It was 2005. I was sitting on a bench at lunchtime in Madrid eating a sandwich. Probably a sandwich de tortilla or jamón crudo. A man walked past me and said, "Bueplobetcho" or something equally indecipherable to my untrained Spanish ears. When I got home I asked Sra. de Manuel, whom I was staying with, what this man might have said. "He probably said Buen Provecho!" she told me.
And the question continues. "How do you say Buen Provecho in English?" Well, you don't...really. People know what "Bon Appetit" means but it's not commonly used. A waiter in a restaurant might say "Enjoy your meal" when he comes to your table with your food, but that is mostly because he wants a decent tip.
You might not believe the fact that we don't have our own phrase, but it's true. Read for further clarification:
from Epinions.com ID:
NetDanzr
Buen Provecho. A simple, two-word phrase that the English language does not seem to be able to cope with. Not only there is no literal translation, but all equivalents fall short as well. Pity, really, especially if you consider that most other languages have their own version of the expression. "Guten Appetit," say the Germans. "Bon Appetit" is the French term. Smaller languages are not left behind, either. Slovak, which is spoken by fewer people than there is English-speakers in the New York metro area say "Dobru chut." It all means the same - wishing that the person you told it to finds the meal tasty, pleasing and enjoyable. Even beneficial, were we to follow the literal translation of "provecho". As it happens, English is the only major language that does not have such a phrase.
