Food Culture & Table Customs

27 questions · Answers revealed below each question · Print this set

1.Which table custom is refilled again and again at Chinese tables?
- A. popcorn at the movies
- B. the shared pot of tea
- C. the shared platter
- D. the lunch hour
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the shared pot of tea
Did you know? Refilling others' cups before your own is considered polite.
2.Which culinary tradition champions local food against fast-food culture?
- A. the Ethiopian coffee ceremony
- B. the slow food movement
- C. fika
- D. the Brazilian churrasco
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the slow food movement
Did you know? The slow food movement was founded in Italy in 1986.
3.Which ingredient did the Aztecs use as currency?
- A. vanilla pods
- B. cacao beans
- C. coffee beans
- D. tea leaves
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cacao beans
Did you know? Cacao was so valued it was counted like money.
4.Which table custom rides along in paper cups in most cities?
- A. waiting for the host
- B. the shared pot of tea
- C. coffee to go
- D. the potluck
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coffee to go
Did you know? The cardboard coffee sleeve was patented in the 1990s.
5.Which culinary tradition roasts beans and brews coffee in three rounds for guests?
- A. the espresso bar
- B. the bento box
- C. the Ethiopian coffee ceremony
- D. the Spanish tapas tradition
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the Ethiopian coffee ceremony
Did you know? Ethiopia is considered the birthplace of coffee.
6.Which table custom closes the meal in much of southern Europe?
- A. the shared pot of tea
- B. the napkin on the lap
- C. after-dinner coffee
- D. the chef's tasting menu
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after-dinner coffee
Did you know? In Italy, after-dinner coffee is a closing ritual.
7.Which culinary tradition serves small snacks alongside drinks?
- A. kaiseki
- B. conveyor-belt sushi
- C. the Spanish tapas tradition
- D. fika
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the Spanish tapas tradition
Did you know? Tapas culture is strongest in Andalusia.
8.Which table custom wishes everyone a good meal before eating in France?
- A. the toast
- B. the lunch hour
- C. the shared platter
- D. the saying "bon appétit"
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the saying "bon appétit"
Did you know? French diners say "Bon appétit" before starting.
9.Which culinary tradition packs rice and sides into neat compartments?
- A. the Italian aperitivo
- B. the bento box
- C. the Spanish tapas tradition
- D. the Asian night market
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the bento box
Did you know? Bento boxes follow an old principle of balance.
10.Which table custom asks every guest to bring a dish to share?
- A. the chef's tasting menu
- B. splitting the bill
- C. eating with the right hand
- D. the potluck
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the potluck
Did you know? Potlucks are common at community gatherings in the United States.
11.Which culinary tradition rides past diners on a rotating belt?
- A. the dim sum trolley
- B. cafezinho
- C. the food truck
- D. conveyor-belt sushi
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conveyor-belt sushi
Did you know? Conveyor-belt sushi was invented in Japan in 1958.
12.Which table custom serves a fixed sequence of small courses?
- A. coffee to go
- B. the toast
- C. the shared pot of tea
- D. the chef's tasting menu
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the chef's tasting menu
Did you know? Tasting menus showcase the kitchen's range.
13.Which culinary tradition gathers the table around a wood-fired grill?
- A. the Argentine asado
- B. the Brazilian churrasco
- C. British afternoon tea
- D. cafezinho
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the Argentine asado
Did you know? The asado is Argentina's social meal par excellence.
14.Which table custom divides the workday in most countries?
- A. the shared platter
- B. the chef's tasting menu
- C. the lunch hour
- D. after-dinner coffee
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the lunch hour
Did you know? In Spain, lunch can stretch into the afternoon.
15.Which culinary tradition pairs bitter drinks with light snacks before dinner?
- A. the meze table
- B. the Italian aperitivo
- C. British afternoon tea
- D. the Asian night market
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the Italian aperitivo
Did you know? The aperitivo ritual centers on drinks like the spritz.
16.Which culinary tradition circulates small steamed dishes through Cantonese teahouses?
- A. fika
- B. the dim sum trolley
- C. the espresso bar
- D. British afternoon tea
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the dim sum trolley
Did you know? Dim sum means "touch the heart".
17.Which culinary tradition lays out a buffet of herring, breads, and salads?
- A. British afternoon tea
- B. the smorgasbord
- C. the Sunday roast
- D. the espresso bar
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the smorgasbord
Did you know? The smorgasbord comes from Sweden.
18.Which culinary tradition gathers dozens of street-food stalls under one roof in Singapore?
- A. kaiseki
- B. the hawker center
- C. the espresso bar
- D. the Spanish tapas tradition
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the hawker center
Did you know? Singapore's hawker culture is recognized by UNESCO.
19.Which tea is pressed into cakes and aged for years?
- A. matcha
- B. pu-erh
- C. oolong
- D. sencha
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pu-erh
Did you know? Pu-erh comes from Yunnan province in China.
20.Which restaurant in Madrid is cited by Guinness as the world's oldest continuously operating restaurant?
- A. Botín
- B. Hans Christian Andersen
- C. gift wrapping
- D. conveyor-belt sushi
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Botín
Did you know? Botín opened its doors in 1725.
21.Which table custom is the continental style of eating with knife and fork?
- A. the fork in the left hand
- B. the napkin on the lap
- C. the doggy bag
- D. the lunch hour
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the fork in the left hand
Did you know? Continental diners keep the fork in the left hand.
22.Which culinary tradition spreads many small dishes across the table in the eastern Mediterranean?
- A. the Spanish tapas tradition
- B. the Ethiopian coffee ceremony
- C. the historic spice trade
- D. the meze table
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the meze table
Did you know? Meze dishes are shared by everyone at the table.
23.Which table custom holds chopsticks off the table between bites?
- A. the chopstick rest
- B. the potluck
- C. coffee to go
- D. after-dinner coffee
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the chopstick rest
Did you know? Laying chopsticks across the bowl is considered poor form.
24.Which culinary tradition centers on roast meat, vegetables, and gravy in Britain?
- A. the hawker center
- B. the meze table
- C. the Brazilian churrasco
- D. the Sunday roast
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the Sunday roast
Did you know? The Sunday roast is a British weekend tradition.
25.Which table custom is one side of Britain's long-running tea debate?
- A. the shared platter
- B. the potluck
- C. the chef's tasting menu
- D. milk in the cup first
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milk in the cup first
Did you know? Milk-in-first has been argued over for generations.
26.Which culinary tradition is a Japanese dinner of small seasonal courses?
- A. the fondue
- B. the slow food movement
- C. kaiseki
- D. the Brazilian churrasco
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kaiseki
Did you know? Kaiseki grew out of the tea ceremony's light meals.
27.Which culinary tradition is Sweden's daily coffee-and-pastry pause?
- A. the meze table
- B. the smorgasbord
- C. cafezinho
- D. fika
Show answer
fika
Did you know? Fika is nearly sacred at Swedish workplaces.

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