10 Tips for Perfect Dining Etiquette
How many times have you gone to a formal dinner event or a beautiful restaurant and had a moment of panic that you may not be doing things right? Are you terrified your kids might do something wrong?
This video from international etiquette expert Gloria Starr gives a great introduction to the general operations of a formal meal. She has recorded several more that address specific situations such as dessert eating and wine etiquette.
I suggest watching this video with your older children and maybe even lay out a place setting so they can move along with her movements.
Here are some of the rules she explains:
You use your cutlery from the outside in. You can tell what they will be serving by the types of cutlery you’ve been provided. Work your way inward as the courses are served.
Your hands should be the only thing people really see at dinner. She says sometimes you might have your forearms on the table and never do you put your elbows on the table.
Eat at the same pace as everyone else so the entire table stays on schedule. If you are not finished with a course but everyone else is, it’s time to move that plate on, no matter what.
If you sit down at a large table and aren’t sure which drink is yours or which bread plate you should use, use this great rule – Make the “okay” sign with both hands. Your left hand makes a “B” and your right hand makes a “D” – that means bread on the left and drink on the right. This is a life-saver to know when you are at a large banquet table that is preset with both.
When you eat soup, you move the spoon away as you fill it. You don’t stir your soup or blow on it to cool it off.
Remember the staff will be serving your food from the left and removing plates to the right.
If you drop your napkin, ask for another one; don’t retrieve it from the floor. If you spill, simply place your napkin over the spill; don’t blot it or rub it. The staff will understand and discreetly clean up.
When you are eating, use the continental style of keeping your fork in your left hand and your knife in your right hand. Don’t switch back and forth. This might take a little practice, especially if you are left-handed like I am. Also, cut one bite at a time and eat it, and repeat. Don’t cut up the whole meal before you begin.
When you are resting, place the cutlery on the respective edges of your plate and pick them back up after your have dabbed your mouth on the corners with your napkins which you placed in your lap. When you have finished, place the cutlery in the 6/12 position across your plate and the staff will know you are ready for them to remove your plate.
When they have removed all the dinner accoutrement such as salt and pepper and the butter, you may slide your dessert cutlery down toward you and now you are ready for dessert. Please watch Starr’s other videos for even more practical and helpful etiquette tips.
When you set an example for your family and for your co-workers, some of these civilized manners may rub off on them too!
Marijo Tinlin is the Editor in Chief of Family First, one of the oldest family-oriented websites on the internet. She is also the author of a book about patriotism and teaching our children to love this country called “How to Raise an American Patriot, Making it Okay for Our Kids to Be Proud to Be American.” It features 13 interviews with patriotic Americans including Ed Meese, Erick Erickson and Jackie Gingrich Cushman. It’s available at www.raisinganamericanpatriot.com.