When the menu is planned for dinner in someone’s home for a special occasion, the table is usally set with all the knives, forks and spoons required for the various courses. One quick look at the table will tell you what you will be having. A safe rule in using these utensils is to start from the outside silverware and work in. If for some reason you don’t feel comfortable, observe the host and follow his lead. Following is how you will see a table set for a typical holiday dinner:

• Forks are placed to the left of the service plate; knives are placed to the right of the service plate. Generally speaking, every fork is married to a knife. This means that for every fork placed on the left side of the plate, there will be a corresponding knife placed on the right side of the plate.
• The soup spoon is placed at the far right of the place setting–outside of the knives.
• Salad fork: The location of the salad fork tells you when your salad will be served. If it is to the left of the large dinner fork, your salad will be served before the main course. If it is to the right of it, your salad will be served after the main course.
• Glasses are always placed on the right side, above the plate in the order they will be used.
• Remember the placement of  B-M-D, or bread on the left, main course, and drinks on the right.

DINING UTENSILS

NAPKIN:

• Once you are seated, pause before removing your napkin from the table. At a dinner party in a home, restaurant, or club, the Host is the first to life his or her napkin to signal the beginning of a meal.
• An individual picks up the napkin and places it on his or her lap. The large dinner napkin is left folded in half and placed across the lap with the fold facing toward the waistline. The luncheon napkin, which is smaller, is opened fully.
• Touch your napkin lightly to your lips in the shape of an inverted “V” to wipe your mouth.
• Place the napkin on the seat of the chair if you must leave the table for a brief period of time.
• Wait for the host to place his or her napkin on the table before placing yours on the table. This is the host’s silent signal that the meal is over.

THE KNIFE:

• The knife is held  is held in the right hand with the handle in the palm and the index finger along the top of the blade.
• Cut one bite of meat at a time and eat…Never all at once.
• When not in use, the knife is laid across the top of the plate (never propped against the edge) with the blade toward you.  This is the Amercian way of dining. In the Continental style of dining, the fork in crossed over the knife when resting,
• Never bring food to the mouth by means of your knife.

 THE SPOON:

• The spoon is held at the very end like a pencil. When eating soup, the movement of the spoon goes away from you. An exception to this rule is French Onion soup. Because of the cheese coating on top, the soup spoon cuts into the crust with the spoon coming toward you.
• Never leave the soup spoon in the bowl when you have finished. It belongs on the service plate under the bowl.
• Do not leave spoons in cups or small dishes. Instead, place on the side of the saucer or service plate.

THE FORK:

I. American Way of Dining:

• Hold the fork in the right hand like a pencil.
• To cut food, switch the fork to the left hand and turn it over with the index finger in the small of its back.
• After cutting, switch the fork to the right hand to eat.
• To rest during the meal, your fork is at 4 o’clock on your plate, and your knife remains at the top of your plate.
• When finished, your knife and fork should be together across the center of your plate at 10:20 o’clock.

 II. Continental Way of Dining:

• Eat off of the back of your fork, and remember to keep your knife in your right hand while you eat.
• Rest in a triangle, blade going toward you and when you are finished, place your knife and fork at 10:20 o’clock.
• It is correct to eat the bite with your fork still in the left hand instead of switching back to the right hand.
• When dining Continental, both knives and forks are picked up to eat at the same time and put down to rest at the same time.

 GLASSES:

• No matter how many glasses are at your plate, the water goblet is always the last on the inside.
• At a formal dinner, five glasses are the maximum one can have.
• Like silverware, glasses start from the outside and work in.
• Hold a stemmed glass by the stem.

BREAD PLATE:

Used for bread and butter…also fish bones, olive pits, and any small item that needs to be removed from your mouth with your fingers.

BUTTER KNIFE:

•  Used only to cut the butter…never bread.

 HOW TO SERVE WINE

When choosing a wine, the main goal is to accomplish a suitable pairing with the entrée you will be serving at your dinner party. Traditionally, white wines are served with fish, chicken and veal; and, red wines with beef, pasta with red sauce and some fowl. If you are not knowledgeable about wines, consult with someone who is. Generally speaking, there is almost always someone with whom you can consult at a store that specializes in selling wine.

Before serving, always allow wine time to breathe at room temperature. Never pour wine for guests immediately after opening. It is the host’s responsibility to discreetly ensure that the wine is sound and unspoiled. This should be done away from company, and a small amount should be sampled.

Wine glasses are only filled halfway, never to the top of the glass. If more than one wine is to be served during dinner, there should be a glass for each wine. And always serve wine to your guests in clean, spotless glasses!

Serve red wine at room temperature. To allow wine to “breathe”, open the bottle about 30 minutes before you serve it. This permits the air to develop the bouquet and improve the taste of the wine.

Red wine should be served in a wine glass with a bigger bowl to release the bouquet. A red wine glass may be held by the bowl.

Chill white wines no more than two hours before serving them. Fine wines need less time, since too much chilling can hide the complexity of serious wines. If you must chill the wine more quickly, the best method is to immerse the bottles in a tub of water and ice cubes up to the neck. It does not help to put the wine in a freezer, and it could be dangerous.

White wines are served in a smaller, narrower wine glass. They should always be held by the stem to avoid warming the wine.

When the meal begins, the host should stand and walk around the table to fill each wine glass. If it’s an informal party, the host can simply fill the glasses of the persons closest to him and ask them to pass the other glasses down. It is the host’s job to offer the wine bottle to a guest with an empty glass and say, “Please help yourself.”

BASIC TABLE MANNERS

• Put your napkin on your lap as soon as you sit down, unless you are at a formal dinner party; in which case, you would wait until your hostess puts her  napkin on her lap.
• Sit up straight in your chair, but not stiffly, at a distance from the table that is best for your personal comfort. Your hands when you are not actually eating, may lie in your lap; or, you may rest your hands and wrists, but not your entire arm in your lap; or, you may rest your hands and wrists, but not your entire forearm, on the edge of the table.
•  Study your flatware, eat from the outside in. And remember that once you take your silverware off the table, it should never touch the table again.
•  Break bread into bite-size pieces and butter each piece just before you eat it. Don;t butter the entire slice of bread or the entire roll. And, remember,  your bread plate is on the left side of your dinner plate.
•  To eat soup, dip the spoon into the soup, then remove it by going away from your body, not toward it. Sip the soup off of the side of the spoon instead of placing the whole spoon inside of your mouth.
•  Never chew with your mouth open and don’t talk with food in your mouth. Eat slowly, taking bites only large enough to chew comfortably and    Cut meat, fish or chicken one piece at a time, and eat it before cutting another.
•  Do not reach for anything at the table; ask for it to be passed. And when you are passing food at the table, it should be passed from left to right.
•  If there is an implement in a dish, use it instead of your fingers—a pickle or lemon fork, sugar or ice tongs, or nut spoon
• Place your utensils in the resting position if you are taking a break from your eating, and in the finished position when you have finished.
• Talk to the people sitting closest to you—not up and down the table.
• When you are finished eating, you should not put your napkin on the table until everyone is finished and ready to leave the table.
• Say something nice about the food to your host when you have finished dining.

Responsibility of the Host and Guest

HOST:

• Always greet guests at the door.
•  Immediately take jackets/coats. You can hand them to another to hang up or put them in a room set aside for coats.
• Take any gifts and follow same procedure as coats.
• Introduce arriving guests to friends standing in the area.
• Give directions to food and drinks to your arriving guests.
• After all guests arrive,  the host circulates to make sure everyone has someone with whom to talk.
• Assign someone to make sure there is enough food and drinks for everyone throughout the party.         

   GUEST:

• Always take a hostess gift if you are going to someone’s home.
•  If it is a large party and your host is not at the door, work your way through the crowd and say hello to your host.
•  Don’t hesitate to introduce yourself to others, and shake hands when you meet them.
•  If you are talking to someone and a stranger walks up, introduce yourself, then the person with whom you are talking.
•  If you spill something, let the host know immediately, and offer to help clean it up.
•  If you break something, let the host know. It is your responsibility to pay for the damage.
•  Don’t bring a friend to the party unless you have checked with the host first.
• Always thank the host before you leave. Don’t just walk out.