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When should the server clear away your plate?


empty plateThe Chicago Tribune brought up an interesting question this week: when should a server clear your plate from the table? Should a server remove plates as a diner finishes them, regardless of whether dining companions are finished? Or should the server wait until the end, when everyone has finished, and clear the entire table at once?

Some people belong to the "Clear at the End" camp, thinking it rude. It disrupts the conversation at the table, and may make fellow diners who have not finished eating, feel rushed.

Other people belong to the "Clear as You Go" camp, and according to Emily Post, this is a newer practice. The argument is that clearing plates keeps the dining table less cluttered, and in fact, many diners see this as attentive service on the part of the waitstaff. Additionally, I know that some people like to have plates of unfinished food removed because they don't want to continue to pick at it.

However, according to Pamela Stoner, a dining room instructor at Kendall College's culinary arts school in Chicago, "fine dining rules" are such that servers should wait until the entire table is finished eating.

I grew up in the "Clear at the End" group, for the same reasons stated above. Ideally, everyone finishes their plates at the same time anyway. If you find yourself irritated that your empty plate is still in front of you while others around you are still eating, maybe you need to slow down.

What about you? Do you find it rude for a server to clear plates before other diners are finished? Or do you see it as inattentive service?

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