Thank you kindly for this fantastic article!

I’m English, and the rest of the GG team has experienced it too. Using the napkin as a plate (or like a barrier between food and hand) is quite common among our observations, too.

Must be an American thing. Have never seen it in Australia but the using the napkin as a plate is pretty common

No, what’s stated in the article is correct. A napkin is present on top of the plate, usually in a buffet setting, and guests take the plate & napkin, putting the food on top of the napkin. Granted, this seems to happen more often with a paper napkin rather than a cloth one, but the point stands that it’s an odd practice that the GG team have all experienced throughout the years.

Hi Miles – when the team discussed this piece, we all stated that we’d experienced people doing this in different locations across the world, so it felt like one worth mentioning. Glad to hear it’s not something you’ve witnessed!

I think they mean don’t use your napkin as a plate. I’ve seen people do this thinking they’re being helpful by using a paper napkin (so they can just dispose of it) instead of soiling a plate that the host needs to wash up.