Do your table manners and/or eating habits differ significantly from dining alone in the privacy of home, compared to dining with others? If so, how and why?

When I eat with someone else I always wear pants. Seriously.

When I eat alone I am usually watching/reading something on my computer, and I have a weird habit putting of my right leg up, resting my foot on my chair. It’s extremely relaxing. I make it a point to eat alone at least once a week.

When I eat with others I have a napkin in my lap and eat slower. I don’t bother with presentation (or even dishes sometimes) if it’s just me. Sometimes when I cook for myself I’ll make the food pretty- but mostly I just do that for when others are eating with me. It’s fun to put a beautiful plate of food down in front of someone. Putting one down in front of just me? I worry more about the cleanup.

And I would never eat a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter if someone else was watching.

When I’m home alone, I generally don’t eat, or I eat quick-fix stuff like cold cereal or microwaveable snacks, unless I really get a hankering for something specific. (most recently salmon-stuffed onigiri)

I have no idea how to cook for one person. I learned how to cook for five, and that’s what I do. Fortunately, my husband eats for three so I have few leftovers. ^_^

The six months I lived alone between leaving my parents and getting married, I lost quite a bit of weight. Srsly.

When I eat alone, pah chance would be a fine thing, I frequently lick my plate clean.Nuff said.

I rarely cook for myself anymore so it is a huge departure from the meals I prepare for the family. I will sit in my Lazy-boy with a plate of whatever and just shove the what ever as I watch the news.

It depends on whether the dorg is looking or not.

Usually we don’t eat at a table, but in front of the TV when we’re alone.

When I am with people, then I use my manners. When I am alone, I will eat standing up, eat a sandwich without a plate etc. This is because I feel food only serves one purpose: Getting into the stomach to give me nutrients and keep me from dying etc. Everything else is just a societal norm, and there is no society with me when I am alone, so there is no point is conforming to standards when there is no one around to judge me.

I’m like a filthy dog, and I eat when I’m hungry, so fuck ’‘dinner’’ or ’‘breakfast’’ time.
That said, if I’m eating with someone, or if someone’s around most likely, since I usually end up eating at the park at uni or on the bus, I’ll do an effort to be civilized, but otherwise, at home I drop Beefaroni between my breasts, use my fingers like a slob and scarf things down like those scrap machines designed to destroy old cars.
it ain’t pretty

But yeah, in public I won’t do stuff like that, but I’m not a fan of strict eating etiquette ( Or any etiquette, for that matter. ) like using certain utensils for types of food or gobbling fish eggs just cuz it’s polite to do so.
My mom always insisted that we all stfu at the dinner table so it was always silent, unless she decided to be a hypocrite and start convos with her psycho boyfriend who usually concluded with claims that he was gonna bust someone’s face, or sitting up straight and praying before dinner and all that crap…so I’m making up for it now with wieners dipped in mustard while watching Cannibal Holocaust haha.

And word up, @Blackberry :)

no. im pretty barbaric all the time. i mean, there are rare occassions where i’ll eat with maybe a friends family or people i dont know that well when i force myself to use a fork, but other than that unless i need to cut meat, i hate utensils. the ethiopians have it right. eat with your hands! utensils just make the process take longer and are nowhere NEAR AS FUN.

I like to think I know my manners but alone I’ll eat in my superbed with the bowl at mouth level an shovel in!! Shameful!! I do cook for myself, lots of soups and casseroles- one dish meals.

Yes. When it’s just me then I eat a very rigid and minimalist diet but find with partner then I want to cook for him/us and that means eating a greater variety of things, richer in calories too. In a home I set up then I’ve always taken a great pleasure in setting an attractive and appetizing looking table spread, I miss that and look forward to it in the near future. When alone then I eat mostly at my desk at work or at the kitchen counter standing up before running out the door to work.

I usually eat with my hands and drink soup out of the bowl when I am by myself. I use utensils when I am in public.