Every
country has customs whose logic eludes foreigners. Here’s one British
habit that I just don’t get. At a restaurant or café, if you order a pastry or
other somewhat sticky little foodstuff, it’s quite likely to be served on a
small plate - with a paper napkin between the food and the plate. No other
napkin is provided.Of course, the napkin will be a bit messy once you dig it out from under the gooey goodie. As a napkin, it’s dead useless. And the food item too may end up with a bit of paper stuck to it.
A napkin may also be inserted between a cup and saucer. Why? It just means that if any coffee or soup spills (which might indeed happen as you attempt to remove the napkin to use), you can’t pour the spilt liquid back into the main receptacle: it’s soaked into the now useless napkin.
So what’s the point? I’ve asked a couple of counter staff, but no explanation is forthcoming other than custom or habit.
I don’t recall this happening in the USA - please tell me if I’m wrong. I suppose it might be happening at Starbucks or similar coffee shops - maybe as an attempt at poshness. But what’s posh about such a stupid convention?
7 comments:
Absolutely spot on! (Well, a spot on the napkin anyhow.) So stupid.
The reason that a napkin is placed between the cup and saucer is so that in the instance that enough liquid is deposited a seal does not occur. That is, when lifting the cup from the saucer without a napkin in between it is highly possible that the cup is lifted with the saucer and thus the potential for the saucer to come tumbling down when the cup is slightly tilted - try it at home and you will see what I mean.
Very functional, except that I have never had a cup stick in the way you mention when NOT on a napkin. So it must be a very rare occurrence indeed. Not so with beer mats, though – they often stick to the bottom of the glass. How embarrassing!
This really frustrates me. I do not see this as an English habit, it is just the new wave of coffee shops which seem to practice this most annoying habit.
I order a panini and it is delivered welded to a paper napkin by melted cheese. I then get messy unpicking the paper from my food and waste more napkins in the process. Crazy!
Put the food directly on the plates, PLEASE!
Can't say I have ever witnessed a napkin between cup and saucer, only food and plate.
I can report this confusingly pointless custom is also common practice across cafes in Australia.
This is been driving me crazy across London and Edinburgh this month. I LOL'd to find another American that beat me to the rant. Thank you!
Linen napkins are the most luxurious option and are usually reserved for high-end restaurants. They are made from a high-quality fabric and are soft to the touch. napkins restaurantLinen napkins are also reusable and require special care when washing and ironing.
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