A chef in Cork never crosses knives on the counter. Another in Manchester throws salt over his left shoulder every time he spills a grain. In a café in Galway, the owner keeps an old wooden spoon in the top drawer even though she hasn't used it in years—she says it brings luck. None of them can say exactly why; only that they've always done it, and that stopping feels risky.
Kitchen superstitions have survived the passage of centuries, from ancient Rome to the industrial revolution, and some still shape the way we work. Some were born from religious belief, others from practical prohibitions that were forgotten over time. What remains is a set of gestures, unwritten rules and taboos that still appear in professional and home kitchens across Europe.
Thirteen people at table
The most famous is the number thirteen at table. Legend attributes the origin to the Last Supper, where—according to Christian tradition—thirteen people sat together the night before Christ's death. Another version points to Norse mythology: a feast at which thirteen gods gathered and one died. Historians find no solid evidence that either of these stories is the direct origin of the superstition, but both have been repeated for centuries.
What is documented is that the belief was widespread in nineteenth-century Europe. There are accounts of wealthy hosts seeking an extra guest at the last moment if thirteen people confirmed attendance. In France, the story circulated of the quatorzième, a sort of professional guest who attended dinners by commission to avoid seating thirteen. There's no evidence that this existed as a real profession at any scale, but the anecdote was told—and is still told—as if it had been common.
Today, many small restaurants avoid tables of thirteen out of habit, not fear. Some owners acknowledge they'd rather not risk a superstitious customer feeling uncomfortable. Others simply rearrange the seating without a second thought.
Spilled salt and crossed knives
Spilling salt is considered bad luck across much of Europe. The custom of throwing a pinch of salt over the left shoulder to counter it is equally old. Some say salt was expensive and wasting it was an economic sin; others argue the superstition is far older than any modern salt price. Pliny the Elder, in first-century Rome, already documented beliefs connected to spilled salt. The exact origin remains uncertain.
Crossing knives on a table or worktop is considered unlucky in many kitchens. The most common explanation is that it symbolises a fight or quarrel. In practice, it's also a sensible way to avoid cuts: two crossed knives are easier to grab wrong.
Wooden spoons have their own history. In some traditions, giving a wooden spoon to a new bride was considered good luck; in others, dropping one on the floor meant a visitor was coming. Wood itself was associated with protection: it doesn't conduct heat, doesn't react with acidic foods, and lasts decades if looked after. What began as practical sense became custom, and custom became superstition.
What a small food business can take from this
Superstitions endure because they tell stories, and stories sell. If you have a dish with history—a regional stew, a family recipe, a bread with its own name—put that story on the menu. You don't need to invent legends; a couple of lines about where the dish comes from or who taught you to make it adds value at no cost.
Simplicity works. Many of these traditions revolve around basic objects: salt, wood, steel. A short menu, well executed, with ingredients people recognise, builds trust faster than a long card with complicated names. And trust translates into customers who come back.
Finally, superstitions about waste—like spilled salt—remind us of something useful: every grain counts. If you sell takeaway or run a market stall, weigh your leftovers for a week. A business buying £400 of ingredients a month and throwing away a tenth is losing £40 a month, £480 a year. Adjusting portions or using leftovers in a daily special recovers that money without investment. If you need to work out what each dish costs you, the food cost formula gives you the starting point.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the superstition about thirteen at table really come from?
It's not known for certain. It's attributed both to the Christian tradition of the Last Supper and to Norse myths, but historians haven't found a single documented origin. What is certain is that the belief was widespread in Europe by the nineteenth century.
Is it true that salt was so expensive that wasting it brought bad luck?
Salt was valuable for much of history, but the superstition about spilling it already appears in texts from ancient Rome, long before modern pricing. It's likely the belief is older than any simple economic explanation.