Peter Rhodes on dreams, migration and etiquette at the breakfast bar
There's a sparky little debate going on in social media about a long-standing holiday quandary. It is this: when you've helped yourself to breakfast at the hotel buffet, is it okay to pocket more food to see you through the day, or is this a form of theft? Somehow, I sense that some readers may be blushing.
One online influencer brazenly displays her technique for filling a couple of Tupperware containers over breakfast, declaring: “It's not stingy, it's strategy.” And I've seen lots of tourists slyly slipping a baguette or two into their shopping bags, or even assembling a whole ham roll for lunch. But I've never seen any hotel staff intervening to stop them.
This makes me think that either the hotels accept such losses, and budget for them, or stock their breakfasts with stale old grub that's destined for the bins anyway. As the Good Book very nearly tells us: Let he who is without a hard-boiled egg in his pocket cast the first scone.
