American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Special Issue on Cooking DINING
Reprinted with Permission from Blind Savvy USA, https://blindsavvyusa.com.
From the Editor: Founded by Eileen Rivera Ley and her late husband, Tom Ley, Blind Savvy USA provides innovative low-vision and blindness training and consulting to businesses, government agencies, and community organizations. Blind Savvy offers training and workshops as part of pre-employment transition services, vocational rehabilitation, independent living for adults, and more. To learn more, email [email protected] or call 410-929-5728.
“Beautiful things begin over meals.”
We've found dining know-how to be an essential networking and job-seeking tool. When sharing meals with new friends and acquaintances, remember, it's not about the food, it's about the fellowship. Savvy diners promote pleasant conversation by:
1) Plan ahead to save time for conversation. Since Braille and large-print menus are scarce, we review restaurant menus online before dining out. Sometimes we call ahead with questions about specials, prices, and dietary concerns.
2) Request cane corners. We request a table near a corner so that we can prop our canes up and keep them from breaking, getting dirty, or tripping others. Booths work nicely as well.
3) Connect with the server. Make them smile. We ask (and remember) our server's name so that we can make requests respectfully.
4) Sit up straight. Good posture keeps our faces and hair out of our plates. Sitting up also allows us to face our dinner partners and promotes all-important conversation.
5) Use utensils skillfully. We like to use the continental style of dining. It allows us to use our knives as “little white canes” to gracefully locate and cut the food on our plates. It also helps us take reasonably sized bites, which also facilitates the all-important conversation.
6) Never ever touch the food on your plate with fingers (unless, of course, you are eating finger foods such as sandwiches and chips.) We use our forks and knives to explore instead.
7) Forget using bread as a pusher! It's nicer to secure food onto your fork with the side of your knife.
8) Dining with strangers? If there is no assigned host at business luncheons and banquets, take the lead. We help put others at ease about blindness by cheerfully introducing ourselves and by encouraging others to do the same.
9) Pay the bill. When we invite someone to lunch, we pick up the check. When eating with a group, we split the check rather than wasting time calculating bills to the nearest decimal.
10) Thank the server by name and tip generously. We do the math for a tip of 15-25%. Then we tell our server how much to write onto the tip line. To sign, we ask our server to line up the edge of our credit card or cell phone; then we sign.
Of course, Blind Savvy diners do what everyone who is sighted should do: Place napkin on lap. Chew with mouth closed. Keep elbows off the table. Avoid slurping, burping, and smacking lips. No coughing, sneezing, or blowing nose at the table. Eat quietly and do not scrape utensils loudly across our plate.
Finally, never ever forget ... Savvy Dining is not about the food but the fellowship!