Was this acceptable cafe behaviour or a big faux pas??

[AHardDaysWrite]

We're having lunch in a busy cafe (me, DH, two dcs). We ordered a main meal each plus two sides of chips to share. All the chips were soon polished off. On the next table was a woman and her son. She ordered chips for him, but when they arrived he only ate a couple and refused the rest. They left soon afterwards. My DS wanted more chips, so I gave him the (largely untouched) portion from that table. DH was aghast but my reasoning was that the waiter was only going to bin them anyway - why waste food? Was I BU?

Hadn't you all just eaten though?
Unless you were broke and hungry it just sounds a bit greedy to me.

Because it's rude and grabby Iamnotaprincess. And yes, I feel the same as you about it.

Just thought it would be nicer if the catering establishment could feed the waiters/waitresses some nice fresh food rather than let them eat leftovers HM.

Stop handing out grips! , it's bollocks advice and who actually takes hold of one?

Just don't pinch food off other tables,it's grim.

Quite often some toff would send back their steak dinner!

Too well done, ra ra, I said rare, ra ra

That got bloody scoffed and I got free lunch. Saved me a few quid, which when you're a student counts for a few drinks on a night out. All good to me.

Nah, no free brand new food for wait staff. Not even a discount! The cheek.

I'm holding eight grips, YouStayClassy. One between every finger on my hands. It still doesn't feel like enough for me.

That's pretty poor HM. Miserable buggers.

I get it and I think you were practical...but then I also instinctively think "Oh No!" My friend's husband is a chronic scooper-upper of leftovers. He'll take our leftovers/uneaten items from our plates with a cheerful "I'll take care of that for you"!! There's nothing terribly wrong with him doing it, after all we will have/indicated that we are finished but then again it seems so cheeky...and weird!

The only thing getting a grip is the OP's DS-on the chips.

They interviewed a little girl on Radio 1 this morning who survived by scavenging in markets in Kenya, she had caught typhoid from eating infected food.

So sad.

Half the world starving and us lot fretting about perceived germs and social niceties.

The only place I ever worked where you got a free freshly made meal with every shift was feckin McDonalds!

Was shit working there though, middle of Maryhill in Glasgow, rough as you like. Horrible place to work! Didn't stay there long.

My five year old is a manky little beggar. She's a nose picker, doesn't wash her hands after the loo unless I ask her to, likes a knee scab to pick, has recently had nits and behaves as if she's allergic to baths.

I always have her in neat, clean clothes and brush her hair so she looks ok. I'm her mother and I'm not sure I'd eat her leftover chips.

Oh no HM the only place to get a free freshly made meal and it's not in the least bit appetising.
Sounds very character building as a job though, bet you saw it all.

Ok I have read the thread all the way through and I will be the threadkiller/misery guts/hoiking up judgey knickers to her armpits, bitch from hell.

I once spent a year in the Laos/Chinese border and got used to seeing toddlers eating noodles from a downpipe from a café sink whilst batting away rats who were trying to snatch the food from their fingers.

I ate there several times a week.

What is a few deep fried chips in a clean café with clean people in a clean country?

as to why so many people on this thread seem to have a view on what the OP's child should or shouldn't eat. How the hell do you know what his calorie needs are and what else he'd eaten that day?

No I wouldn't have taken them myself because of the other boy's hands touching them - but if they had been totally untouched I might have considered it - not sure.

I think it's really grim, tbh. Not only that I think you are sending out the wrong message to your DC. It's greedy to finish off leftovers, imo.

I saw scary glaswegian mothers who demanded I just get the box of happy meal toys on the counter so they could choose ones their kids didn't already have.

I obliged, smiled, and said thank you very much.

Does anyone else envision little hair clips when people start talking about grips?

I won't drink my own glass of water if any of the DCs have drunk from it...I can taste even microscopic amounts of backwashed saliva. Ew.

Half the world starving and us lot fretting about perceived germs and social niceties.

Quite.

I used to work in an Indian restaurant and we got a curry at the end of each shift. I was sad to give up that job.

I would just like to know why u ordered a main meal each and chips as extra..

Then let your son eat more chips.

If he was Hungary still then maybe you could of offered a yogurt, some fruit or something..

Next time if you think the meal isn't going to be big enough, how about ordering extra vegetables or something...
Better than a main meal, extra chips then more chips again....

How old is your son?

Are you still in catering HM? Sounds like you have lots of experience.

It seems very greedy, taking a stranger's leftovers just to stop them going in the bin. The kid could have sucked a few chips and put them back.