Difference between revisions of "Chopstick Dining"

Revision as of 19:34, 6 August 2012

Dining with chopsticks as utensils is a tradition which has persisted on the Blessed Isle since before the Shogunate of the First Age. They are a tool well suited for the small morsels and sticky rice of the Isle's cuisine, and continue to be seen at the tables and atop the bowls of all social classes.

Yet, like all things in the Dynasty, chopsticks are subject to a web of traditions and conventions, the mastery of which is lauded and failure to practice shamed. They are considered the most civilized of utensils (forks and knives, with their stabbing motions, are seen as somewhat brusque, while spoons are meant for liquids and lack subtlety when used to eat larger solid pieces). That is not to say that Dynasts only use chopsticks: rather, each dish and set of utensils has individual merit, and the well-raised Dynast ought to have mastered them all.

Chopsticks are divided into three groups: those for Festival Chopsticks, High-Class Chopsticks, and Low-Class Chopsticks.

Festival Chopsticks are used in Immaculate rituals, Dynastic dinner parties, and other celebrations. They are thick in the middle and taper off toward both ends, most often made of steel or silver, though sometimes rare woods are also used. Such utensils often have specialized carrying cases or personalized engravings, and a few of the more ostentatious feature gilding and even gemstones.

High-class Chopsticks are thick on the top and become thinner towards the tips. They are meant for daily use amongst Dynasts and Patricians, made most often of wood (cedar is preferred, with cypress, white birch, and aspen also used). Dynasts usually dispose of these chopsticks after use.

Low-class Chopsticks are the same width along their whole length, simple and with minimal ornamentation. These are used by peasants and the urban working classes, and are most often made of bamboo. Sometimes a pair of chopsticks is carved together out of a single piece of wood, and broken apart when the time to eat comes, though this is rare outside of urban areas and their carving factories.

Where they appear in Dynastic cuisine, chopsticks should be used elegantly, as bad manners may cause a dinner or drinking party to turn ugly. There are several major taboos relating to their use:

Filthy Tips: If a diner is not careful, their chopsticks will have pieces of food which cling to their tips. This is thought to be bad form, as it contaminates the flavours of one dish with remnants of another. Food particles further up the chopstick are even worse, indicating an entirely filthy and uncivilized diner.

Filthy Rest: When not in use, chopsticks are placed on a special rest. It is thought a dirty thing to let the tips of the chopsticks touch that rest, and so they are placed with the tips jutting slightly out over the edge of the rest.

Capricious Chopsticks: This is the name given to a gesture whereby a diner picks up food from one dish with chopsticks, only to change his mind and pick instead from another. This shows a lack of respect towards both the host of the meal and the chef, because it is evident that the diner has not savored any of the dishes. A piece of food should be taken and savored.

Stuffing Chopsticks: This gesture involves stuffing an already-full mouth with food using chopsticks. It is considered ill-mannered and unpleasant to watch.

Licking Chopsticks: One should never lick the tips of chopsticks as it is viewed as both ugly and insulting to other guests.

Stirring Chopsticks: This gesture involves stirring a bowl of soup with chopsticks, to search out certain ingredients. Diners tend to do this without thinking, but it is considered quite rude to the host.

Wandering Chopsticks: It is considered very bad manners to wave chopsticks around in the air above one's food, as if wondering what to eat next.

Empty Chopsticks: This is one of the worst things one could do - pick up and touch the foods with chopsticks once but put the food back without eating.

Stabbing Chopsticks: If a piece of food is slippery or too big to pick up, it should properly be halved with chopsticks. However some diners will seek to stab their food to pick it up. This is considered distasteful and masculine... men may be forgiven more easily for this transgression as they are thought naturally less capable than women, and prone to such stupidity.