I can't remember her convoluted conversation about pudding vs dessert. It had to do with one being in constant use (pudding?) and then the hoity toity began saying "dessert," and then there was a backlash against this usage, and on and on. This woman knew absolutely everything about everything. I do wonder why I did not "sort" her out, but I guess I felt sorry for her! Remind me never to take a cruise again--you are held captive!

Hooameye - did you live in Beaconsfield in the early sixties and take in lodgers? Was that you?

"Hooameye - did you live in Beaconsfield in the early sixties and take in lodgers? Was that you?"

No, sorry, was living in Singapore then, not as exotic as Beaconsfield though.

.....Josser is being facetious......

Moi?
I notice that my little coat trail about pudding and dessert took quite a time to be trodden on.
My mum thought that "afters" was dead common.
She called it "sweet" unless it really was a pudding.

BTW, it is very democratic of you to invite hoi polloi to your house and give them clean utensils.
They have to come to the tradesmen's entrance at my house.

Actually, we always change the cutlery between courses.
We've got one of them thar fancy washing up machines.

>>>For those who usually get new silverware for each course, does that apply at your home with guests?<<<

Of course! In fact we use different cutlery (silverware) for each course every day, not just special occasions. Generations of British people children been brought up to observe certain table manners. It was only when I started visiting the US that I realised it's not universal etiquette to set the table with the full set of cutlery for the meal, eat with the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right, and not remove any of the finished plates until the whole table has finished their course. And by the way, the restaurants I've eaten at in the US where my cutlery was reused at each course were far from cheap diners I can assure you.

... and not talk loudly with your mouth open when eating, or point at things with your fork....

<i>If you had sardines or tuna as a first course, you don't want to eat steak or chicken in the same plate with the same knife and fork.</i>

Actually, the knife and fork don't bother me all that much, but you obviously change the plate at a minimum. Old time French people did such a good job of wiping both the plate and silverware clean with their bread that I would very much like that tradition to return.

Either you are serious about ecology or you are not.

"Either you are serious about ecology or you are not".

Hand-washing a few forks and knives together with the plates is not an ecological disaster. But I'll think about serving food Arab-style : one big dish for everybody, no knives, no forks, just bread. Or Chinese-style, with chopsticks (bad for the trees though). And I'll use the napkins at least twice to save water.

Wiping the plate with bread is alive and well with our friends in Provence.

The custom of wiping the plate clean with bread is alive and well with our friends in Provence.

<i>And by the way, the restaurants I've eaten at in the US where my cutlery was reused at each course were far from cheap diners I can assure you.</i>

I suspect that you simply have a differing definition of cheap... Good American restaurants replace your cutlery. Those that are basically replacements for at-home dining may not. Pretty much like in every other country I have visited.

<i>Or Chinese-style, with chopsticks (bad for the trees though).</i>

Not really. Bamboo is the traditional chopstick material, and they are among the fastest-growing plants in the world. You don't get more green than bamboo.

Now, it would seem some folks here would surely be put out by the Asian practice of using your chopsticks throughout a meal. I hope that they never find themselves in Korea, where they might be presented with the communal soup bowl - yes, everyone at the table just dips their spoon into it. It would seem that many would faint from shock. To bad, really, because Korean food is among the most underrated in the world.

Josser. They DO come in the trademan's entrance! One must maintain standards!

I must have moved in elevated circles in the US.
I was never asked to reuse a utensil either in a restaurant or a private house .
People laid their tables just as I do, a set of cutlery for each course, set out so that you start at the right and work your way in.

That was a few decades ago. Something I have observed fairly recently in American tourists is that they seem to use their fingers more than we do.

Miss Prism, you are right. KFC is "finger licking good" as they say, and even Emily Post says it's fine to eat fried chicken with your fingers. Most Americans I think use their hands only for eating pizza. But some will use knife and fork, and some Italians will use their fingers. I think sometimes we get carried away seeing one or two people eat a certain way and assuming that all people of that country must do the same.

But I have American friends who won't even eat a club sandwich or a hamburger with their hands, but resort to knife and fork for that task, which just seems pretentious to me.

I suppose that I tend to notice it when knives and forks are provided and people don't use them.

I don't eat hamburgers, club sandwiches or KFC, so the dilemma never arises ;-)

Then I'm curious what foods you are talking about seeing "American tourists" eating with their fingers?

Then I'm curious what foods you are talking about seeing "American tourists" eating with their fingers?>

Me too - chips?

But the same is true in France at the many Sunday family noon meals i've attended - things i would eat with my hands they use utensils for - like raw veggie slices and fruits

But the French use the baguette as a utensil - an essential utensil in eating to them it seems.

Chips as in crisps (the crumbly dried ones) or as in French Fries (pommes frites)?

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, a "handy" is a cellphone / mobile phone.

For such a new gadget, it sure has a lot of different names.