Table set in Asian
- Chopsticks, spoon and bowl ( simplicity and practically)
- Value the taste of food itself higher.
"Chopsticks" is a Western barbarism. In Chinese this utensil is called kuaì-zi, in Japanese hashi, in Vietnamese doi dua. A host of chopsticks etiquette rules govern the proper usage.
Chopstick etiquette
- Chopsticks are not used to stab or pierce food. Not only is this very rude, it means you aren’t very good at using chopstick.
- Whatever you do, do not stick your chopsticks in your rice or any other food.This is one of the worst things you can do.
- Why? Because this is commonly done only at funerals, as a way to offer food to the dead.
- When done, put the chopsticks on the rest or on the table.
Example of chopstick etiquette
- Japan: Never pass food directly from your own chopsticks to someone else’s chopsticks. They think that transferring directly the food is how bones are passed as part of the funeral rites.
- China: When using chopsticks its important not to lick them. They're used for serving food as well as eating, so avoid licking them at all cost. When eating, you may touch them to your lips, but for perfect eating etiquette try to take the food in your teeth and avoid touching the chopsticks as much as possible.
Western Etiquette
Continental Style
- Good manners at English and European dining tables require the use of continental-style etiquette. Also known as the European style, it's characterized by the diner holding the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right throughout the course of the meal. The placement of the knife and fork will tell the server the diner's intention, whether merely resting or done with the meal.
Significance
- Proper etiquette or the lack thereof can have far-reaching consequences. Ignorance of European or British dining customs could mark you as vulgar. Minor faux pas may be overlooked, but a major transgression could cost you the new job or sour a business deal, warns the Salisbury University Career Services website. The stakes increase if the offense occurs during dinners of state, where international news may focus criticism on the offender.
Some ettiquee
Germany :Hands on the Table | Americans and the British keep their left hand under the table or in their lap. Germans keep it on the table (but no elbows!), partly because they also keep the fork in their left hand most of the time. But it is not a real faux pas to have your hand on your lap.
1. Hold the fork in your left hand, the knife in your right hand.
2. Keep both in your hands while eating. Don’t put the knife or fork down except to drink or pick up bread. The knife (in your right hand) is also used to help discreetly guide food onto your fork (in your left hand).
3. Do not cut up an entire piece of meat at once. Cut off a bite-size piece and eat it before you cut off another piece.
Table setting
Formal European Dinner Table Settings
Formal European table settings include one service, bread-butter, and salad plate along with an oval bowl. One European dinner fork, dinner knife and teaspoon is used, along with one dinner fork and a fish fork. The other flatware used is a dessert, butter, and fish knife that accompanies one dinner or soup/dessert spoon. Glassware includes two wine glasses, a water goblet and a champagne flute.
Dining and Entertaining
Let your host seat you
Place napkin in your lap, following your host’s lead
Keep both hands above the tabl
Eating Continental Style
1. Use utensils from the outside in
2. Spoon soup away from you and sip from side of spoon
3. Use seafood fork for shrimp, clams, and oysters
4. Hold knife in right hand
5. Hold fork in left hand, inverted, and spear food
o Cut one piece at a time
o Rest position is an inverted V with tines down
o Place utensils parallel to each other resting diagonally at the 10 and 4 position with the knife blade facing in
Dining Etiquette
Eat what is offered, but only when it is offered
Do not season food without tasting it first
Do not refuse beverages
When drinking alcohol, drink in moderation
If you are serving coffee and it is going to be served in the living room, there is no need of a spoon on the table unless it is required by some other food. In general, silver which is used by the left hand is placed on the left of the plate, and that used by the right hand is on the right. Forks are at the left, knives and spoons are on the right. A seafood cocktail fork is an exception. It is placed on the right since it is used in the right hand, unless an individual is left-handed. The sharper side of the knife is turned toward the plate. The formal table setting diagram above, shows a more involved table setting for a more elegant formal dinner. There is no need to utilize to formal table table setting diagram, if you don't have enough flatware to accomodate it. Just follow the informal table setting diagram.
The water glass is placed on the right at the tip of the dinner knife. Goblets may be substituted at luncheon or dinner. If wine is to be served, the glasses are to the rightof the water glass. They are arranged in a diagonal line toward the spoons. The first wine to be served is placed nearer the right hand of the guest.
The use of bread and butter plates is up to you. They are not generally used in formal dining but for a semi-formal luncheon or dinner party, they provide space for bread, relishes and olive pits. If you are having a casual type party with cocktail ribs or chicken wings or something with a toothpick, include this type of plate for the waste. It is better to have bread and butter plates than to have the dinner plate assume role of a garbage can.
When setting a table, the napkin can be placed in either of two positions. At a luncheon or dinner party when the first course is to be served after the guests are seated, it may be folded into a rectangle and placed across the plate. It is also OK to place the neatly folded napkin to the left of the forks. The open corner may be toward or away from the plate though all napkins on the table should be folded and turned in the same direction. Don't waste your time trying to learn fancy napkin folds. The food is more important. A napkin folded into a rectangle fits into the design of table arrangement better than any other shape.
If a salad is to be on the table, it is placed to the left of the bread and butter plate. Individual salt and peppers are placed at the top of the plate. Salt and peppers at each place are not required for a good service but they allow guests to continue the conversation rather than to try to find a break in which to say, “Please pass the salt.”
At a large dinner party place cards simplify seating. Place cards may be used for a small party if it is a festive occasion or if place cards are desired to carry out the theme of the party.
