When visiting a foreign place you always want to make sure you learn the proper etiquette when it comes to behavior and the do’s and the don’ts of that place. You always want to be respectful to the people around you, given that it is their home and you are merely a visitor. Visiting Italy sounds more than a dream, especially given that the Italians are famous for their food. For people that are visiting Italy for pleasure and are planning to enjoy numerous meals in this place, it would be greatly recommended if you could learn how to act and what to avoid doing in order to be pleasant to the people serving you.
For that reason, check out the Do’s and Don’ts of eating in Italy.
Do’s
Reserve a table
Italians appreciate the respect you have towards making a reservation and not just showing up hungry to their restaurant. Make sure you schedule a time and stick to it. You want to let the Italians know that you value their time, as well as the space that they are creating for you at the restaurant.
Ask For Suggestions
This is more in tune with you enjoying your experience in Italy. Ask the locals for what is good and follow their advice, no one but them is going to be able to tell you what the best food of the place is. Follow blindly the recommendations; you will not regret it.
Always Finish Your Plate
Italians have the mentality that a finished plate means a great meal and, therefore, if you don’t finish your food it is sort of a disrespectful action towards them. Make sure you are always appreciative of their food and do your best attempt at finishing it, in order to be respectful of the food that was served to you.
Don’ts
Do Not Order A Cappuccino With Your Lunch
Cappuccino is a breakfast drink according to the Italians and therefore ordering a cappuccino after 11:00 am is just not seen properly. For the Italians, cappuccino isn’t a drink that can be combined easily with more food, and therefore Italians simply do not tolerate this behavior.
Don’t put parmigiano everywhere
While people are quite used to putting cheese on everything, for the Italians there are simply some foods that should not be combined with cheese, specially parmigiano. People love putting it on pasta among other things, however, for Italians there are some things like seafood, pizza or salad that should never have parmigiano in it. In a certain way, it is a way to disrespect the Italian food and therefore this falls on the “Don’ts” category.
Don’t Rush Dinner
Italians are happy to sit down and eat for hours. Actually in Italy when you reserve a table, you basically get to keep it the entire night. No one will rush you or bring the check to you without you having asked for it, so, therefore, don’t rush dinner, take your time and savor it with a US trademark registration.