[NABS-L] Dining Etiquette

Sat Oct 27 13:05:55 UTC 2018

Eating some of the food around it first is a good idea.  
Also, I usually find meals that don't need to be cut, or that are cut more easily.  

Fish is one of them, or find some sort of sandwitch or pizza.  

I eat pretty healthy, so I don't usually get slabs of meat when I'm out.  If I do, then I eat the things around the first, or I take my time and cut slowly; eating a piece or two at a time, and sometimes, combining the two tactics.  

Use your hands to position the meet if you have two,  or get an extra plate or two if you need to.  You can put the meat on a separate plate, or move a couple of the side items off the main plate.  

You can even have them bring an extra plate just for the sides.  Some restaurants do that anyway for larger meals.

Justin

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Rahul Bajaj via NABS-L
Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2018 3:28 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Rahul Bajaj <rahul.bajaj1038 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Dining Etiquette

This is a huge problem for me, too. I don't know any efficient and clean way to cut my food into smaller pieces, so I request the waiter or one of the folks I am with to do this.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 27, 2018, at 4:41 AM, Jameyanne Fuller via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I echo what Tara said. Practice on your own until you feel comfortable with it. In the meantime, if you're out to eat in a professional setting, try to get things that you don't have to cut. They don't have to be handheld, but things like pasta, soup, or salad don't necessarily have to be cut. Though twirling spaghetti onto a fork is another matter.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tara Briggs via 
> NABS-L
> Sent: Friday, October 26, 2018 6:47 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Tara Briggs <thflute at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Dining Etiquette
> 
> Hey Jason! Welcome to eating as a blind person! We’ve all been there! Probably one of the best things I can do just for you would be to practice when you’re by yourself. He could also start with something like toast and tried cutting up with a knife and fork. Then you can look at what you’re doing. One of the best things you can do is eat small bites! If you lift your fork up and it feels heavy and that might mean at the bite is too big. I hope other people pass on their tips and tricks. I have found that the sharper The knife,  the easier it is to cut food.
> Tara
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Oct 26, 2018, at 4:21 PM, Jason Perenski via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi,
>> I hope this is the right place to ask about this. My ability to 
>> gracefully cut food with a fork and knife is abysmal. This is an 
>> uncomfortable situation to discuss since dining is so essential for 
>> social and business situations, and these skills are usually so 
>> incredibly obvious and second nature for most people. I know everyone 
>> struggles with something, but as an otherwise independent and 
>> successful young adult, this topic feels like something I shouldn’t 
>> be stumbling over.
>> 
>> I don't eat a lot of meat or food that needs to be cut in general, 
>> but I'd like to look professional in more formal social and business 
>> settings now that I'm about to leave college. And frankly, I also 
>> don't want to be the blind person who always orders something 
>> handheld when eating in public.
>> 
>> Unfortunately, no one taught me when I was younger, which is a 
>> widespread problem for blind children. I've read some guides online 
>> about proper table etiquette and how to cut something without looking 
>> like a slob. And I've even bought playdough to practice with. But I'm 
>> still lousy at it. I'm curious if anyone here has other tips or 
>> tricks to get more comfortable and graceful at this. To be as 
>> detailed as possible, here's what sometimes happens:
>> 
>> 1. I start cutting along the back (convex) portion of the fork, but 
>> I'm only partially successful at separating a bite. I end up with a 
>> tiny bit of meat clinging to the large piece and it's difficult to 
>> tell when I've successfully finished cutting something. This happens 
>> a lot with larger, rounded cuts, where a good edge to start from 
>> isn’t available or obvious. I place the fork in and position the 
>> knife along the back of it, but the thing to be cut extends well past 
>> the tines of the fork to either side. In theory I should easily be 
>> able to tell when the knife scrapes the plate and there's no more 
>> meat to cut, but in practice I'm not always successful at it.
>> 2. While cutting, I start shifting the thing to be cut around the 
>> plate and, occasionally, start actually sliding the plate around. I 
>> don't know if this has something to do with technique or perhaps even 
>> strength. This happens less and less with experience, but it's still 
>> uncomfortable when it does.
>> 3. This all becomes a bigger challenge with more complicated dishes 
>> (meat with sauce on top, or plates with several other items).
>> 
>> Is this something you've ever related to, or is it just me? Were you 
>> taught any alternative techniques that might be helpful? Am I missing 
>> something obvious? Is my technique possibly incorrect? Are there 
>> meals you find easier to handle than others? All of this makes me 
>> feel like a bit of an inept loser for a skill that shouldn't be 
>> difficult. If you have skills or techniques to make this process more 
>> seamless and graceful, I'd love to hear them.
>> 
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