasta stopped being only for the wealthy.
• Macaroni, what all pasta was called in Italy from the 17th-19th centuries, was a street food in Naples. Thus, was eaten by hand there. Tourists would purchase the macaroni for beggars “lazzaroni” to eat in one handful and mouthful.
• Dinner parties in Ancient Rome, known as convivia, is where Roman emperors and senators would discuss affairs and also ate meals including liquaman (garum) which is a fish sauce.
• Cappucino – Only served before 11am, as they believe milk during or after a meal would wreak havoc on digestion.

🇩🇪 Germany

• The German word for cheers for meals (i.e. Bon Appetit) is Mahlzeit – which translates to a plain “Meal-time!” – Germans get to the point
• Sayings: “Beer is no good unless it was served within the shadow of the brewery smokestack”. Meaning Germans prefer their beer fresh, close to where it was brewed. They also prefer beer cold – as before refrigeration, it usually was stored in the cellar and served from there.

🇫🇷 France

• Paris got its restaurant scene after the French Revolution, nobility emigrated and their chefs, now out of work, opened restaurants. From nothing, after the revolution restaurants were numbering over 500 within a 30 years. The word “restaurant” comes from the word “restaurer” – to “restore” – in reference to the restorative broths (consomme) that they served (sort of like a health spa). Quickly, the first restaurant began serving stew and other food. Before this, one could order food at taverns and inns, but this was the start of an establishment which solely made food for certain time ranges of the day, with added traits of elegant decor, intelligent waiters, extensive cellars, and higher end cooking. As more people came into Paris to visit restaurants, they developed menus and private rooms and tables.
• Entree – Actually is a French word that means appetizer (even though used in English / the Western World to signify the main course). Plat Principal is what the French call the main course.
• Regarding wine – proverb “It is only the first bottle that is expensive”. Also “A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.”
• Picnic comes from the French “pique-nique” which means “picking” niques (things of little importance), meaning everyone contributes something little from home. After the French revolution (late 17th century), picnicking was popular in the royal parks that were now open to the public. In the 18th and 19th centuries, they became more fanciful.
• Eating cheese after meals – The French eat cheese after meals. Yogurts and aged cheese had bacteria eat through their proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, so may continue to help one’s digestion. Eaten by itself or with French baguette, never crackers, and with red wine.

🇪🇸 Spain

• Menu del dia – In the 1960s, Spain opened itself to tourism and a law was passed that every restaurant must have an affordable fixed price menu – a starter and a main dish and usually fruit for dessert with wine (10-15 euros).
• Spain “the only part of the pig you don’t eat is the oink” – the sound it makes. Ie pig ears
• Midday meal “lunch” takes place between 1-3 pm and is the main meal of the day of a three-course meal – appetizer, meat or fish dish, and dessert, topped with coffee or post-meal drink. Supper is usually 8:30- 10 pm. Most workplaces and schools have a complete restaurant with a lunch break of a least an hour, and both do three courses, as do homes. Most small shops close for between 2-4 hours (Siesta) – usually between 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm – to allow to go home for a full lunch.
• Breakfast at 8am, go to office, noon a little break – coffee and a pinch tortilla, go back to office, then 2 or 2:30 go for lunch, if you are a lucky one – have 1 or 2 hours break. Go for lunch with a colleague or meet friends and go for a men del dia (10-15 euros)
• Lunch is the heavier meal and is typically served between 1:30-3:30. Dinner tends to be lighter and is served between 9:00-midnight. At off times the restaurants will be empty!
• Throw napkins in bars on the floor
• Concept of tapa – the original name of tapa is that people would ask for a glass of wine and put their bread on their glass of wine – tapa is like a cover so flies wouldn’t go inside.
• In Catalonia, they drink a glass of vermouth (fortified wine – served on the rocks or with a splash of soda water and garnished with olive or lemon rind) and tapas. Vermouth comes from the German word wermut for “wormwood” which was the main bitter used to make vermouth.

🇵🇹 Portugal

• Almoco (lunch) is a full meal between 12-2pm similar to dinner with soup, meat or fish dish and dessert. Since dinner is late, there is usually a small meal called lanches at 5ish.

🇬🇧 Britain / United Kingdom (UK)

• “Pub” was a Public House – to denote that it was open to the public, and also had a bar and separate room for drinkers not required to purchase food. Also called alehouse or tap room.
• Britain had ale before the Roman empire arrived, many more alehouses than inn or taverns.
• Tuck shop (e.g. a snack to “tuck into a meal”), canteen (cafeteria, also called this in India), sock shop – Small convenience store in youth clubs, campsites, and schools.
• Except on Sundays, lunch in early afternoon is a small meal, usually at pubs, to prevent hunger until returning home from work and eating dinner. Pub lunch dishes include fish and chips, ploughman’s lunch and others. But on Sundays it is usually the main meal, and the largest and most formal meal of the week, to which family or other guests may be invited. It traditionally centers on a Sunday roast joint of meat.
• Elevenses – A mid-morning tea or snack, which can have a different meaning based on the country.
• High tea – Usually taken in the early evening (6pm), at a high table. Morning tea was usually taken on a low table (coffee table).
• The lower class people (the majority) in the UK called the mid-day meal dinner and the evening meal “tea”. A way to distinguish the higher class was if they instead called the mid-day meal “lunch” and the evening meal “dinner”.

🇬🇷 Greece

• The Ancient Greeks viewed beer for “barbarians”, and preferred wine.

🇯🇵 Japan

• Tachinomiya – “Stand up bar”, Usually near rail stations, these standing room only bars, where people would go after work to eat small bites similar to tapas and drink with coworkers.
• “Kanpai” for cheers-ing means “empty cup” – similar to bottoms up. Cheers-ing with “Banzai” means to live 10,000 years. Never pour your own drink, always pour for others, and do not touch your glass until everyone else’s is filled.

🇰🇷 South Korea

• Soju – Twirl the soju bottle upside down to make a tornado. 7 years of bad luck if you pour your own soju. You also cannot drink by yourself. You could drink it via a “love shot” (crossing your arm with your friend’s). Under Japanese rule, couldn’t make anything Korean so traditional distilling was forgotten for awhile. After Korean war (1965), were so poor and overpopulated which resulted in food shortages. Added water to dilute Soju to 25%. In the old days, drinking was a luxury.

🇸🇬 Singapore

• A traditional party is called tok panjang which means “long table” – meaning it will be a table covered in food dishes. “Shiok” is Singaporean slang meaning phenomenal.

🇵🇱 Poland

• Main meal of the day (called obiad) is traditionally eaten between 1-5 pm – consisting of a soup and main dish.

🇭🇺 Hungary

• Hungarians vowed not to cheers with beer for 150 years because they were defeated in the 1848 revolution against the Habsburgs and the Austrians celebrated by clinking their beer glasses.
• Lunch is traditionally the main meal of the day, starting with a leves (soup).

🇷🇺 Russia

• Midday meal (lunch) is taken in the afternoon and is the biggest meal consisting of a first course, usually a soup, and a second course of meat and a garnish. Tea is standard.

🇺🇸 United States of America

• Potluck – Either coming from the British pot-luck (food provided for an unexpected guest or “luck of the pot”), or America’s indigenous peoples (specifically coastal people of the Pacific Northwest) “pot-latch” – giving away or destroying valuable items by a leader to demonstrate their wealth or power.
• New Orleans – A dinner of red beans and rice is traditionally eaten on Mondays because it was laundry day and red beans could cook all day on the stove on their own.

🇲🇽 Mexico

• Lunch (almuerzo) is usually the main meal of the day and takes place between 2-4 pm and usually includes 3-4 courses: the first is an entrée of rice, noodles or pasta, but may include a soup or salad. The second consists of a main dish “guisado”, served with 1-2 side dishes such as refried beans, cooked vegetables, rice or salad. The main dish is accompanied by tortillas or a bread called bolillo. The third course is a combination of a traditional dessert or sweet, café de olla, and a digestif. During the meal, it is usual to drink aguas frescas.
• Many Mexicans believe envidia, or envy, causes illness and bad luck. Envy can be provoked by success but can result in misfortune and illness
• Humoral Imbalance – In general, physical and mental illness is thought to result from an imbalance between a person and the environment, expressed as either “hot” and “cold” or “wet” and “dry”. The four humors contained in the body include blood (hot and wet), yellow bile (hot and dry), phlegm (cold and wet), and black bile (cold and dry). To correct an imbalance, people consume foods or herbs with the opposite quality (e.g., “cold” conditions are treated with “hot” medications).
• Illness can also result from a “dislocation” of different parts of the body. Empacho, an example of  dislocation, is a form of upset stomach or indigestion thought to be caused by eating the wrong food at the wrong time of day, eating undercooked food, or swallowing gum. The most common treatment is rubbing the stomach or back gently with cooking oil and pinching the spine
• “Bad eye” is caused when someone looks with admiration or jealousy at another person. The person looked upon experiences malaise, sleepiness, fatigue, and severe headache. Folk remedies include saying a prayer while passing an egg over the victim’s body then placing the egg in a bowl under the victim’s bed overnight, or alternately, having the person who caused the mal de ojo care for the victim
• Also known as fright sickness, susto arises from a traumatic or frightening experience and is thought to cause soul loss, whereby the soul leaves the body and wanders freely. Symptoms include anxiety, depression, insomnia, introversion, irritability, lethargy, and anorexia. Tuberculosis is sometimes classified as susto
• In some Hispanic cultures, a good meal will be balanced in food and herbs by “hot” and “cold” types. Those who eat foods whose temperatures are wrong for them can get sick. A good appetite is associated with good health. Children are not forced to eat foods that they resist because their preferences are respected. A mother or grandmother will withhold a food she thinks causes illness from her children’s diet. A list of harmful foods is passed along from generation to generation, with other food beliefs, from mother to daughter

🇧🇷 Brazil

• Lunch is the main meal of the day, taking place between 11:30 a.m – 2 p.m. Rice with beans, salad, french fries, some kind of meat or pasta dishes.

🇮🇱 Israel

• Asking people to go eat a hummus meal – Bo Le’nagev?” – Literally: “Come, let’s go wipe” because hummus is eaten with a wiping motion with pita bread.