15 International Food Etiquette Rules

15 International Food Etiquette Rules That Might Surprise You

Sometimes when you see people staring at your during a meal in a foreign country, it may not be because they recognize you as a tourist.  Table manners are as unique to a culture as the food you eat.  However the rules may not be as easy to understand.  Here, 15 etiquette rules you should know before you travel.

In Thailand, don't put food in your mouth with a fork.

Instead, when eating a dish with cooked rice, use your fork only to push food onto your spoon. A few exceptions: Some northern and northeastern Thai dishes are typically eaten with the hands—you'll know you've encountered such a dish if the rice used is glutinous or "sticky."  Also, stand-alone items that are not part of a rice-based meal may be eaten with a fork. But, says Leela Punyaratabandhu, a food writer, the worst thing to do at a traditional, rice-based meal would be to use chopsticks. "That is awkward and inconvenient at best and tacky at worst," she says.

In Japan, never stick your chopsticks upright in your rice.

Between bites, your chopsticks should be placed together right in front of you, parallel to the edge of the table—and nowhere else, says Mineko Takane Moreno, Japanese cooking instructor and co-author of Sushi for Dummies. (If there is a chopsticks rest, you use it, putting the tips you've been eating with on the rest.) But sticking them upright in a bowl of rice is even worse: During funerals in Japan, the rice bowl of the deceased is placed before their coffin... with their chopsticks upright in the rice. .

 

In the Middle East, India and parts of Africa, don't eat with your left hand.

In South India, you shouldn't even touch the plate with your left hand while eating. That's largely because the left hand is associated with bodily functions, so it's considered to be dirty.

At a traditional feast in Georgia, it's rude to sip your wine.

At what Georgians call a supra (traditional feast), wine is drunk only at toasts. So wait for those... and then down the whole glass at once. But don’t worry, the glasses tend to be small.

In Mexico, never eat tacos with a fork and knife.

Worried about spilling refried beans and salsa all over your front?  Well don’t worry about it because Mexicans think that eating tacos with a fork and knife looks silly and, worse, snobby—kind of like eating a burger with silverware. So be polite: Eat with your hands.

In Italy, drink a cappuccino only before noon.

Some Italians say that a late-day cappuccino upsets your stomach, others that it's a replacement for a meal as it is common to have a cappuccino and a croissant, for breakfast. Either way, you won't see Italians ordering one in a café at 3 p.m.—and certainly not after a big dinner. Do so, and you'll be instantly branded a tourist. If you need that coffee fix, an espresso is fine.

 In Britain, always pass the port to the left—and remember the Bishop of Norwich.

It's unclear why passing port on the left is so important.  Regardless, passing the decanter to the right is a big no-no. So is not passing it at all. If you're at a meal and the decanter stalls, then ask the person with it, "Do you know the Bishop of Norwich?" If they say they don't know him, reply, "He's a very good chap, but he always forgets to pass the port." It sounds weird, but it's true

In France, don't eat your bread as an appetizer before the meal.

Instead, eat it as an accompaniment to your food or with the cheese course at the end of the meal. That said, one thing that would be a faux pas anywhere else—placing bread directly on the table and not on a plate—is perfectly acceptable in France—in fact, it's preferred.

In China, don't flip the fish.

Although you might be used to flipping over a whole fish once you've finished one side, don't—at least not when you're in China, especially southern China and Hong Kong. That's because flipping the fish is dao yue in Chinese, a phrase similar to bad luck or saying that the fisherman's boat is going to capsize."  You can either leave the bottom part untouched or pull off the bone itself to get to the bottom.

In Italy, don't ask for parmesan for your pizza—or any other time it's not explicitly offered.

Putting parmigiano on pizza is seen as a sin, like putting Jell-O on a fine chocolate mousse. 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. A rule of thumb: If they don't offer it to you, don't ask for it.

Don't eat anything, even fries, with your hands at a meal in Chile.

Manners here are a little more formal than many other South American countries. So while it might be the most practical to just pick up those fries with your fingers, don't do it.

In Korea, if an older person offers you a drink, lift your glass to receive it with both hands.

Doing so is a sign of respect for elders, an important tenet of Korean culture. After receiving the pour with both hands, you should turn your head away and take a discreet sip, says Stephen Cha-Kim, a Korean-born worker's rights advocate. Similarly, don't start eating until the eldest male has done so and don't leave the table until that person is finished.

Never mix—or turn down—vodka in Russia.

The beverage is always drunk neat—and no, not even with ice. Adding anything is seen as polluting the drink's purity.  But the worst thing to do when offered a drink is to turn it down.  So even if it is 9 a.m. accept it because it is a sign of trust and friendship.

When drinking coffee with Bedouins in the Middle East, shake the cup at the end.

Typically, anyone Bedouin—or Bedouin-related—will continue to pour you more coffee once you've finished unless you shake the cup, meaning tilting the cup two or three times, when you hand it back. It's such an important tip, says Middle East-based freelance correspondent Haley Sweetland Edwards, that last year, Bedouins she was eating with in Qatar made her practice it until she got it right.

In Brazil, play your tokens wisely.

At a churrascaria, or a Brazilian steakhouse, servers circle with cuts of meat and diners use tokens to place an order. If a server comes out with something you want, make sure your token, which you'll have at your table, has the green side up. If you don't want any more, flip it with the red side up. Since the meat can be never-ending, it's important to strategize—if you leave that token green side up you could end up ordering a lot more than you intended.