1. Dad is always at the head of the table
2. Salad is eaten at the end of your meal
3. No one starts eating until you’ve said grace and/or “Buon appetito”
4. No hoods or hats at the table
5. Pasta comes first, then the meat or seafood
6. Mom or Nonna expect you to compliment their cooking
7. There is always either dessert, espresso, or a digestivo (or sometimes all 3) to finish the meal
8. If there isn’t any leftover food then you didn’t make enough
What are some other Italian dinner rules? Comment them down below.
Sources:
Everyone generally sits in the same place, sort of unspoken. My little grandson once got very upset when a new person sat in his chair. He tried so hard to be polite and the guy kept saying what difference does it make. Finally he just said, “Because I always sit next to my grandma.” His twin popped up and announced she always sat on the other side.
Great! I grew up with all 8 Rules in my family!
Another one is that the eldest gets served first.