The Contingency Plan

"Food is very important. It should never be wasted on thoughtless eating," Harry, my brother.

Harry has a "method" for eating everything.

Here are some examples:

* Pies: eat the sides first, leaving the soft centre for last

* Apples: munch on the bottom first so large, juicy chunks can be relished last

* Burgers: First take a bite of the burger, then eat a chip, then take another bite of the burger, followed by another chip and so on. Eat the burger so the bits with the most sauce are left for last

* Pizza: crust is last and you must ensure that there is a piece of pineapple or olive in eat mouthful

* Cake: Layered cakes are cut in half so it appears as though you have two cakes with two tops, normal cakes are eaten so a portion of the topping is left for the last mouthful

* Fish with two sides (e.g. mashed potato and salad): take a bite of fish, and then a bit of the mashed potato in the one mouthful. Leave the salad for last

* Salad: big chunks of anything are out - the aim is to try and eat as many bits of the ingredients in the one mouthful

* Sandwiches: eat the crust of three of the four sides, then you're left with the soft centre so you can finish it off with mouthfuls of soft centre and crust

Although it's a little eccentric, I'm fond of it and would advise any interested person that the way to this man's heart is most certainly through his stomach.

Oh, is he one of those guys that chops his salad into teensy tiny pieces? My cousin does that. You practically need a spoon to eat it.

To me, giane lettuce leaves and big juicy tomato chunks are part of the fun.

no, harry couldn't be bothered with that. i think he sets big salad chunks aside to either eat later or not at all. harry's always had a method of eating everything but it's not something i noticed until a few years ago. i don't think anyone else realises. he's quiet about it. you wouldn't see unless you studied him. he's particular about how he eats his food, but, due to our upbringing, certainly won't waste any!