Etiquette for Guests Regarding Diet

There are allowances for some not eating what is being served. There are some people who really can not eat certain foods—they break out in spots or start sneezing or something. If they are served their own private poison, of course, it would be ridiculous for them to chance physical discomfort.

Don’t Hurt Your Hostess

By Deborah Ames

In these days of diet fads and foibles, more and more people, women particularly, are going on diets which prohibit their eating certain foods. Sometimes these diets are really necessary—often they are undertaken through boredom or a desire to become as slim as a favorite movie actress. Whatever the reason, they are producing a new problem in mealtime etiquette — the question of whether to eat or refuse. I have seen several answers to this question, but in my own opinion, there is only one. 

I think it is a little short of an insult to refuse a course at a dinner or luncheon. It doesn’t matter if the food is poison to you, your hostess is bound to notice and be hurt if you refuse to be served. Now, you don’t have to eat it, just because you have taken it—you can nibble at it, or even play with it if you really can not eat it. There are some people who really can not eat certain foods—they break out in spots or start sneezing or something. If they are served their own private poison, of course, it would be ridiculous for them to chance physical discomfort. — Albuquerque Journal, 1937

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia