finish your lobster

If your mother is anything like my mother was, then Xi Jinping is your mother:

The Chinese Communist Party wants you to clean your plate, and it’s not afraid to barge into the dining room and take matters into official hands if you don’t.

Yes, clean your plate is a thing, and as Adam Minter points out, a thing which connects quite well with public concern over official corruption. It's also part of the general crackdown on extravagant official dining that has been sending a wave of panic through five star hotels across China. And remember that thing where if you left something on your plate at dinner, it would be there staring up at you when you went back for tea? Try this:

I’ve attended dinners and banquets at which hundreds of dollars of food remained untouched on Lazy Susans. In one memorable case, I remember a large table on which three live lobsters, served as sashimi with their guts open to the room, were left uneaten, their eye buds twitching as guests (including me, with a glance back) left.

Comments

[guthrie]

What happens to the food? Does it get binned?

Back in medieval Europe, it was expected (Although obviously not always common) for the rich to show their richness and munificence by having the leftovers distributed to the poor. Obviously that would mean admitting there are poor people, and you wouldn't want them making your streets dirty.
How does charity work there?

[foolishmortal]

But it's not just rich officials that do this: even the most humble dining establishments will regularly be cleaning up tables full of half-eaten dishes. When I'd go to eat lunch alone, I'd regularly be asked, "Just one dish?"

[Strategist]

I was told that you haven't performed your duty as the host picking up the bill until you've brought in a full round of dishes that your guests have been unable to finish.

This after a few days/weeks of thinking we'd better show willing and keep eating, given that the grub was still coming.

[Strategist]

Whoops, posted this before reading the link, which explains this perfectly clearly.

[guthrie]

HMm, maybe there's a market for model food, to be brought in when everyone is obviously stuffed? That way you can look generous but there's no waste.