DINING ETIQUETTE

Itisimportanttoknowhowtoconductoneselfproperlyatthetable.Therulesofdiningetiquettearefairlystraightforwardandmostlyrequirecommonsense.
TableSetting.Itcanbeveryconfusingtobepresentedwithavarietyofeatingutensils.(Seebelow)Remembertheguideline“tostartattheoutsideandworkyourwayin.”Ifyouhavebeengiventwoforks,whicharethesamesize,beginwiththeforkontheoutside.Manyrestaurantsusethesamesizeofforkforboththesaladandmaincourse.

Napkin.Whendiningwithothersplaceyournapkinonyourlapaftereveryoneatyourtablehasbeenseated.Donotopenyournapkininmid-air.Asyouremoveyournapkinfromthetablebegintoopenbelowthetablelevelandplaceonyourlap.Ifyoumustleaveameal,dosobetweencourses,andplaceyournapkinonyourchairortotheleftofyourplate.Whenamealiscompleted,placeyournapkintotherightofyourplate–neverontheplate.

Served.Waitforeveryoneatyourtabletobeservedbeforebeginningtoeat.However,ifanindividualwhohasnotbeenservedencouragesyoutobegineating,youmaydoso.Eatslowlywhilewaitingfortheirfoodtobeserved.

Soup.Wheneatingsoup,thinkofmakingacircle:spoonawayfromyou,bringaroundtoyourmouthandbacktothebowl.Soupistakenfromthesideofthesoupspoon–itisnotinsertedintoyourmouth.Donotslurpormakenoiseswheneatingsoup.

Sorbet.Thisitemisoftenservedbetweencoursestocleansethepalate.Itisalight,sherbettextureanddependingonwhenservedmaybeeatenwithaforkoraspoon.

Utensils.Becarefulhowyouholdyourutensils.Manypeopletendtomakeafistaroundthehandleoftheutensil–thisisthewayayoungchildwouldgraspautensil(notanadult).Therearetwoacceptablewaystousetheknifeandfork:continentalfashionandAmericanstandard.Continentalfashion—thedinercutsthefoodusuallyonebiteatatimeandusestheforkinthelefthand,tinespointingdown,tospearthefoodandbringittothemouth.Americanstandard—afewbitesarecut,theknifeislaidacrossthetopoftheplate,sharpedgetowardyou,andtheforkisswitchedtotherighthand,ifright-handed,tinesuptobringthefoodtothemouth.(Donotcutmorethantwoorthreebitesatatime.)

DessertUtensils.Dessertutensilsmaybefoundplacedacrossthetopoftheplacesetting.Placetheseutensilsdownforuseafterthemaincourseisremoved(forktotheleftandspoontotheright).

Passing.Pass“communityfood”suchasthebreadbasket,saltandpepper,andsaladdressingtotheright.Alwayspassthesaltandpeppertogether.Whenpassingitemssuchasacreamer,syruppitcherorgravyboat,passitwiththehandlepointingtowardtherecipient.

Seasoning.Alwaystasteyourfoodfirstbeforeusinganyseasonings.Donotassumeitneedstobeseasoned.

Sweeteners.Donotbeexcessivewithsugarorsweetenerpackets.Theruleofthumbisnomorethantwopacketspermeal.Donotcrumblethepacketsbutpartiallytearoffacorner,emptythecontentsandplacetotheside.

Bread.Bread/rollsshouldneverbeeatenwhole.Breakintosmaller,moremanageablepieces,butteringonlyafewbitesatatime.Toastandgarlicbreadhowevermaybeeatenaswholepiecessincetheyareusuallyalreadybuttered.Ifyouareservedapipinghotmuffinorbiscuit,youmaybreakinhalfcrosswise,butterandputbacktogether.Howeverwhenreadytoactuallyeat,breakitintosmallpieces.

Glasses.Avarietyoftypesandsizesofglassescanbeusedthroughoutthemeal.Rememberyouritemstodrinkwillbelocatedintheareaaboveyourknifeandspoon.Coffeecupsmaybelocatedtotherightoftheknifeandspoon.

Alcohol.Alcohol,ifconsumed,shouldbeinmoderation.Inmostcasesyoumayhaveadrinkduringthesocialhourandwine(s)withthedinner.Youdonothavetofinishyourdrink.Infactslowlysippingisrecommended.Ifyoudonotwantanalcoholicdrinkpolitelydecline.

Buffets.Buffetsprovideanopportunitytoselectitemsyouenjoy.Donotoverloadyourplate.Selectabalancedvarietyoffooditems.

Pre-SetMeals.Withapre-setmealthehost/hostesshasalreadymadetheselectionsandtheindividualsareserved.Ifallergic,religiousorvegetarianissuesarise,quietlydealwiththeseastheserverisatyourside.Forvegetarianaskifyoumayhaveavegetableplate;withallergiesorreligionprovidetheserverwithsomeoptions(ex.Allergictoshellfish—askiftheyhavecodorflounderandbereadywithyourpreference).Thisletstheserverknowwhatyoucaneat.Alwayseatalittleofallitemsservedtoyou.

OrderingfromMenu.Astheguestselectanitemthatisinthemid-pricerange,easytoeatandyouwillenjoy.Consideraskingyourhost/hostessforarecommendationbeforemakingyourdecision.Asthehostitishelpfultotaketheleadinorderingappetizersandwine,ifthesearetobeserved.

Finished.Whenfinishedwithacourse,leaveyourplatesinthesamepositionthattheywerepresentedtoyou.Inotherwords,donotpushyourplatesawayorstackthem.

Guest.Ifyouaresomeone’sguestatameal,askthepersonwhathe/sherecommends.Bydoingthis,youwilllearnpricerangeguidelinesandhaveanideaofwhattoorder.Usuallyorderaniteminthemidpricerange.Alsokeepinmind,thepersonwhotypicallyinitiatesthemealwillpay.Remembertothankthemforthemeal.

RestaurantStaff.Waitstaff,servers,Maitred’,etc.areyourallies.Theycanassistyouwithwhateverproblemmayarise.Quietlygettheirattentionandspeaktothemabouttheissue.