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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider Food for thought

Food for thought

Published Sep 27, 2023 04:15 pm

MEDIUM RARE 

Jullie Y. Daza

One fine day in Cubao, we three had lunch in a Chinese restaurant, being in a pre-celebratory mood for the Mid-Autumn Festival, otherwise known as the season for mooncakes. (The brightest full moon of the year will be on view starting at 5:58 p.m. tomorrow, Sept. 29, according to my astrologer-friend.)

At the end of our meal and purely out of curiosity, I asked our server at Tim Ho Wan if she had observed how much food was typically left on their plates by patrons. To my surprise, she replied, “Nothing is left because we make sure they take home their leftovers.”

Such a happy ending that when I sat down for dinner with friends, I could not help telling them about lunch. This time, it was Nanette’s turn to surprise me with her story: “Would you believe, the Japanese restaurant we went to yesterday told us there would be no take-home!”

Would that same restaurant have their waiters pouring water to the brim of the drinking glasses of their patrons even when it’s obvious that having paid their bill they would be making their exit? It is the rainy season, yes, and people are not conscious of the need to save water for the coming dry months – hey, El Niño will be here before we know it. 

Years ago when I was doing a scholarship in Cardiff, Wales, courtesy of the British Council, the most important thing I learned was not how to be a great journalist but how not to waste food, no matter how little. Living in a dorm with more than a hundred foreign students, I was invited along with three of my classmates to dine with the director of the scholarship program and his family at their home.

Almost at the end of the dinner, the director noticed that there was a lot of ketchup and mustard left on the little saucers used for sauces and seasonings. Sounding like a teacher or parent, he lost no time telling us, “Do you know, the makers of French’s mustard make their millions not from the amount of mustard consumed but from what’s left on those saucers.”

I don’t remember what we ate but I’ve never forgotten that little lecture. 

 

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