@0x1C3B00DA Back in France, all my family Christmas Eve dinners were organized in courses as well.

My remark about the quality of the food was poking at the fact that spreads seem to be meant to be appreciated for their aggregate property, not for the individual courses composing them.

In the US I’ve heard guests praising “the spread” before taking any bite, which for me is a strong hint the quality of the food isn’t the priority of the practice.