Speed At Which Members Eat

[cabrales]

Wow, I feel like a pig for admitting I talk and eat at the same time.  

Malawry -- Not at all    The reason I ask about how it's done is that I like to eat and I like to talk about the food *while*, as well as after, I eat. If there's a good way to talk and eat at the same time, I might consider doing it more.

[Basildog]

The tempo of a meal is an important aspect to me.Long delays between courses are not what people want, nor do they want instant changes.Our policy goes as follows... As soon as a guest is seated, then bread , butter ,olives ,menu and a wine list.Also offered something to drink.then the table can be left alone for a while to settle.We don,t serve elaborate food, so theres no real delay before starters are served,, and we don,t aim to have a huge delay  before the main course.We in the kitchen rely upon the front monkeys to keep us informed about slow eaters, so that we can adjust things accordingly. We always offer a small break after main course is cleared, and this is taken by a huge majority of our guests. Bills are not taken to the table untill they are asked for, or we notice that little clue  of a credit card appearing on the table..If you want a long drawn out meal..tell the waiting staff of your plans.it does help!

And when i was a kid , we had to take turns for the Parsons Nose

[cabrales]

We in the kitchen rely upon the front monkeys to keep us informed about slow eaters, so that we can adjust things accordingly.

Basildog -- How slow have some diners been, towards the extreme end of the range? Have you had problems with cooking times when "average speed" diners or fast-eaters are unexpectedly slow on a dish, or when "slow-eaters are even slower than you contemplated?

[Basildog]

World record for slow eater was a chap who ate crab claws with knife and fork, instead of diving in like his friends did. I think he took about an hour to finish his starter! Because i spend my time in and out of the kitchen and were so small, its easy to keep tabs on whats happening .And , were are serving simple food and were not turning tables.it's not a headache

[cabrales]

World record for slow eater

I wonder whether there's an entry in the Guiness Book of World Records on the lengthiest meal.  

That leads me to think about how, in certain cultures, the length of a meal can be hard to delineate if celebratory events sequenced one after another meld into one another. Is there this phenomenon with respect to, for example, wedding celebrations in certain Asian or related regions? I wonder how any such extended celebrations affect how slowly people eat.

[edemuth]

If there's a good way to talk and eat at the same time, I might consider doing it more.

OK, I have to confess--*I'm* the "slow eater" that Malawry speaks of.  :confused:

When dining alone, I do eat more quickly than when I'm with friends or family.  When I'm dining with others, I enjoy the pleasure of their company and conversation... just as I would in any other situation (if we were spending time together at each other's home or on another kind of outing, for example).  I want to find out what's going on in their lives and share what's happening in mine.

My enjoyment of food is lessened somewhat when I eat with other people, because a) I'm not going to just focus on my food and ignore them and b) I don't often have exceptional or "new" food experiences to distract me from what's being said at the table.  My friends and I have favorite haunts and tend to return to them frequently, so the menus are familiar.  When I do try new spots, it's usually with Malawry and we can focus on the food together, both in eating and discussing it.

Like Cabrales, I haven't figured out how to properly integrate eating and talking, which is frustrating because I inevitably end up with cold food that I have to hurry up and consume because everyone else is finished eating.  I've actually said to my dining companions, "So tell me about X, because I need to eat!"  I appreciate it when my geek friends start a dissection of the latest news on Slashdot or some other impossibly technical topic so I can just tune them out and enjoy my food...    I know *they* do the same thing when Malawry and I discuss food!

I guess for me, both food and conversation with people I care about are passionately interesting and therefore deserve total concentration--therein lies the conundrum.  

[Wilfrid]

That leads me to think about how, in certain cultures, the length of a meal can be hard to delineate if celebratory events sequenced one after another meld into one another.

That can also happen with drinking sessions, which can easily last for days  -or, in the case of some of my friends, years.  

[cabrales]

I inevitably end up with cold food that I have to hurry up and consume because everyone else is finished eating.  

edemuth -- The "cold food" problem is one I experience with greater frequency than I would like to admit. Even when I am dining alone, I like to eat a bit more slowly to meaningfully sample the item. My assessments of a dish are not immediate, and I like to also see what the aftertaste and the persistence of flavors are. When I am dining with others, the "eating/talking" point compounds the speed problems. Fish in particular can be a markedly different dish when eaten at the temperature intended than when eaten cold, at the end.  :confused:

[Wilfrid]

As my food usually comes from the kitchen stone cold, I don't have this trouble.      

[Malawry]

I love dining with Edemuth no matter how fast or slow she goes, for the record.  

I have vowed to heat or chill serving dishes as possible for future cooking endeavors to make the cold fish/warm salad problem less of an issue in my own household.

[macrosan]

...now that looks like a topic for a whole new thread ... or maybe just a new page in BalicBioLand ...

[cabrales]

in my own household.

Malawry -- Speaking of your kitchen, do you try to eat more rapidly when you are cooking the meal? I imagine that eating speed would be particularly important then.  

Do some members cooking at home offer to somehow "reheat" for certain guests items rendered cold by slow eating? What quick methods could be used for reheating that generaly do less damage to the quality of dishes?

On cold fish, Troisgros' salmon with sorrel dish tends to be presented in two services, when it is served as a full-fledged a la carte entree. The temperature effects are apparently one of the principal reasons for this method of presentation. (Note the dish may change slightly from year to year, as acknowledged on the Troisgros website. "For the past three years we have adapted this dish annually, creating 'vintage' recipes...")

[Malawry]

When we have people over for a dinner plated in multiple courses, I usually either skip courses or give myself smaller portions so I can finish more quickly and get back to preparing the next course. Usually I have a "lull" between starters/salads/soups and the entree, which is required for me to do the last-minute cooking off of things that go on the plate plus time for the extra plating of multiple items served together. Edemuth is almost always there for these dinner parties, and usually offers advice on plating and assistance with table-clearing and the last-minute food prep. I serve myself last and once I sit for the main course, I don't get up again until post-dinner conversation has been going for a quite a while. I usually wait for a lull and then clear plates and ask for coffee/tea/digestif "orders." And then I take a few minutes to plate dessert (often with Edemuth consultation, as usual) while waiting for water to boil/coffee to brew.

Sometimes I serve buffet style, which allows me to spend more time at the table (epsecially if I don't break the meal out into courses). And almost any nondinner meal I serve is buffet style, or else put on a single plate and set at the table as I call people to it. There is no need to give myself smaller portions or skip courses during such meals.

I have a life policy of not rushing food if at all possible. I don't eat while walking places if I can help it, except for ice cream which I sometimes enjoy eating from a cone while walking about in the summer. I'd rather eat less food than eat while walking or driving someplace, and I loathe nothing more than eating from drive-throughs on a road trip. I try to sit down and put my food on a plate before eating whenever possible, and I don't care to scarf. So no, I don't pack it away in order to go plate the next course when I entertain. Far better to skip the soup.

[ckbklady]

Thank you, Cabrales, for the questions. I too have given this topic some thought. I am married to Vlad the Inhaler - he can scoop his entire plate before I have taken a couple of bites. The pace of his consumption absolutely affects his recollection of the dish - the following day the meal is completely forgotten. His pace is not dictated by the occasion of the meal - everyday dinners rank with holidays and such. I don't mind it at all, except for the reasonably rare occasion where I have taken considerable time preparing something special. Sure, it can be a trifle gloomy to see a complicated main course hoovered up in a matter of moments, but such zeal does speak to the quality of the food, no? We must take the crunchy with the smooth. I would never ask him to slow down and thank the gods above, he would never ask me to pick up the pace. I am not inordinately slow. My pace often assures him a shot at seconds. That he sees it as such I take as a compliment to my cooking.

I cannot recall a time where we felt rushed at the end of a specific restaurant meal, but I can say that EVERY RESTAURANT MANAGER WHO PERMITS SERVERS TO WHIP PLATES AWAY WHEN THERE ARE STILL DINERS WORKING ON THEIR MEALS SHOULD BE ROUNDLY SMACKED. I have no greater pet peeve about the restaurant industry. Why does their desire to start on the dishes preclude their manners? One would NEVER do this in one's home with dinner guests. I have taken to clamping a hand down on the waiterly arm that reaches for my husband's squeaky clean plate and muttering, with glinty eye, "NOT everyone at this table is finished QUITE yet, thanks."  My fast-eater agrees - his Mama raised a mannerly son. If it is not closing time, what's the rush?  Manners translate into TIPS.

As I typed this I realize that I barely made my way through a cuppa and an Arrowroot bickie. Maybe I AM a pokey eater???

[cabrales]

ckbklady -- You mention your husband may take second helpings. One thing not previously mentioned in this thread is whether eating slowly might aid digestion and therefore permit greater quantities of food to be consumed. Is the variation in eating speed likely to be significant enough that a slow-eater might be able to take in more over the course of a meal? Or perhaps, conversely, could it be the case that a fast-eater's body has not yet absorbed the initial food taken by the time he is eating more? Is it then conceivable that fast-eaters might be able to take in more food because there is not enough time for them to "feel full"?

Also, some diners take a long time to decide on which dishes to order, and not just a long time to eat. I choose dishes relatively quickly, because I have a good sense of my own preferences. (I might continue to review the menu, even after an order has been placed.) Some of my dining companions "dilly-dally" (no negative connotations) and like confirmation from others of their menu choices.  

[jordyn]

I eat very slowly most of the time.  So slowly that it's rare for me to actually get full--I generally give up on eating food because it's become cold or I've had enough of that particular dish or I'm sick of everyone else at the table staring at me wondering when I might actually get done.

Much of my slowness has to do with the inability to multitask.  I can't or don't talk while eating, and I like to talk.  Others have noticed that I have the bad habit of setting down my utensils while chewing, which prevents me from preparing the next bite as others here have indicated that they do.  Setting down the utensils also tempers any sense of urgency to consume the next bite.

Some people who I dine with that generally eat quickly have made an effort to slow down to something closer to my pace.  They generally report that this is a highly satisfactory experience--they enjoy the food more, don't have digestive problems, and liked the relaxed air this approach gives the meal.

I can eat quite quickly when pressed to do so.

[cabrales]

I eat very slowly most of the time.  So slowly that it's rare for me to actually get full

jordyn -- If you don't tend to feel full from a restaurant meal, what do you do (e.g., eat less interesting things at home afterwards)?  

Coincidentally, the "Le Bernardin" thread under NYC addresses some aspects of whether members need to feel full after a meal. Very generally, I tend to feel fairly full after restaurant meals, but could readily stretch (and do so with some frequency) to take in more.

[Jinmyo]

I am married to Vlad the Inhaler - he can scoop his entire plate before I have taken a couple of bites.

     

[ckbklady]

Cabrales, I believe the answer is yes AND no. In my experience, eating slowly permits me to eat more. In husband Vlad's experience, eating quickly permits him to eat more. We must eliminate factors such as competition for remaining food to address the question. I would suspect that it depends on what it is one is comsuming. I would bet that no one begs for third helpings of pasta, however quickly or slowly consumed, yet the equivalent weight of three helpings of chicken soup could be easily polished off by most at either speed.

I can think of no food that inspires me to Vladify, except for raw oysters - horrible. Get it all over with pronto. If I cannot have them pan-fried in butter, I'll do without.

[jordyn]

I eat very slowly most of the time.  So slowly that it's rare for me to actually get full

jordyn -- If you don't tend to feel full from a restaurant meal, what do you do (e.g., eat less interesting things at home afterwards)?  

I make a distinction between "full", meaning "can't fit any more", and "satisfied".  I often feel satisfied after a meal, but full is as often an uncomfortable feeling as a good one.  If the food is both particularly good and plentiful, I do occasionally eat until I can eat no more, but this is an exceptional case rather than a typical one.

[robert brown]

Cabrales, I just got into the thread and read it very quickly (only because I have a case of jet lag). Reading about the Shabu-Shabu restaurant made me wonder if eating with chopsticks made it harder to finish in an hour than eating with silverware. Also, I wonder if there is as wide a distribution of  eating speed among those using chopsticks as those using spoons, forks and knives. I get chopstick fatigue and often switch to Western utensils in the middle of a dish. That definitely speeds things up.

[cabrales]

Also, I wonder if there is as wide a distribution of  eating speed among those using chopsticks as those using spoons, forks and knives. I get chopstick fatigue and often switch to Western utensils in the middle of a dish. That definitely speeds things up.

Lack of familiarity with chopsticks might account for some differences in speed among diners. Also, the type of chopstick offered might not be irrelevant. Some of my dining companions who are comfortable with "traditional", long chopsticks might have difficulties with the disposable wood versions furnished by certain Japanese restaurants, and vice versa.

I also notice varying levels of utilization of sauce spoons when they are set on the table. The sauce spoon tends to help with dining speed because (1) unlike a fork, it doesn't have open areas where small bits of food might fall through, (2) it is appropriate for gathering sauce, and (3) its typically larger surface area relative to a fork helps scoop up more food.

I wonder whether manual dexterity, with respect to the hand that is not dominant for a diner, might also be relevant. I am comfortable holding all sorts of utensils in my left hand (I'm right-handed). Sometimes I notice people first cutting up meat with the knife in the right hand and the fork in the left, and then switching the fork to the right hand to bring portions into their mouth. While switching utensils between hands does not seem to be time-consuming each time, one could imagine it affecting dining speed a bit in the aggregate. The cutting up of many pieces before eating any of them might also affect the temperature at which food is taken in (?).  I often hold the knife and fork (or at least one of them) in my hands while I am chewing (in a lowered position close to the plate, so the utensils remain inconspicuous). Otherwise, I would have to criss-cross them in the manner previously described on the board, and that would be time-consuming if repeatedly done for one dish.  

[Jinmyo]

Also, the type of chopstick offered might not be irrelevant. Some of my dining companions who are comfortable with "traditional", long chopsticks might have difficulties with the disposable wood versions furnished by certain Japanese restaurants, and vice versa.

Oh, I don't like those bloody things. I always bring my own hashi (chopsticks).

[cabrales]

Oh, I don't like those bloody things. I always bring my own hashi (chopsticks).

Jinmyo -- If you are uncertain whether a particular restaurant would have acceptable chopsticks, would you have to carry around your own pair a lot of the time? Do you have a case, or do you use a Ziploc or other plastic bag to house them?

[cabrales]

A related, but distinct, question is whether members "save the best parts of the dish 'till last", which has historically been my general practice (not without exceptions, though). This "saving" mentality can sometimes be a point of sensitivity for a slow-eater because the best parts of the dish might be sensitive to temperature changes over time.

For example, for turbot, I have previously mentioned on the board my liking for the gelatinous, tender meat between the bones in certain pieces. If I see that, I now take it early on so as to avoid it getting cold. Same thing for the fattiest areas bordering certain steak cuts or pork chops.  (Note I do not eat that slowly, just slightly more slowly than what I perceive to be the norm.)  

I often have a problem with certain sauces kind of "gel-ing" up by the time I'm approaching finishing a dish. Or there might be a veneer of something beginning to emerge near the top of the sauce. I dislike this, and I also utilize a lot of sauce and generally need all the sauce placed on the plate. I don't think there's any way to avoid the described effect, though.