Table manners

Table manners are the rules used while eating. Different cultures observe different rules for table manners.

Bep

Speaking while eating

1) you do not talk about food club. 2) you do not talk about food club.

It is impolite to mention your food while eating, so you may only refer to it by auxiliary: you're already putting it in your mouth, giving it names is just rude. No "this chicken is so good", no "I fucking love this crunchy crack cocaine", no "what a stellar custard!". It is however also impolite to not backchannel while eating if someone else made what you're eating, so you might be expected to mumble stuff about how "it" or "this" is. Typical phrases are usually fairly neutral, stating that what is being eaten is edible or pleasant, although the individual speaker may of course express greater affinity for their food if they really like it. It is just general etiquette not to make strong statements about the meal, so as not to rope others into having to match the enthusiasm and pretend. These expressions often come in the form of nasal mumbling, with a particularly common and standard way of writing such mumbling being "encwa" /ɘ.ŋɯ.a/; a reduced form of egrw da, ≈"(this is) food", ≈"edible indeed".

You can talk about what you ate in full before receiving it, some time after you (and everyone around you) have finished a course, or when you've cleaned up after the meal and sat down to drink. Talking about food before it was eaten used to be a taboo, but with the rise of a service industry and its need to state orders as one goes along, this taboo has faded. Talking about food you've made yourself or in collaboration with someone could be rude to yourself and your fellow chef, but it's expected you can handle that if you've decided to open your mouth. People won't judge, save perhaps for your partner if you have one, but that varies by individual and by what you're saying.

That said, while there's an ideal of people only mumbling half to themselves while eating, there is usually no expectation of being quiet. Music, poetry read by a third party, etc is very much on the table, sometimes even literally, with the exception of late-night dining or far-formal/pristine occasions - when the surrounding social/natural atmosphere is important and fancy. These latter exceptions are often framed as "ww dwhke" /ɯ.ɯ dɯ.ʰkɘ/, ≈"listening to nothing", and you're expected to not even mumble while eating. You might also be expected to stay silent if there are a lot of people around you regardless of formality, so as not to contribute to the death of everyone's eardrums.

Ending a meal

A meal first 'ends' once everyone is out of food and drink, or have declared their intentions of discarding the rest. The awkwardness of one person keeping everyone around while finishing their food and drinks is one of the reasons Bep food tends to be served in large collections of separate, small containers, and Bep drinks tend to have a similar arrangement with a small cup and a jug/bowl. You don't go to taco bell for one leviathan burro, you go and your group receives a collection of burritos. Untouched food/drink may be left behind or put away; food/drink you've selected or started may not, one does not simply discontinue the process of eating something. If you're going to be sick, the chef is incompetent and you dare saying it to their face, or you are otherwise completely unable to eat/drink what's before you, this may be excused, but you'll be expected to throw it away / pour it out just about as soon as you make your declaration.

Cleaning up after yourself is pretty standard in all layers of Bep society; there'll typically be bins, towels, and frequently changed bowls of water strewn all around any given establishment. The fancier the establishment, the more binthings and the cleaner they're kept, up to the fanciest point of each diner getting their own and having the water changed several times a meal.

W̊uẘui hkwwe / Drinking after meal

W̊uẘui hkwwe or just ẘuẘui, lit. "tail/spine (drink)", is a Bep custom in which after any given meal, people stay and drink ... something, while socializing. The drinks may be hot, cold, soup to some members of the audience, etc. Following a meal, often while cleaning up, people are offered a toilet visit or the possibility of leaving early; if you stay, you commit to staying until your relevant drink container is emptied – whether that's a shared jug, or your own individual cup. W̊uẘui hkwwe always comes with new drink containers; cups, mugs, etc; and it may feature larger individual containers than those used during a meal, such as whole glasses/mugs for a single person. Once someone has chosen a large drink, you're stuck too, because it's once again considered rude to leave unless everyone's finished with their current "course". Snacks may also be served, depending on the social context; dried bits of whatever are fairly common, but also fairly "vulgar", thus only consumed in the company of people you know well. Raw pieces of meat, fish, plant, are also fairly common and lack the vulgar connotation due to being necessarily quite fresh, meaning higher effort to get ahold of and thus a little prestigious. Pudding, sweet deserts, etc bar fruits during ẘuẘui hkwwe is practically unheard of.