Eating around a table means both eating and talking, if only to say a few words of praise for what is presented to us. At the table we talk about what we’ve eaten before and what we’re going to eat and everything in between. If we say nothing at the table, then there is always the refusal of food as the final word.
I thought that this was an interesting quote because when you eat together whether it is with family, friends or strangers there is always a story or something to learn about other people at that moment.