[Sca-cooks] eating from couches or lounges

[Philippa Alderton]

--- Stefan li Rous <stefan at texas.net> skrev:

> I have wondered about some of this. Specifically,
> eating from those
> comfy couches or chase lounge things like the Romans
> were supposed
> to have done.
>
> Seems like it would be messy to me, with a good part
> of the food
> ending up on your chest rather than down your
> throat. Especially
> when eating things like pears in wine sauce. And
> especially without
> forks. I don't remember seeing any pictures of the
> Romans wearing
> bibs.

Actually, Stefan, if you may remember, I think I was
discussing the matter of eating with fingers on this
List some time ago. If you recall (and maybe this was
a side conversation w/Adamantius, but I thought it was
public, either on the List or in camp), I was
mentioning meeting and eating with a Philipino lady
who ate exclusively with her fingers, and who did so
entirely politely and neatly- so much so, that I
carefully watched her and attempted to emulate her.

This also brought up some of the period discussions of
manners, including such things as admonitions in
period, to not use more than the tips of your fingers
in food, and other stuff- not wiping your beard on
your neighbor's cloak or some such ;-). Anyone
remember the reference?

At any rate, even if I'll never quite emulate Dendai
in this manner, I did learn that yes, it is indeed
quite possible to eat politely with one's fingers,
once you learn how, and having learned that, I see no
reason why one couldn't learn to eat politely
reclining on a couch, if one practiced, or hanging
from a trapeze, for that matter.

I suspect the mental attitude requires a bit more
attention to how one is doing things, as with
chopsticks, rather than what one is doing- trying to
stuff lotsa food down your throat.

Phlip


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