Object

Caviar (Captain's Dinner Serving)

A small, formal serving of caviar presented at Captain Picard's ornate dinner table: glossy, bead‑like fish eggs glinting under candlelight and giving off a faint briny scent. Housed in a shallow dish and intended for shared tasting, the portion sits as an elegant, delicate accompaniment to the replicated meal. Guests handle it with restrained civility while Kurn reacts with visible disgust, verbally deriding the offering and using its perceived blandness to provoke cultural insult.

2 appearances

Purpose

Edible delicacy served as a garnish or hors d'oeuvre at a formal Starfleet dinner, intended for tasting and social hospitality.

Significance

Functions as a cultural flashpoint that catalyzes tension: Kurn's disdain for the caviar helps fracture the dinner's politeness, isolates Worf, and dramatizes the clash between Klingon honor politics and Starfleet hospitality, foreshadowing deeper personal cost for Worf.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S3E17 · Sins of the Father

Dinner of Dishonor: Cultural Rift at the Captain's Table

A formal serving of caviar is offered as a personal favorite of Picard's and as a gesture of sharing Earth delicacies; Kurn sniffs and reluctantly samples it, and the offering becomes a flashpoint for cultural derision.

Before: Stored in cases aboard the ship but plated and placed on the buffet for the dinner.

After: Sampled by Kurn and others; portions taken onto plates and partly consumed or set aside as reactions dictate.

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S3E17 · Sins of the Father

Dinner Provocation — Kurn Tests Worf and Starfleet Tolerance

A formal serving of caviar on the captain's table underscores Picard's attempt at refined hospitality; the dish becomes a conversational prop that highlights cultural tastes and elicits Kurn's disdain, which in turn spotlights Worf's discomfort.

Before: Shelved on the buffet as an offered delicacy; glinting under lights.

After: Sampled by Kurn and others; remains on the table as evidence of the social experiment's friction.

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