Dining etiquette: What really matters?
The Food Chain
BBC
4.7 • 545 Ratings
🗓️ 24 September 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Listeners to BBC World Service told us they hate it when fellow diners chew noisily or talk with their mouth full. But what is polite at mealtimes can vary wildly according to where in the world you are and who you are with.
Ruth Alexander visits London's City of Westminster College to meet some of its teenage students, to find out about their different backgrounds and what good manners mean to them. She visits an exclusive private members club in the heart of London's West end to talk to Rupert Wesson, a director and coach at the British etiquette institution Debrett’s. And she hears from Japanese language tutor Chika Nakagawa about the rules that govern mealtimes in Japan.
Plus what if you are thrown into a world you weren't prepared for? After tough beginnings and through sheer determination Reggie Nelson built a career in finance. He tells Ruth about his extraordinary path to success and how he got through his first formal business dinner.
And what about when a restaurant meal brings out the worst in a customer? Mo Abedin, owner of Sticky Rice Thai restaurants in Dubai and Abu Dhabi talks about how he and his staff deal with the nightmare diners who have forgotten their manners.
Producer: Lexy O'Connor
(Image: A bearded man in a shirt and tie is eating a meal in front of a red background. He is shovelling a big fork full of noodles into his mouth whilst staring at his mobile phone. Credit: Getty Images/Group4 Studio)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Hello, I've just nipped in before your BBC podcast starts to tell you all about |
| 0:09.4 | You're Dead to Me. We're the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Also from the BBC |
| 0:13.9 | and presented by me, Greg Jenner. I should have told you that at the beginning. Sorry. |
| 0:17.9 | Anyway, like many other BBC podcasts, such as Desert Island Discs, Evil Genius, or In Our Time, your dead to me is available first on BBC Sounds, |
| 0:26.3 | a whole month earlier than anywhere else, in fact. So if you can't wait another day to hear the very |
| 0:31.6 | latest in history and loads of other good stuff, then listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:39.7 | Hello and welcome to the BBC World Service with me, Ruth Alexander, |
| 0:44.6 | here in the canteen of Westminster College in London. |
| 0:48.5 | In this programme, we're exploring whether mealtime etiquette and manners still matter. |
| 0:56.2 | If so, what are the rules we should be following? And why? And who better to ask, we thought, than a group of teenagers? |
| 1:03.3 | Hi, my name is Nicole. My family is from Colombia, but I was born in Spain, and I'm 17 years old. |
| 1:09.3 | Hi, my name is Samuel. I'm from Sirleon, which is in the West Africa, and I'm 19 years old. |
| 1:15.4 | My name is Tringer. I'm 16, and I'm British, but my family are from Albania. |
| 1:20.7 | Hello, I'm Edion. I'm 17. I'm British, but I'm also from Albania. |
| 1:25.5 | Hi, I'm 18. I'm British, but my family are from Iraq. |
| 1:30.8 | So, do mealtime manners matter? |
| 1:35.8 | They matter a lot. It really shows where you're from and how you've been educated to eat. |
| 1:40.7 | Yeah, I would say first impressions really do matter because it also is really important |
| 1:45.4 | how you portray yourself, how you present yourself to the person. So what matters to you? If you're |
| 1:51.1 | sitting down and eating with someone, do you want to see what don't you want to see? Hands straight up. |
| 1:56.5 | What I don't want to see is any loud chewing or with your mouth open please and thank you I would like |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.