What to Say to your Host

When you are sharing drinks with friends, we sometimes give a toast or raise our glasses and say something that means how nice it is to be together at this moment.

Some common expressions for drinks are:

1. Cheers
2. To us!
3. Salut!  (We use a lot of French words around food and eating)
4. To our health! To another good year!  To our success!
5. I’m glad you are here. Thank you for being here.

Some common expressions before you eat are:

1. Bon appetit!
2. Enjoy!
3. Enjoy your meal.
4. It looks good, thank you.
5. Thank you for the food (or other words for GRACE which is a religious ceremony to thank the Lord for the food)

When you finish a meal that your friend or host has prepared, it is common and respectful to thank the host for their work, for example:

1. That was wonderful. Thank you so much.
2. Thank you for dinner. I really enjoyed it.

If your host offers you more food, it is polite to say “Yes Please” or “No Thank you”.  Never just say yes or no, that is considered impolite.  Here are some examples:

1. No, thank you. That was perfect. That was just the right amount.
2. No, thank you. I’m too full now.
3. No, thank you. That was really good.
4. No, thank you. I’ve had enough.
5. Yes please. If you don’t mind.

If you are not happy with your food at your homestay, it is helpful to provide more information. It is best to do this at another time, not right after a meal, for example,

1. Thank you for the dinners that you prepare for me. I really like some of the meals but can I ask you if you can serve more vegetables?
2. Thank you for all of the good food that you give me. I prefer to have ………..  Is it possible to have some ……..?

If you are at a restaurant, you should also use “please” and “thank you”.  If it was really good food or service, you should let your server know.

If you are in a restaurant and you are really disappointed with the food, it is your choice to complain or not.  Generally we don’t complain unless it is terrible.  You could say:

“I think there was something wrong with my food.  It was (too salty / terrible / overcooked)  I really don’t feel good about paying for this meal.”

If you would like to Learn English in Canada, come and visit our English school in Vancouver!  Please e-mail us at english@stgiles-canada.com for more information.