The rules of etiquette at the table: we study cutlery

Manners in society indicate a man’s upbringing and knowledge of the basic rules of etiquette. This primarily concerns visits to cafes and restaurants, where you need to behave properly at the table. Etiquette at the table is not only about how to hold appliances, eat or drink, it is also important to be able to competently maintain a conversation and be accurate in everything.

Etiquette at the table represents certain knowledge that shape the behavior of people in society. Any mistake made at the table will be immediately noticed and will create an unpleasant impression on the person, therefore, before visiting guests, a cafe or a restaurant, you need to check your manners, and if there are “gaps” in them, immediately fix it. This will help in the future to avoid embarrassing situations and give self-confidence.

Etiquette at the table consists of a few simple rules.

• You can not sit far from the table or pressed too tightly to its edge. Only brushes can be placed on the table.
• Landing should be smooth, leaning over food is ugly.
• Bad taste is considered to reach for dishes. If the plates are far away, then you need to ask the other participants in the meal to hand them over.
• Use a napkin during meals. To do this, adults put them on their lap, and for small children wipes are tucked behind the collar.
• All dishes should be placed in plates with cutlery. The exceptions to this rule are fruits, sugar, cookies or cakes.
• It is important to remember that devices that lie on the left are designed to be held with the left hand, and those lying on the right are for the right hand.

Besides, you can’t talk loudly at the table. When maintaining a conversation, first of all, you need to listen to the interlocutor without interrupting him, and only then give an answer. The implementation of these recommendations is not particularly difficult, so they should always be followed.

Table setting is the main component of any meal. If the gala dinner takes place at home, then the impression of the owners of the house will depend on its design. Many people compare table setting with a real work of art, since it is important not only to correctly place the cutlery and know their purpose, but also to create a festive atmosphere with the help of flowers and decor of napkins.

To set the table nicely, first of all you need to lay a tablecloth, then you can arrange plates, glasses, glasses, wine glasses, cutlery and napkins. Their location is established by etiquette and cannot be changed at one’s sole discretion.

According to the rules of serving, the corners of the tablecloth should cover the legs of the furniture, but not be too long, leaving a distance to the floor of 25-30 cm. The canvas spreads with free movements, while it is important to pay attention to the fact that air does not form between the table and the fabric. You can not pull the corners of the tablecloth, otherwise the canvas will lose its shape and aesthetic appearance.

After the tablecloth has taken the correct position on the table, you can proceed to the next serving step and arrange the plates. There are many varieties of plates, each of which has its own purpose. Most often, the main plates are placed on the table, which can be used to serve different types of dishes, as well as additional ones for salads, bread, pies, oysters, eggs, jam and fruits. The use of the number of plates depends on whether you plan a regular dinner or a gala dinner.

Plates are carefully washed and wiped dry before a meal, preferably to a shine. Put plates in front of the seat. It's ugly when they lie on the edge of the countertop, so this should be avoided when serving. In the event that the lunch will consist of several dishes, table plates are placed under eateries.

Great attention should also be paid to the placement of cutlery. Forks must be laid out to the left, and knives to the right of the plate. In this case, next to the knife must be a tablespoon. For a gala dinner, which provides a rich menu, the first place snacks: fish and a table knife, a spoon for soup, a fork. The distance between the cutlery should not exceed 1 cm.

After the cutlery, they proceed to the arrangement of glasses and wine glasses. They are put from larger to smaller, starting with glasses for water, wine, champagne and ending with a glass for juice and glasses for strong alcoholic drinks. The finishing touch in table setting are napkins, which are a decorative element and lie on your knees.

Gala dinner or lunch begins with a seat at the table. In this case, guests must take the place specified in the invitation. If this is not the case, you must wait for the owners of the house and specify where you can settle down. After landing at the table, a napkin is placed on your knees, which you need to unfold and shake.In the event that the table is served with napkins in the rings, they are carefully removed and the ring is placed in the upper corner of the cutlery. At the end of the meal, the cloth napkin is taken at the center and put back on the ring.

Sitting at the table should be comfortable so that it is convenient to use cutlery. It is strictly forbidden to put your elbows on the table, as this is an example of bad taste. After serving, you need to wait for all participants in the meal, and only then can you start to eat. Dishes that are located at a distance must be asked to convey, and not reach for them across the entire table.

It is also important to consider some other points.

• Food is transmitted only from left to right, so all dishes can only move in this direction. To do this, one participant in the meal holds the dish, and the second fills the plate, or the neighbor simply passes the dish, and the addressee independently holds the plate and sprinkles food.
• Inconvenient in shape and heavy dishes cannot be kept on weight - they are put on the table before each transfer to another guest.
• It is recommended to transfer items of dishes with handles and tureens so that the handles are sent to the neighbor who is taking the dish.

You should eat slowly - this will not only allow you to fully enjoy the food, but also chat with the owners of the house or guests. During meals, the mouth should be kept closed without grunting or banging your teeth. If the first dishes are too hot, you can’t blow on them - just wait a while until they cool.

Engaging in conversation is only when the food is swallowed. If you need to leave, first you should ask for forgiveness from those present, and only then get up from the table.

To properly behave at a table in a restaurant, it is important to know how to use the appliances. As a rule, all main dishes are located on the left, and drinks - on the right. Therefore, everything that lies to the left of the plates can be safely taken. It is necessary to start the meal with the help of appliances that are located closer to the plate, and then apply the following as new food is served. It’s important to remember that the fork is used with a knife and it is always placed on the left. If the fork is on the right, then this means that the dishes will be eaten without a knife.

During the meal you need to know how to put the fork and knife. As a rule, two different styles are used for this.

• American. Provides for the placement of a fork in the left hand and a knife in the right. A knife is cut off with a knife, after which it is placed on the upper edge of the plate with the blade inward. It is allowed to eat the dish with a fork, holding it both in the left and in the right hand. For relaxation, the fork is placed on the plate with teeth upward for 5 hours.
• European. The knife is placed strictly in the right hand, and the fork - in the left, while you can not shift the fork from one hand to another. In the process of eating, it is important to ensure that the fork is constantly teeth down.

All first courses are eaten with a tablespoon, so you need to know the rules of etiquette regarding how to bring this cutlery to your mouth. Usually, when serving, soup plates are placed on the table with spoons, or then soup is served with a spoon. You can bring a spoonful of food to your mouth both on the side and on the sharp edge of the appliance. As for scooping the first dish, this is done in two ways: from yourself or from right to left.

A spoon directed to the mouth should not be crowded. So that the rest of the soup does not drip from it, the appliance is recommended to lightly touch the edge of the plate. If the soup is added, the spoon should remain in the plate.

Etiquette at the table provides not only beautiful serving and good manners of communication, but also the rules that must be observed when eating. An important point is the holding in your hand of glasses and wine glasses. Most often, wine is served at gala dinners; special glasses “tulips” or wine glasses are used for these purposes. Glasses with white and red wine should be held only by the leg and in no case should you cover them with your hand. Champagne is treated in the same way - a vessel filled with it is held with three fingers.

As for the glasses for cognac, they can be placed in the palm of your hand - this way the drink warms up to the desired temperature. You can give the brandy an amber hue with the help of light swaying of the glass. Take a glass of vodka with three fingers, do not hold the drink in your hand for a long time and quickly drink it.

After eating, when the meal is over, you must give the waiter a sign. To do this, a fork with a knife rests on the plate in parallel so that the prongs of the fork look up and the blade of the knife looks to the side. Exactly the same procedure is performed after the end of the dessert.

Spoons after taking the soup should not remain in a deep plate, they are placed near the bottom appliances. In that case, if you really liked the dish, you can show the waiter with “fork and knife gestures”. In this case, the cutlery lies horizontally in the middle of the plate, the fork is placed with its teeth up, and the knife blade should “look” at it.

The rules of etiquette at the table must be observed not only by adults, but also by children, as improper behavior in society will add up to a negative impression of the whole family. To always be on top and feel confident at a party, cafe or restaurant, you just need to study simple recommendations and follow them every day. So, etiquette does not suffer the following disadvantages.

• You can not refuse at the table from certain types of dishes, indicating that they can cause an allergic reaction or are not suitable for diet. To do this, it is advisable to pre-warn the owner of the event and tell him what to exclude from food.
• Food stuck between the teeth is considered an unpleasant phenomenon, but do not remove it immediately at the table, even if there are toothpicks. First, the table leaves, and only then the removal is performed in the toilet room.
• Some ladies use bright cosmetics, so at special occasions you may encounter the problem of traces of lipstick on the glasses. To exclude this bad taste, you should remove lipstick from your face with a napkin before dinner. This should be done not at the table, but in the toilet room.
• Many people smoke. Of course, smoking is prohibited in restaurants, but sometimes you can end up in establishments where a place for smokers is equipped. An important point here is that smoking between meals is not good. This is best done at the end of the meal, and then - only with the permission of those present.
• Placement on the tables of diplomats and handbags is not allowed. The same applies to gloves, hats, gloves and glasses.

At the end of the reception, you should leave a good impression about yourself and politely thank the owners of the house or the organizers of the dinner for the warm welcome, praise the excellent selection of dishes and pleasant communication.

You will learn more about the rules of etiquette at the table from the videos below.