#21 Eating Routines And Food Presentation Preferences
Written by SAPL on Monday, September 8th, 2008 in Uncategorized.
It’s been said that there’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s. Once the Asperger finds his or her preference for eating the peanut butter chocolate goody, he or she will never eat it differently again. For those of you working in office settings, if you have an Aspie in the office and you know a Reese’s is her favorite treat-offer to buy it 2-3 times for her and watch her as she eats it. She might break the top off and lick the peanut butter, eat the outermost ridges, or take a stab in the middle and leave the ring for the end. Watch carefully and after the 2nd or 3rd time, you’ll find yourself cracking up. Or getting really, really, really weirded out.
Along with Eating The Same Foods Everyday, Aspergers like to stick to eating routines and reliable ways of have their food presented on the plate. That whole, “the kid likes it sliced in triangles and not rectangles,” sandwich thing is no joke for the Aspie. They may even eat in a particular order-green vegetables first, eat clockwise or counterclockwise, no mixing of side dishes, the ridiculous list goes on and on.
This may make for a challenging experience at restaurants when someone who is not as in tuned to the weirdo, or uh, particular eating preferences. If the Aspie is used to his favorite dish with finely chopped cucumbers and it is brought out in big chunks the chef has committed a sin worthy of 2,000 Hail Marys. An innocent waiter may even try to convince the Asperger the dish isn’t suppose to be different than what he received, but the Aspie is no fool! He knows the waiter is trying to pull one over on him in an attempt to get him to shut his mouth and tip well. And so the Aspie becomes even more determined to pursue the case.
“More cornstarch?”
“We don’t use cornstarch. We use potato flour.”
“Different brand of rice?”
“We’ve been using the same rice for the past decade?”
“Different area of the farm the cabbage was picked from?”
“How the #$@! would I know?”
Much ado will take place that involves supervisors, managers, and Prime Ministers if they can take a phone call. Dozens of trips to the kitchen and several conversations with the manager will result in the Aspie finally getting the meal presented in the way he likes–or the meal being dumped on his head, depending on if the waiter was able to sneak in a smoke break.