02/06/2016
HOW TO: Exchange your dignity for free food AND help fight food waste at the same time
Travel is expensive, is what people always say. But I think what most people lack a lot more than money, is a bit of creativity. All germaphobes might be cringing already, in anticipation of what I´m going to say, but yes I love to feed myself from eating the leftovers from others at a restaurant. I am and have always been THAT person. The one (not so) secretly eyeing your leftover piece of pizza, praying fiercely you are not going to eat it anymore and then trying to act nonchalant once you offer it up.
Amongst friends that is kind of acceptable behavior, but I always felt my heart shatter slightly when I saw perfectly good food from strangers going back into the kitchen. Until on a beautiful sunny day in Cambodia, two strangers left half of their burgers (those maniacs!) and I swooped in before the waiter (and before Alan Gunther Waddingham, sorry about that) and happily munched away. It was yummy. I was content. A monster had been born.
Since then, armed with my undying love for food and Stevens irresistible charm, together we’ve stepped up our game to the point where we actually just ask the people (once we’re 100% sure they’re done) or the waiter when he comes to collect the plates.
And although I’m perfectly happy with some leftovers, asking for someone’s plate has more than once resulted in getting full sized fresh plates of food for free. One restaurant started bringing their perfectly fresh, wrong orders and added a plate of fries, just because. Another one had so many leftover ribs, that we accidently ended up having unlimited sparerib dinner where even a few friends could join in.
Yes, you might get a weird look here and there, but for someone who firmly believes that food equals happiness…. That’s so worth it.
