To doggy or not to doggy? Diners bagged for asking to take leftovers home

Will we look cheap if we ask for a doggy bag? Source: Supplied

AUSTRALIANS love to eat out, but sometimes we can’t finish that mouth-watering meal.

Yet some restaurants are refusing diners’ requests for doggy bags, leaving us too embarrassed to ask for takeaway.

There’s certainly a stigma attached to requesting our leftovers. Is the eatery too fancy? Is there too little on your plate? Could it even be a health-risk?

In the US, taking away leftover food is
standard practice. Source: Supplied

CULTURAL CRINGE

As a nation of foodies, we’re pretty embarrassed about asking to take food home.

In the US, it’s standard practice, and restaurants usually offer to bag up what’s left of your giant portion before you ask. But in France, home of gourmet cuisine, it isn’t seen as a sophisticated thing to do.

Gen Y is particularly loath to make the request, with more than a quarter of 18-26-year-olds in a 2013 survey saying they wouldn’t ask for a doggy bag, even if they wanted one.

Many diners suspect it’s inappropriate or disrespectful, particularly in a classy restaurant — a bit like wearing jeans and thongs.

The term ‘doggy bag’ was originally used to describe food left uneaten at a restaurant which was taken home for the family pet. No wonder we feel uncomfortable.

We’re worried reheating last night’s dinner will make us
look cheap. Source: Supplied

SCRAPPING IT OUT

Then there are the times we bite the bullet and the restaurant says no.

“We ordered an early dinner at Crowne Plaza in the Hunter Valley, and our daughter had pasta bolognese,” says Ian Hogan, from Sydney.

“She didn’t really eat it so we asked for a container to take it back to our room, and they said no. We were paying $400 a night and the pasta cost $12, and our daughter only had two or three bites. We asked to see the manager, and he said no, too.

“We had the facilities to heat it up in our room. It was a waste of money, waste of food, and a bit embarrassing to go through all that over a plate of bolognese.”

Crowne Plaza said it doesn’t allow food to be taken off the premises, but it will deliver to the room for a surcharge, citing “regulations”.

This isn’t a unique story.

Restaurants are point-blank refusing, or telling diners to pack the containers, bring their own containers, or sign an indemnity form.

Restaurants may refuse, or even ask you
to sign a waiver. Source: Supplied

WHO’S RIGHT?

Some managers may tell you it’s against food safety laws. That’s not true. Food boards in every state say it’s up to the restaurant, but advise taking the precautions of dating the containers and giving instructions on how to safely store and reheat the food.

The Department of Health offers sticky labels on food hygiene that restaurants can use, telling diners to cool the food quickly, reheat until steaming and not keep for more than 24 hours.

It all sounds very patronising, but there is a reason.

While getting you to sign a waiver won’t provide much legal defence, Charles Fisher from Food Legal says that’s not even what restaurants are worried about.

“Usually if someone gets food poisoning, the cost to the restaurant is very low. They pay for medical costs and a bit of compensation.

“The big issue is the press surrounding a food safety issue.

“As soon as you’re giving someone food in a doggy bag, you’re losing control. An indemnity form might deter someone from making a fuss.”

We’re throwing away $8 billion-worth of food each year. Source: Supplied

TOTAL WASTE

The upshot is that diners may baulk at asking to take leftovers home. That’s adding to the $8 billion-worth of edible food Australia throws out every year.

There are now myriad campaigners calling for us to embrace the doggy bag.

Nutritionist and blogger Sarah Wilson is among those encouraging diners to use leftovers and demanding better education for restaurateurs.

“Food waste is a bigger pollutant than cars and industry,” she says. “Consumers are the biggest contributors to food waste. Because we’re vain. This is unfathomable and unforgivable.”

She advocates taking your own containers and getting creative with the food you bring home. Chop the meal coarsely, heat in a pan and toss through an egg and cheese to create bubble and squeak. Or tear up the heated meat and toss through some steamed veggies or over a salad.

Australians discard up to 20 per cent of the food they purchase, four million tonnes a year. Our discomfort with doggy bags won’t help.

It’s probably not OK at a business dinner, on a date,
or if you’re not paying. Source: Supplied

ETIQUETTE

But is it ever just bad manners? Lorraine Elliott from Not Quite Nigellasays there are times when she’ll let the leftovers go.

“I hate wasting food so I usually ask for them unless it is a fine dining restaurant, and often in that case there isn’t a lot left over because the portions tend to be smaller. It also depends on who I am eating with. If it is a business meal then I wouldn’t ask.”

Forum user Deer with No Eye has more rules: “I don’t think it is appropriate to ask for take away container for left overs in a proper dining place, like a hotel (and I don’t mean the pub hotel in a local suburb), or European, or French restaurant.”

Chow.com says it’s a bad idea with someone you don’t know well, especially a date, since it makes you look cheap (especially if they paid). The Etiquette Daily in the US also has a few exceptions. As well as looking unprofessional at a business dinner, it’s also not OK at wedding reception or other function.

And unless it’s a close family member, it’s never good form to take someone else’s leftovers home.