Getting Seconds is My Biggest Compliment

I was never the most social of eaters growing up. At the dinner table, I liked to allow other people to dominate the conversations. This mindset was how I stood for giving compliments too. I would agree that the food was good if someone else said it first, but I was never one to initiate the compliment. My family knew and accepted this about me. Instead of the traditional methods, how I gave compliments was through getting seconds.

Chefs can usually tell when they did it well when there is quiet at the table. That means that everyone is too engrossed in their food to make conversation. Because that was how I was normally, it was not a great tell if I didn’t make meal conversation. I would still either enjoy what I was eating or not. If I enjoyed what I was eating, then I would get more. If I did not enjoy what I was eating, I would still finish what was on my plate, but then after that, I would be done with the meal and move on to the next thing. This phenomenon was consistent no matter where or what I was eating. If my family was eating out, there weren’t always seconds to be had, and usually, for breakfasts and lunches, there was only enough food made for that one meal. Every chance I got though, I would get more food when I like the food.

People in my life began to catch on to my behavior. When I went up to get seconds of any meal, my parents would whisper to each other. They knew that this meant I had enjoyed it. Likewise, when I wouldn’t get seconds, I knew whoever had cooked the meal might feel a small pang of disappointment. I felt bad because I knew that I could always please the chef by getting more, but I knew that this would make the compliment less meaningful. I had to use m chances to compliment others wisely and when they most deserved for them to be effective.