Adrian Chiles on His Food Habits: Coveting Others’ Plates but Guarding His Own
Adrian Chiles has shared a candid reflection on his relationship with food, revealing a long-standing habit that affects every meal he eats. He describes a dual character trait related to eating: an irresistible urge to take food from others’ plates combined with a strong reluctance to share his own food. This personal confession highlights a complex and somewhat contradictory attitude toward food that has persisted since childhood.
Two Sides of a Food-Related Character Trait
Chiles identifies his worst character trait as twofold. First, he cannot stop coveting what others have on their plates. Second, he cannot bear to give anyone anything from his own plate. He acknowledges the hypocrisy in this behavior, comparing it to an unattractive sight like a half-eaten pot of mouldy yoghurt.
Interestingly, a Russian study explored whether moral transgression enhances the pleasure of eating. The study involved participants eating French fries in various ways, including one person eating another’s fries. The results showed that the fries stolen from someone else were perceived as tastier by the “thieves.” While this might explain some of the appeal, Chiles admits that for him, the desire to take food is not always about taste or hunger. Sometimes, he simply wants it for the sake of wanting it, similar to how a dog looks longingly at food even if it’s not something the dog would normally eat.
Memorable Childhood Experiences
Chiles recalls a school lunchtime when he persistently asked a slower-eating friend for bits of his food. After repeatedly giving in, the friend finally lost patience, quietly scraping the remaining food from his plate onto Chiles’s plate and walking away. Chiles describes this moment as a devastating demonstration of quiet contempt, one that has stayed with him for nearly fifty years. Despite this, it did not change his behavior, which he says is too deeply ingrained.
Another notable incident occurred during a holiday in Bournemouth. Chiles noticed a neighboring family’s unfinished chips and, still hungry after finishing his own, felt compelled to have those chips to avoid waste. While his mother might have handled the situation by politely asking if the chips could be taken, his friend’s parents reacted with horror at the suggestion. The chips were soon taken away and wasted, a moment Chiles describes as heartbreaking given the effort involved in preparing them.
Possessiveness Over His Own Food
While Chiles freely admits to taking from others, he is equally clear about his unwillingness to share his own food. He views the food on his plate as his property, and the boundary marked by the edge of the plate is inviolable. Once the plate is in front of him, he intends to eat all of it. Relinquishing any part of it requires a mental adjustment he cannot make.
However, Chiles notes that if there is something on his plate that he does not want, he is happy for others to have it. He adds that this situation rarely arises because he usually finishes everything on his plate.
Cooking and Dining Out Challenges
Chiles also mentions that he is a good cook who enjoys feeding family and friends, ensuring no one leaves his home hungry. However, when dining out, he finds sharing food stressful. The modern trend of “small plates” and “sharing plates” on menus complicates the clear ownership of food, leading to negotiations and stress over who gets what portion.
He describes the awkwardness of splitting small items, such as a single poppadom, where diners hesitate to take the last piece, resulting in the food being divided into increasingly tiny fragments. The challenge is often mathematical: whether the number of pieces can be evenly divided among the diners. If not, despite the enjoyment of the meal, Chiles feels tempted to leave and get a bag of chips that are unquestionably all his own.