While not necessarily important when having a dinner party with friends, knowing good table manners can still come in handy. Table manners, what exactly are they supposed to be?
Before dinner
If you want to do it right, wait before eating until the host or hostess indicates that you can eat. You can also eat as soon as the host or hostess makes the first move. It’s similar to a walking buffet: you wait until it opens before you get in line.
Unfold your napkin on your lap, and do not use it as a bib.
Then don’t put too much on your plate, so you don’t have to leave anything behind. There is no shame in bragging again, which also shows that you enjoyed it. However, be careful not to eat too much.
When you pass food, this is done via the right. And, just as you don’t pass knives by the cutting edge but by the handle, you also pass bowls by the handle to the next person. Always ask for something to be handed to you, and don’t reach across the table to grab it.
Layout
- The butter knife is placed diagonally on the bread plate, or the knife is on the far right
- Forks are on the left.
- Knives and spoons are on the right (except the oyster/fish fork: this is on the right)
- Dessert spoons and forks lie above the plate
- Coffee spoons are on the right or near the coffee cup
- The bread basket is at the top left of your plate
- The water is directly above your plate and dessert cutlery
- To the right of the water is the red wine
- Again to the right of the red wine are the white wine (furthest away) and the dessert wine
- Always eat from the inside out, as far as cutlery is concerned
Placement
- The guest of honor sits to the right of the person who organized the dinner
- The second ,guest of honor, sits on the right
- Male guests of honor sit with the hostess, female guests of honor sit with the host
- Separation of couples, alternating husband and wife
- A man pulls up a woman’s chair and stands up when a woman leaves the table
During dinner
Everyone probably heard it in their youth: don’t talk with your mouth full . This is also an important rule during a dinner. Make sure you always empty your mouth before starting a conversation and wait until you have finished chewing before you continue talking. You don’t need to see other people’s ground food, do you?
Also make sure that you do not chew with your mouth open or make gestures with a knife and fork while talking.
The same goes for when you want to take a sip of water. Wait until you’ve finished chewing before taking a sip from your glass. First, the mouth is wiped with the napkin before taking a sip . This prevents greasy mouths from being released into the glass.
At the table you should sit upright, not too far from the edge of the table, with your wrists on the edge of the table when you are not busy eating. Do not sit with your hands under the table, and certainly do not rest your elbows on the table. You may only lean your elbows on the table between courses.
soup
- Don’t slurp
- Do not blow, but wait until it has cooled down
- Eating with the side of the spoon
- For the last leftovers, tilt the bowl slightly (but lift it on your own side)
- Only drink from a bowl with clear broth and ears attached to the bowl
- Bread with the soup is eaten by hand
Main dish
- Also use a knife and fork with ,finger food, such as chicken drumsticks
- Eating rice with a spoon and fork (spoon on the right and sliding the fork onto the spoon)
- The knife is held in the dominant hand
Dessert
- You push the dessert to the side of the plate to eat it
Wine
- White wine: high stem, chilled
- Red wine: short stem, round bulb, at room temperature
- Hold at the bottom of the stem (so as not to heat wine)
Order of wine: sherry with soup, white wine with fish, red wine with meat, dessert wine with dessert.
After dinner
After eating, place your knife and fork in the ten-past-four position. The knife is on the outside and the fork is on the inside. Another option is to place your knife and fork in the center of your plate. The fork with the tines down, the knife to the right of it with the cutting edge towards the fork.
The dessert spoon, soup spoon, etc. is placed next to the cup or on the saucer with the concave side up. Do not place in or on the cup.
Sometimes a finger bowl is presented. You can dip your fingers in this and then dry them on your napkin. In other cases, a towel can be used, with the same idea as the finger cup, to wipe your hands.