Dining Etiquette

As a hospitality graduate, dining etiquette was given as a subject at school. As a Food & Beverage lover, I've considered it a very important 'procedure'. However I say procedure, but it's actually a part of the dining experience.

When you go to a fast food joint, you won't expect any table set up. When you go to a casual dining place, you expect that they have a decent table set up ( at least, all the utensils and glasses). If you might ever visit a fine dining restaurant, you will experience the proper way a table should be set up.

You might think: "dining is dining, what does it matter with which fork I eat or how I place my utensils at the end?" The answer is 'it makes the biggest difference about your manners and the respect to dining and your host/hostess".

As many might hesitate this idea, but even the Chinese dining has its table etiquette. For instance, when eating with chopstick, don't rub the chopsticks together. Rubbing chopsticks together is mostly done for the wooden take-out chopsticks, so by doing so you give the host/hostess the feeling you're given cheap chopsticks to use.

Of course, going out with friends is different than dining with your boss or being on business dinners.
With friends, it's a more casual setting, but when it's business- related, your dining etiquettes really does matter. It reflects your personality.

So...what is the proper dining etiquette?

Some are very logical, like being on time, don't overdo it if you get to order and don't overdo it with  alcohol. But what to do if you've never taught what the proper dining etiquette is?

Here is a cheat sheet if you might need to attend such an invite:

1. RSVP stands for "répondez s’il vous plait". It stands for 'Please respond', so not only if you can't attend.

2. Place your napkin on your lap as soon as you get seated. The napkin is not to be used as a bib.

    If you need to leave your place during the meal, put your napkin on the left of your plates or on a chair.

3. Don't order food that you can't eat properly with knife and fork or spoon.

4. Wait for everyone to have their food before eating

5. Transport food to your mouth…not your mouth to the food.

6. When passing food platters, pass them around the table not across.

7. Never put silverware on the table surface after it has been used, lay it on the butter plate.
8. How you put your utensils, are signs for the waiter:




9. Never request seconds. Accept them graciously if they are offered.
10. If you don't have the cheat sheet and really forgot everything about how and what, just observe the others around you, especially the hostess. If they themselves don't know the business etiquette, it's no biggie, but if they do: just copy + paste.

For those of you, who would like to know more than the cheat sheet about dining etiquette, I'd like to refer you to this site: http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/table-etiquette-guide-informal-dining-manners/

informal set-up

formal set up