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Dutch customs

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Eet smakelijk and the wider European "enjoy your meal"


"Eet smakelijk" is the Dutch equivalent of "bon appétit." It seems like every European culture has a variant. Spain, yes; Germany, yes. I've asked people from Italy, Poland, and Sweden — they all have a form of it. Romania, yes. The French of course. Indeed, bon appétit is the de facto English version, but it's not widely used.

The customary utterance is widespread on the Continent with regional variations. Whatever the differences, the phrase is intimately connected with strong social code. It is compulsory within local rules that if you see somebody eating, you have to wish them a good meal. Sometimes this is a complete stranger with whom you might not otherwise ever interact.

"Enjoy your meal" is a way to translate eet smakelijk etc. into English, but there's no corresponding tradition. One is not expected in anglophone cultures to comment when they see other people eating. But in nearly every Continental European language, (if not every one) there is a phrase for "enjoy your meal" which is often requisite in order to be polite.