[Sca-cooks] politely deflecting food you don't want

[Susan Lord Williams]

I learned from the King of Spain that two tablespoons full are enough to be polite but believe me I have had problems. It was ok at the 9 course dinner in a castle in Italy. Everyone, except my husband, another colleague and I were the only ones who did not fall asleep during the concert that followed as we only ate 2 tbsp of each course. 

On another occasion, raw brains did fit nicely under lettuce leaves. 

Another time, I called an older woman to tell her my son, Joaquin, a friend of his, and I were going to visit her village. She misunderstood thinking Joaquin was her grandson and immediately invited us to lunch. She was most disappointed to find the error. So were we. Lunch consisted of jellied pig trotters. We did not have enough lettuce to hide them!!!!

 One night I was so full of the national cuisine in the country I was visiting that I spied a carrot and took the whole thing. The princess sitting next to me - asked after I had a mouth full of it, -  “do you like hot peppers?” - yakkas!!!!!! No water could put out that fire!