An American visiting the UK has been struck by a British pub crisp tradition, describing it as "communal" gesture. David Escobedo, who is doing his PhD Chester, took to TikTok to share his thoughts on the act of tearing open a packet of crisps to share with your friends, something he's not used to in his native Los Angeles.
On his cultural discovery David, known as @fntsywlkr on the video sharing platform, said: "Here we go, when I've been to pubs, it's pretty common for everyone to grab a drink and sit around a table and if they're a little munchy, they get a bag of crisps and they tear open the crisps like a little plate and they invite everyone to have crisps.
"Now, in the United States, at least in Los Angeles, it's pretty uncommon to eat at bars in general, unless it's a bar and restaurant. But something that I think is interesting is the kind of community action of ripping open the bag of crisps, there usually is not very many crisps, and sharing it with everyone."
It is an 'unwritten rule' in many British pubs, that when you get a packet of crisps it must be opened up to the table. While it may result in the actual person who bought it eating about three single crisps, the gesture is often greatly appreciated by those drinking with you.
David added: "So to me it's a really kind gesture, cause it's like, 'I am munchy, but I'm going to share what I have with everyone here'. So this gesture of sharing a torn open bag of crisps, which we would call chips in the United States, is really interesting to me and it's very communal.
"It's very like 'what I have is yours' which I really like." Replying to David's video, Ticktocktao said: "The baller move is to get a section of crisps AND nuts. You open up 2/3 bags as the plate and lay all the flavours out as a variety platter."
Snooky_ookums replied: "Gotta keep everyone's sustenance up so we can stay in the pub until closing." Lilou typed: "Completely normal. Throw a bag of peanuts in on top (allergies allowing) and it's a real feast!"
Enfurnoh added: "Also the concept of 'rounds'. You don’t buy your own drink. You buy a round for everyone, and then the next person does, and so on." Abbie admitted: "This is adorable, thank you for seeing us like this."
