Layout 1

Chapter One The Importance of Good Etiquette When Dining Out or at Home

O f all the ways to relax, engage, and bond with others, sharing a meal may just be the most traditional and beloved method yet. Humans, after all, have been evolving for millions of years, and a lot of that change has come about because of changes seen in the way we obtain, raise, and ultimately share food. Our earliest ancestors, for example, were mostly tribes of hunters, gatherers , and foragers . Food had to be found in the environment

where people lived, whether that was forest, plains, or desert. Periods of famine and hunger were also common in ancient times. Because of the uncertainty of when the next meal would be and the nomadic nature of their way of life, efforts were combined and entire tribes of people worked together to share food and make sure that nothing went to waste. But as time went on, our ancestors learned

how to cultivate the earth, grow crops, domesticate livestock, and store and stock resources. This turn toward agriculture shaped the way our world is today, one in which most of us in Western society can eat fruit in the middle of a cold winter and enjoy grass-fed beef raised in fields thousands of miles away!

Sloppy habits at the dining table, including playing with you hair, not cutting food up properly, and leaving elbows on the table, are considered bad manners.

9