What on earth is this mealtime snobbery about?

[Diemme]

At 6.45 this evening, DH and I went to sit outside at front of the house to have a coffee and enjoy the last of the sun - we live in a close with benches outside the houses. Almost immediately our neighbours came back from a dog walk. They chatted for a few minutes and then she said she was going in to make dinner. I mentioned just in small talk that we'd already eaten. And I swear she did a head tilt and tinkly laugh as she said gosh that's early. Then she went inside and her husband arranged his face in a sort of patronising / pitiful expression and asked why we'd eaten so early. It's not just them, ive come across it loads of times. It's as if there's a bizarre sense of superiority to eating at 8 rather than say 6.

I have dinner with the kids at 4pm. I do intermittant fasting so it means i can eat breakfast early

To eat at 5 you must finish work at 4? and maybe not to much time spent travelling? Call it what you like but my preference is main meal.

Oh boy... I am working class. When I first met partner it was Christmas and Christmas dinner was at 9pm. Presents opened at 7pm with sherry/champagne. Fuck me! 5 years later we had a daughter and partner refused to compromise on meal times. Or on having freshly prepared from scratch meals 9pm or later. Baby with child minder from 6 months. It didn't last. I turned up to collect some stuff and the SOB had a fridge freezer full of ready meals. I was an idiot. I should have known better when his mother told me that he likes his socks ironed...Be kind. I was only 19!!

I'm rarely very judgy but actually I am about this.

I live in what a trendy person might dismiss (in fact I've heard them dismiss) as a lower middle-class cultural desert. People here like cycling, gyms, chain restaurants, Centerparcs/Eurocamp etc... and meal planning.!

Before dd's French exchange trip the teacher had to impress on the pupils that French people do not eat at 5pm and more likely 9pm so to be aware of that.

What makes me judgy is that 5pm diners seem so inflexible and seem to be stuck in the "if it's Tuesday it's sausages" mindset of the 1970s.

People always make snide remarks about what other people call their meals on MN. As if calling your evening meal tea, or supper, makes you less or more as a person.

I make tea for around 6:30, if anyone cares .

It’s very simple, people have tea between four and five and if you have babies etc thats sorted, supper is 6-7 which means most people.

If I was asked for 8.00 I’d assume it was either a dinner party or I was dining in a private house either here or abroad without children.

In your world @beeline maybe.

But not in mine.

HTH.

We eat between 5 and 6 but that's mainly because we have young children. We treat ourselves every so often and eat after the kids go to bed. We are usually ravenous by this time (8ish by the time they've settled and our food is cooked). Pre children we would still eat around 6 after work. Never noticed people sneering about this time. If you don't eat early there is no time in the evening to snack on junk

Saying you eat “Supper” means you have ideas of grandeur! Lol!
Or that’s what you’ve always called it and you think people who judge you for it are arseholes.

Sometimes we eat at 4pm sometimes at late at 8pm. But then we also have cereal in the evening afternoon,mid morning or any other time as we do a lot of eating

Breakfast - before 10am
Lunch/dinner - 12-1pm
Tea 5-6pm
Supper (for those really hungry) 8-9pm
.. and breathe

During the week dinner was at half six so we could listen to radio four programmes

For you, beeline.
We have one evening meal. Dinner, between around 7.30 and 9 depending on what we’re doing. No tea, no supper.

I’m with you op. I like my dinner early but am in no way posh!
Breakfast at 7.30-8am
Lunch at 12
Dinner between 5-6.

If I eat too late it sits on my tummy and I find it harder to digest.

I have to eat by 7pm to fit in with my drug regime. I don’t really care what other people think 😊

Its pretty standard for literally everyone I know to eat 5 or 6ish, I've never come across this

We eat around six. We've always eaten with our kids and they ate pretty much what we ate. No way would I cook twice or feed my kids beige freezer crap while we ate salmon. And yes I know plenty of people who eat supper at nine who do just that.

During my 80's childhood supper was a bowl of cereal or some toast eaten just before bed. Tea was soon after you got in from school so you were hungry later. My grandma unfailingly had breakfast at 8, dinner (main meal) at 12, tea (light, cold meal) at 4 and supper at 8. She generally went to bed around 9 and didn't eat immediately after getting up at 7am. It all stems from the habits seen on programmes such as Victorian Farm.

Gosh we eat around 8/9pm!
Don't get home until half 6, then play with DS followed by bath, book and bed so we start cooking at half 7/8pm.

Tea is the only meal of the day for DH and I. We don't do breakfast (except coffee) and don't have money for midweek lunches.
DS eats at grandparents houses or nursery

At weekends we have a family late lunch at about 2/3pm. Or an early family tea at 4/5pm.

Pretty sure the French eat their main meal at lunchtime, so pointless comparing their customs with ours.

I don't understand what some people are getting worked up about. It's just a name after all.

It may be the in thing to eat later but ... it would depend on what time a person gets home from work, goes to bed, gets up.

When I’ve worked later hours eg 5.30/6pm then dinner is late.
But when I work early jobs (such as now when up at 6am and bed 10pm/11pm) then I usually cook dinner for 4-5.30pm.

The bigger gap there is between eating last meal and going to bed the better it is for stomach digestion and also for keeping oneself slim!

This reminds me of Gordon Ramsey in his son's documentary explaining how cutting your toast/sandwiches across was what his mum did as she was from a council estate. But When he went to his posher friend's they cut them diagonally I knew EXACTLY what he meant! My mum was from a council estate and NEVER cut them across as it showed her roots, so always cut them in the "posh" way. So weird how it is instilled in me too. It's BREAD for goodness sake.

But I think it is just what we grow up with, whatever is our "normal"

Yes... and this is a good idea if someone can get home lunchtime and family because like they say, ideally we would eat breakfast fit for a king, lunch for a prince and dinner for a pauper.
Only work and getting home from work generally upsets such a routine being undertaken for most people.
But it’s the best routine for our bodies in an ideal situation.