cocktail sausages on sticks
cheese and pineapple on sticks
olives etc

cocktail sticks are thin wooden sticks (sometimes used as tooth picks by the uncouth) for putting small appetisers on.

So by counting the empty sticks, you can see you much you have eaten (in the case of cold sausages...usually too many!)

hth

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Note added at 2002-10-01 17:21:13 (GMT) Post-grading
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Thinly slice the garlic and spring onions and sprinkle over the top of each fish. Wrap the leaves or foil over the fish to make well-sealed parcels, secure with the cocktail sticks and barbecue over medium-hot coals for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the snappers are completely cooked through and tender.
5. Remove the cocktail sticks and serve each fish straight from its leaf or foil container. Allow each person to open their own parcel, as the aroma is sensational.

Cocktail sticks

Small wooden sticks with pointed ends about 7cm in length. Cocktail sticks have a wide variety of uses, including securing stuffed chicken breasts or fish fillets before cooking (remove the sticks before eating); to secure foods wrapped in bacon or ham, eg scallops wrapped in bacon; to serve small bites of food at a buffet, eg cubes of cheese or stuffed olives; or to serve food to accompany a dip, eg pieces of fruit to be dipped in chocolate or chunks of bread or sausages to be dipped in a cheese mixture.

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/db/2/H/ huahinbeachredsnappe_5248.shtml

www.waitrose.com/food_drink/Recipes/glossary/ cookingglossary/Cocktailsticks.asp

Of course 007 prefers his cocktails shaken, not stirred. But I think the reference here is to the plastic sticks that are placed in the glass for stirring the cocktails.

Take a look at this page:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2124

Cocktail Sticks: An apparently Western take on chop-sticks, these implements are used in a manner similar to the way in which chimpanzees dig maggots out of a log with a bent twig. They are used predominantly to attach pieces of cheese to pieces of pineapple, for a tasty, yet strangely unsatisfying party snack. They are often brightly coloured to ensure the user does not mistake them for the nourishing part of said party snack. Cocktail sticks have a useful alternative use as a method for detaching other morsels of party snack from hard to reach places between your teeth.

Warning: Do not use to remove food from other parts of the body.

End of quote.


Fuad

are about the size of a toothpick and are used for serving small pieces of food (e.g. cheese, pineapple, meat etc.). The tidbits are "impaled" on the sticks.

Here all the food seems to be served on such sticks, so when you add up how many sticks are left on your plate after your meal, you can figure out how much you spent.

HTH

The idea is that a cocktail stick is served in each drink--so if you count up your sticks at the end, you'll know how many drinks you've had, and therefore how much you've spent.


http://www.buyrite.co.uk/straws-and-cocktail-sticks.htm