General rules of table etiquette, serving cutlery and dishes

Before you start laying out your cutlery and utensils, you need to understand the surroundings. It is also important for a special occasion.

1. The generally accepted distance between chairs is from 50 to 80 cm. It is important that all seats are approximately equal in area for harmony.
2. Make sure the table is full of dishes. It should only contain food that corresponds to the moment of celebration. For example, only hot dishes or only dessert. Overload creates chaos, which looks ugly and not solemn.
3. Decorations, table settings, and food service vary depending on the event. Think through everything to the smallest detail. The timing, quantity and quality of food, as well as many other factors, influence the decor and setting appropriate for the occasion.
4. Before the event, you need to resolve all organizational issues, make sure that the tablecloth is in good condition, get and count all the cutlery and dishes, find the required number of chairs according to the number of guests. On the day of the celebration, wipe all the dishes so that there are no stains or dust on them.

Why is table setting necessary?

For some reason, it is generally accepted that it is necessary to set the table correctly only in a restaurant. Nothing like this! Serving is a sign of respect for guests, a sign of the good taste of the owners of the house. It will be useful for everyone to know how to properly place cutlery on the table. You need to be able to create a festive atmosphere at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Many table settings, shown in films and TV series or described in books, are frightening because of their complexity.

By the way! Scientists have proven that the production of the joy hormone during eating improves metabolic processes in the body and promotes the absorption of nutrients.

What not to do in a restaurant?

There are a number of actions, the performance of which indicates a person’s low cultural level. This primarily applies to events and official receptions. Table etiquette rules prohibit:

• Call the waiter, addressing him on a first name basis.
• Talk about politics, religion, health, finances.
• Communicate loudly, interrupt.
• Use toothpicks. This must be done exclusively in the bathroom.
• Pick up food or cutlery that has fallen on the floor. It's worth asking the waiter for a replacement.
• Use the phone. It's better to turn on silent mode. If the call is extremely important, you can apologize to the interlocutors and warn them.
• Inform about diet, abstinence from alcohol. There is no need to draw attention to yourself in these matters.
• Hurry. Even in the event of severe hunger, it is necessary to wait until food is brought to all people.
• Cut and bite a large piece of bread. Etiquette rules require breaking off small pieces. They are placed into the mouth with their fingers.
• Place the bag on the table or chair. Restaurants usually have special coasters installed. When they are absent, the bag is hung on the back of the chair, the briefcase is placed on the floor.
• Pressing tightly against the table or sitting too far away. Only your hands can be placed on the surface.

Video about what not to do at the table:

Types of cutlery

Over the course of human history, many food devices have been created. In the process of evolution they underwent changes. Now in the arsenal of many housewives there are sets of cutlery for festive serving made of stainless steel, cupronickel, and silver.

The basic rule of table etiquette is “from the edges to the center.”

Spoons

The dining room is the largest in size. Dessert is ¼ less. The tea room is almost half the size of the dining room, but larger than the coffee room. Sour cream is easy to recognize by its round, pot-bellied shape. For sugar, it is made in the form of a scoop or with a curly ornate handle so that it can be immediately recognized among other spoons.

There may be a lot of cutlery on a set table, but not all of them are there at once.

Important! There are spoons for fruit compotes; they have an elongated handle, instead of the usual spatula there is a scoop for scooping out fruit. Externally, the fruit spoon resembles a miniature ladle. Another wonder is a spoon with an elongated handle for preparing mixed drinks.

Forks

Standard forks with long tines are used for appetizers and main meat courses. A fish fork has shorter teeth to make it easier to remove the bones. Sometimes a fish fork makes a depression in the center. Dessert ones differ in size, the cocotte one has only three teeth, the lemon one has only two.

Today, there are a lot of different cutlery designed strictly for a specific type of dish.

Fork etiquette

In addition to the usual forks intended for main courses, fish and desserts, there are many other varieties that differ in the thickness of the teeth, their number and length:

• fruit (has three teeth, small in size);
• for lobster (two short cloves);
• for the snail (two long, slightly curved teeth);
• to oysters;
• as a component of salad tongs.

Types of forks for various dishes.

They are served only if the guest definitely wants one of the listed dishes.

Using a fork for other purposes is a sign of bad taste.

How to eat food with a fork

There are 3 main ways to hold this item according to etiquette.

1. The thumb and middle finger are grasped at the end of the handle, and the index part is located along the object, helping with pressure. In this case, the fork stands on its edge, touching the plate. Often this must be done with dessert, it is soft.
2. The same position of the fingers, only in the middle of the object and the teeth “look” down. Then the index finger can better help when pressing and piercing meat and other hard pieces of food.
3. The fork is taken like a regular ballpoint pen and positioned so that it is convenient to scoop up the soft part of the meal.

The rules of etiquette include, in particular, the ability to use cutlery correctly.

It usually takes a little practice to master and get used to holding this item correctly. But then this option will become even simpler than the others.

Do not forget that under no circumstances should utensils be placed on the table if you have already used them.

How not to use a fork

It is unacceptable to use other positions in the hand, as well as to make sounds while touching the utensils. The same goes for the knife. If it is inconvenient to hold it in your left hand all the time, then the American version of etiquette allows you to transfer the device to the other hand when the knife is not needed.

Cutting with a knife on the left is considered inappropriate, as it puts others at risk.

Rules for serving cutlery

Immutable rules of serving: cleanliness and neatness. Each cutlery made of non-ferrous metals is polished to a shine on the eve of the celebration. The tablecloth is bleached, starched for rigidity, and ironed.

A classic and win-win option is a snow-white tablecloth. She always looks elegant and solemn.

The dishes are arranged so that there is enough space for cutlery. How many dishes there are so many spoons and forks.

The minimum distance between them is 1 cm.

Choosing a tablecloth for the table

At special events, a light tablecloth made of natural fabrics: linen or cotton is recommended. The tablecloth should cover the entire tabletop and hang down to the sides by 20–30 cm.

The tablecloth should be combined with curtains and upholstery.

Important! Stains from starched fabric are easier to remove; they are not absorbed into the fibers and remain in grains of starch, which are easily washed out of the fabric.

Serving plate

The lower large plate is placed 5–7 from the edge, dishes for main courses are placed on top, and a snack bar is placed even higher. A deep bowl for soup is placed on it. Broths are served in special deep cups. The pie plate is placed on the left, away from the edge, the tea cup and saucer is placed on the right, at a distance of 3 cm from the dessert knife. Plates on the table play a key role; they are the basis of serving.

It is the responsibility of the housewife to promptly replace the plates with clean ones.

Arrangement of spoon, fork and knife

Knives are placed to the right of the plates, blade to the edge, forks to the left. The number of forks must correspond to the number of knives. Place the soup spoon next to the outermost knife. Cutlery for those dishes that are served earlier is placed closer to the edge of the plate, the rest are nearby, taking into account the order in which the food is served. With an extensive menu, which includes meat and fish appetizers or a main dish, first put a knife for meat, then for fish. The location of the teaspoon and coffee spoon is the same, on a saucer; a knife for butter or cutting pies is on a pie plate.

In what order are the dishes served?

Consistent consumption of food affects appetite, enjoyment of food and communication with people. You should not get too carried away with a certain category of dishes; you need to leave room for the rest of the food. You can determine the approximate amount of food by the number of cutlery.

Standard sequence of serving dishes:

1. Cold appetizers.
2. Hot appetizers.
3. First course.
4. The second hot dish is fish.
5. The second hot dish is meat.
6. Dessert – sweet snacks.
7. Fruits.

Snacks are also arranged in a certain order: fish, meat, vegetables and mushrooms, dairy.
The menu may be different, but the sequence should remain the same. It is allowed to remove unwanted items. In this case, the rest of the food is served in the same predetermined stages (i.e., if the hot appetizer is removed, it will still be followed by the first course).

About the sequence of serving dishes in the video:

Types of table settings

Each type of meal requires a special atmosphere. An ordinary lunch, of course, differs from a festive dinner. When only dessert is served, the table should not appear empty.

Descriptions of several classic options for a set table will help awaken your imagination.

Table setting for breakfast

An individual decorative napkin is placed for each family member. Place a snack plate in the center and put cutlery. On the left is a place for a pie plate. Nearby is a glass for juice or water. A coffee or tea pair with a spoon is located on the right.

Vases with flowers, napkins and cutlery with spices are usually placed in the center of the table.

For a shared breakfast, it is acceptable to serve sliced ​​bread in a nice small bread bowl and butter in a butter dish. Sliced ​​meats are laid out in an elongated dish, the cheese is usually not cut, served in one piece on a flat plate or serving board, each cut as much as needed for breakfast. Paper napkins are placed in a napkin holder next to the spice set.

Bread can be served in a wicker basket, and butter can be served in a butter dish made of ceramic or porcelain.

Dinner and supper

Lunch involves frequent changes of dishes; the dishes are arranged so that everyone sitting at the table can be approached from the left side. After arranging the cutlery, choose a place for the tureen; place a ladle next to it on a ceramic stand so that there are no stains on the tablecloth. Shared hot dishes are laid out so that everyone can reach the plate independently; usually 4 servings are placed on a common plate. Slices and appetizers are designed for 6 people or arranged individually for each person.

The dinner table is set in such a way that guests can be served conveniently and quickly.

Proper table setting for dessert

The service will make the dessert table elegant and sophisticated. It’s beautiful when there is a teapot, candy bowls, a sugar bowl, and croutons with cookies in the same style on the table.

A dessert plate is placed in front of each person, next to a couple for a hot drink. Appropriate:

• wine glasses;
• juice glasses;
• glasses for water.

The ideal option would be to use a special service.
Bowls for jam and preserves are placed next to the dessert plate on the right, away from the edge of the table. It is better to buy lace napkins. The tea bags are placed in baskets or on saucers, the coffee is placed in jars, and a long-handled spoon is placed on top. Boiling water is best served in a large porcelain teapot. Lemon slices are laid out on a special tray.

Placement of glasses, wine glasses, cups

Water and beer are usually poured into a wine glass or glass. For kvass and fruit drinks, mugs are usually used, and they need to be positioned so that the handle is turned to the right. Different glasses are needed for alcoholic drinks:

• for champagne - can have a long elongated or wide flat shape;
• for red wine - slightly larger in diameter, round, with a wide bottom;
• for white wine - more elongated and straight, slightly tapering at the top;
• for port wine - less than for white wine;
• for liqueur - the smallest, similar to a smaller wine glass;
• a shot glass or glass for vodka with a capacity of approximately 50 ml.

Types of drinkware

The order of placing glass or crystal dishes:

• a glass or a low water glass is placed in the center of the plate at a short distance from its far edge, the remaining glasses are lined up to the right of it;
• a champagne glass is placed first after a water glass;
• if more than three types of drinks are expected, the glasses are arranged in several rows;
• the gap between the glasses and the plate should be at least 0.5-1 cm.

According to table setting etiquette, the order in which the remaining glasses are placed depends on the strength of the drinks - the stronger it is, the farther the dishes should be located from the water glass. Glassware should not be placed close to the plates. Guests may accidentally touch the cutlery on the table and spill a drink.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Table Color Scheme

When setting a table, the tablecloth is chosen according to the type of event. For everyday use, variegated or plain fabric with acrylic coating is allowed, the main thing is that it matches the colors of the dishes.

Shades of red stimulate the appetite, while cool blue tones pacify it. Yellow and orange create a good mood, green have a calming effect.

The principle of arrangement of cutlery: the dish that is served first is the farthest cutlery.

It is better to decorate a romantic dinner in dark colors so that burning candles look advantageous. There is no need for unnecessary details on the table that interfere with communication: vases with flowers, multi-tiered fruit stands.

A formal event requires moderate, muted tones and crystal tableware. Themed parties will be memorable if the tablecloth contrasts with the colors of the dishes.

Setting a holiday table is also an opportunity to show your creativity.

Additional decorations for serving

The decor should not be conspicuous; it complements the serving of dishes. Inappropriate:

• high compositions;
• vases with huge bouquets blocking the view;
• strong-smelling bouquets; guests may be allergic to them.

Decorate with napkin holders and candlesticks. Originally folded fabric napkins are an ideal option for decorating a formal table. Flowers from vegetables and fruits, edible compositions are appropriate for any dinner, they have a place on the dessert table.

A win-win option is to use flowers. Usually they are placed in the middle of the table - it can be a bouquet or composition.

Knowing the secrets of serving, you can turn a traditional meal into a wonderful meal, where everyone will enjoy not only the food, but also the contemplation of the feast. It's so easy to give joy to your loved ones! Make every family lunch and dinner special.

What rules must be followed daily?

There are a number of basic rules that must be followed every day. What is uncivil to do even in the company of close friends and relatives?

• Open your lips while chewing food, slurp.
• Suck liquid from a spoon or glass.
• Talk without chewing food first.
• Lean over food (you need to sit up straight).
• Reach for the dish (it is recommended to ask another person to pass it).
• Avoid napkins. They are needed by both adults and children.