Q. Is plate-swapping in restaurants now acceptable behaviour? When dining out, a not-so-young Dutch couple I know, both smart and rich, are in the habit of blithely exchanging plates midway through each course so that they may taste one another’s choice of food. However, in one fashionable restaurant recently, a handwritten note accompanied their bill which said ‘in this establishment, plate-swapping is not encouraged. In future please refrain from indulging in this practice.’ Was the indignation of the Dutch justified?
— T.D., Majorca
A. There is no legal reason why the two should not swap plates. Yet although the Dutch couple were paying for a service, by choosing to eat a restaurant they had also opted into a community of fellow diners and waiting staff and so had obligations to other members of that community. There is something disruptive about people swapping plates — especially between each course.
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