topic Re: A Question To Anyone English Please..... in Among Friends

A Question To Anyone English Please.....

ECBG — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 23:15:45 GMT

On youtube I have seen tea served with tea sandwiches, cake, and a scone with toppings.

How on earth can they eat dinner? The amount of calories seems very high.

Many thanks.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

proudlyfromNJ — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 23:26:02 GMT

@ECBG They would have a cup of tea and one or two of the sandwiches. Most all choices are small.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Carmie — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 00:38:18 GMT

Some people eat a lot of food. Some gain weight and some never do.

I worked with a young lady who was about a size zero soaking wet. She often sat with me at lunchtime.

She would devour a large overstuffed submarine sandwich, an apple, an orange and a banana, a bag of chips and usually some type of dessert.

I asked her where she put it. She said her metabolism burned off everything she ate and she was always hungry.

I remarked that I wish I had the same problem. She said it was expensive to be her. Most of her paycheck went to buying food.

I am retired now, but often wonder if she still eats like that and if she is still painfully thin.

Have you seen the videos in Europe, especially in France where children are given a large baguette with hunks of cold butter with chocolate squares mixed in?

This is a common after school treat. I can't imagine them eating dinner after that.

But most Europeans eat dinner much later than we do in the US...Sometimes at 8 pm.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Squirrels Are Trash — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 23:54:14 GMT

I dated a guy long-distance from London on and off for a few years.

You are describing High Tea (often for tourists and special occasions), not a regular, everyday Tea. My former guy used to like Tea as a snack around 4ish (often a cuppa and a half sandwich). We'd eat supper around 8 or 9. Portions are also much smaller for Europeans.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Spacrazy — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 23:57:31 GMT

Agree with @proudlyfromNJ post about the small choices being served at a proper English tea. My observation and/or suggestion would be "pretend" eating. LOL

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

kaydee50 — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 00:20:13 GMT

Tea is usually at 3 or 4 pm. Many Europeans don't eat "dinner" until 8 pm or later. Plus as others have stated, portions are much smaller than here in the States.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

qbetzforreal — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 00:48:19 GMT

@ECBG wrote:
On youtube I have seen tea served with tea sandwiches, cake, and a scone with toppings.

How on earth can they eat dinner? The amount of calories seems very high.

Many thanks.

The tea shared. The tray is not eaten by one person.

Dinner is eaten later than here.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Pink123 — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 00:58:47 GMT

High tea is a nibble of very small portions. Many times served on a multi level server in the middle of the table. Some of quared off ccumber sandwiches in 4 portions. I mean very small.

I call it a snack more than anything in the afternoon around 3 pm or so.

I disagree. Europe is different in other countries. In Spain they eat dinner at 9 pm.

Now in Austria and Germany we ate dinner at 7 pm. Quite the same as United States.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

chrystaltree — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 18:11:09 GMT

Just returned from visiting friends in England. The British and Europeans don't eat like Americans. They don't stuff themselves with as much food as they can, as quickly as they can. Afternoon tea is between 3 and 5 with dinner being served around 8. Portions are small and not everyone eats everything. My friends mother prepared tea and tended to serve more of the tea sandwiches, toast points with jam, scones and no cakes.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

just bee — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 19:22:31 GMT

@Carmie wrote:
Have you seen the videos in Europe, especially in France where children are given a large baguette with hunks of cold butter with chocolate squares mixed in?

@Carmie

Keep the chocolate squares and I'll take the baguette and hunks of butter.

With tea, of course.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Venezia — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 06:21:31 GMT

@ECBG - I'm married to a Brit and lived there for 20 years.

As others have pointed out, what you're referring to is called "afternoon tea". It isn't something served everyday. Friends and I would sometimes go to the Ritz Palm Court Restaurant (London) to enjoy afternoon tea as a treat. We didn't eat dinner afterwards. (ETA: In some places, it would also be called a cream tea; although that didn't always include small sandwiches.)

Also, portions for lunch and dinner are very much smaller than what Americans expect. To my mind, they are more normal. (Think about the longstanding habit here of diners in restaurants taking food home in doggy bags.)

After years of living in England, I can no longer eat the portions served here; nor do I want to.

I remember having dinner out with friends one night, at a lovely small restaurant, when an American couple came in (no reservation) and insisted on being seated. Even asking the host to throw out some other diners so they could have a table!

They were eventually seated. They both ordered duck and, when it came, she simply looked at it, making a face, and pushed it around. He said in a loud, obnoxious voice "You call that duck!? We have bigger pigeons in Texas!"

The host was courtesy exemplified and didn't respond. I kept my mouth shut, as I didn't want this couple to realize I was American, but I apologized to the host for their behavior on our way out and assured him we were not all like that. Boorish in the extreme.

The food was delicious (by a Paris-trained chef) and portions were normal size.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

qualitygal — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 19:54:38 GMT

@kaydee50 wrote:
Tea is usually at 3 or 4 pm. Many Europeans don't eat "dinner" until 8 pm or later. Plus as others have stated, portions are much smaller than here in the States.

I'm so glad to learn this. I've wondered this before too.A mom on You Tube I watched, did tea and ?biscuits for her boys each afternoon. Must be to hold them over to such a late dinner. Now that makes sense. I've even begun tea in the afternoon, have some now as a matter of fact. But dinner is at 5 here. Next month, the time changes and I'll need to do an hour adjustment. Oh no, the dog won't get this again. LOL

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Tinkrbl44 — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 19:56:41 GMT

They have what we'd call a "snack".

If it's high-fat from the butter used, I can see why they don't even need to eat until 8 or 9 pm.

Whether you eat "three squares a day" or more smaller snacks, I doubt the total calorie count varies all that much.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

ECBG — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 23:09:35 GMT

@Venezia

Many thanks. I learned quite a lot.

The couple you saw were jerks.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Sage04 — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 00:15:29 GMT

Family and friends who come by for Thanksgiving dinner do this the Friday after Thanksgiving. The high tea is for the ladies only and you have to make a reservation and it's $80.00 per person. The youngest so far is 9 years old.

Only went one year just to see what it was like and never went back. Different sandwiches that an ant can pull around and a lot of different this and that. It's a lot of fun but just not interested. Of course the ladies had to put on their best frock lol. It became a family tradition for a few years now.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Lucky Charm — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 02:54:42 GMT

Eating dinner at 8 p.m. That's awefully late, unless you stay up past midnight.

All Americans are gluttons and overweight.

And all Brits aren't Twiggy-thin.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Sooner — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 03:11:12 GMT

High Tea is a meal normally eaten by the working class, a meal of cheeses and other foods that make a meal. Served at the "high" or dinner table, usually after work.

Afternoon Tea is a more formal and elaborate tea served at about 4 p.m. It is associated with dainty little sanwiches, scones and sweets, pretty china and cups and fancy dress.

Elevenses is eleven o'clock work break tea served in the morning.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Venezia — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 06:33:36 GMT

It's interesting that none of my friends or (British) family refer to a morning tea break as "elevenses". I think we just associate that with "The Hobbit" - comes right after "second breakfast"!

And many use "high tea" and "afternoon tea" interchangeably. Our evening meal was always called "dinner", never high tea. We generally ate around 6:00 or 7:00.

I'm sure much of the difference depends upon where in the country you live. Although my DH was originally from the north, we lived in the south while I was there.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Venezia — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 06:36:23 GMT

@ECBG wrote:
@Venezia

Many thanks. I learned quite a lot.

The couple you saw were jerks.

@ECBG - Yes, they were! They were the type who earn us the moniker "ugly American" in many countries.

Re: A Question To Anyone English Please.....

Allthingsgirly67 — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 16:03:03 GMT

I can’t imagine going to sleep after eating a meal a few hours later. Just think of the indigestion.