The table manners of pets.

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Let us know what you think about table manners.

Somewhere in Austria, in the middle of nowhere there is a lovely restaurant with a beautiful outside area. Cows on the hill, something like 5 meters away do not bother neither visitors, nor the owners. But dogs do. They inspired the owner to add a little poem to his menu saying, basically, that he doesn't mind having the dogs in the restaurant sitting on the chairs or benches as long as they have table manners. And use the cutlery.
The table manners of dogs are universal concern. And teaching dogs and the restaurant staff good table manners up to the level of certificate is no joke.  Say, for example, Venice.

According to mysuncoast.com the following regulation is in place:
In order to protect the health, safety and general welfare of the public, a restaurant is prohibited from having any dog on its premises unless it possesses a valid city permit for Dog Friendly Dining. All permits issued are subject to the following requirements, according to the city code:
•    All restaurant employees shall wash their hands promptly after petting or otherwise handling any dog. Employees shall be prohibited petting or otherwise handling any dog while serving food or beverages, or handling tableware or before entering other parts of the restaurant.
•    Patrons in a designated outdoor area shall be advised that they should wash their hands before eating. Waterless hand sanitizers shall be provided at all tables there.
•    Employees and patrons shall be instructed that they shall not allow dogs to come into contact with tabletops, serving dishes, utensils, tableware, linens, paper products, or any other items involved in food service operations.
•    Dogs shall not be allowed to eat any food.
•    Patrons shall keep their dogs on a leash at all times and keep their pets under reasonable control.
•    Dogs shall not be allowed on chairs, tables or other furnishings.
•    All table and chair surfaces shall be cleaned and sanitized with an approved product between seating of patrons. Spilled food and drink shall be removed from the floor or ground between seatings as well.

•    Accidents involving dog waste shall be cleaned immediately and the area sanitized with an approved product. A kit with the appropriate materials for this purpose shall be kept near the designated outdoor area.
•    At least one sign reminding employees of Doggy Dining rules shall be posted in a conspicuous location frequented by employees within the restaurant.
•    At least one sign reminding patrons of the rules shall be posted in a conspicuous location within the designated outdoor area.
•    At all times while the designated outdoor section of the restaurant is available to patrons and their dogs, at least one sign shall be posted in a conspicuous and public location near the entrance to the designated outdoor area, to place patrons on notice that the section is currently available to patrons accompanied by their dog.
•    Dogs shall not be permitted to travel through indoor or undesignated outdoor portions of the restaurant, and ingress and egress to the designated outdoor area shall not require entrance into or passage through any indoor or undesignated outdoor portion of the eatery.
•    All restaurants participating in the Dog Friendly Dining program shall provide and maintain a drinking water station for patrons' dogs and dogs in general.
Anyone at a restaurant observing these rules being broken – such as dogs on patrons' laps or eating food at the table, or servers not washing their hands after petting a dog – should contact the city Code Enforcement Department by calling 941-486-2626.

Would YOU try it?

When I was young, together with a couple of friends I did a very cruel thing. I ordered THIS for my colleague. We were abroad, she didn't speak the language. It was easy. We just said those were the chicken bits. Special recipe. She liked the dish. But didn't like us when we confessed and left the table immediately with a rather wan face.


* Cuisses-de-grenouille: frogs' legs. Well, not legs. Cuisses means thighs. It is a French attempt to make frogs seem sensual.

More on intricacies of French cuisine here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/france/articles/The-offal-truth-about-French-cuisine/

Do you need a table for table manners?

No, not really...

How to offend the locals (at the table and away from it...)

First of all, tell them they are locals. I did it in Macedonia. He was supposed to pick me up in the morning to bring me and my (big) suitcase to their office, so I could work for a couple of hours before taking off, back to London. He was born in Skopje, went to school there, still works in the same city 30+ years later.

So here I am. Waiting at the corner of the streets he mentioned yesterday. It is freezing cold. Little do I know that he is turning into a piece of ice at another corner of the same streets. You don't expect one of the streets to be a crescent and crossing the other one twice, do you? Good forty minutes later we manage to meet each other. I am confused, he is unhappy. And then I say:" But you are local..." I learn more than I ever wanted about the Balkan tempers in the next three minutes

I still don't know why. But he took it as an offence. He said "What? You called me local?"
Any advice on why you think this happened will be very much appreciated. Let us know in the comments what it meant to the guy if you think you understand what it was.

Below - more ways to offend the locals. And much more of rather useful information on etiquette abroad. Let us know if you are local (did I say it again?) and you think the advice in this article is not 100% correct.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/advice/Travel-etiquette-how-to-avoid-offending-the-locals/

TK

Cultural competence

As in any social interaction, knowing  rules, norms and practices of a social group you are dealing with is of paramount importance. Table manners are not universal. They vary from country to country,  class to class, situation to situation. What is required at formal dinner is not necessarily a good practice to follow at your friend's barbecue party. Paper napkins are a much better choice for the latter.

An interesting article about the differences between the countries. Let us know if you agree.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/food-and-wine-holidays/A-guide-to-table-manners-around-the-world/

How to eat. About the project.

Everyone has table manners. We learn to eat before we learn to speak. Table manners tell a lot about us. Where and how we were brought up. What we value. What we aspire to. There are no universally bad or universally good table manners as long as we don't bring danger to the table: threats to health and safety, threats to mood and enjoyment. The only universally good table manner is to make everyone around the table happy and to amplify our enjoyment of sharing food. Table manners developed together with humanity and tell us a lot about society. It is a fascinating subject.

Far from being gurus in table manners teaching we are just curious researchers. The "How to eat" project" is about asking the questions and trying to find the answers to them.  How do we eat? Why this way and not another?  Why table manners are so important? Or are they not?

Read what we've learnt so far. Tell us what you think. We do have a questionnaire on our website www.howtoeat.net. Please share your views on table manners with us.

Enjoy the art. Join us on a lighthearted journey into a rather serious matter.