The holidays are fast approaching! Twinkling lights, festive music, and the glorious smells of pine and nutmeg. Weekends filled with celebratory parties and cozy gatherings with family and friends. One thing is for sure: holiday treats and feasts are central to our festivities this time of year. What better time to brush up on dining room etiquette?
Table manners are an important aspects of everyday etiquette. Good table manners are not only polite and respectful, but leave a great impression. Whether you’re a dinner party guest, at a corporate event, or meeting the in-laws for the first time, holding your cutlery like heave-hoe garden tools just doesn’t make the cut. My granny is a die-hard table manners enforcer, having been taught rigid British etiquette fit to dine with the Queen. While I can’t say I’ve seen h
Her Majesty at my dinner table recently, I do think she’s on to something. Help change the face of dinner tables forever with these sophisticated table manners for lovely ladies and their entourage:
- Napkin on your lap.
- Elbows off the table.
- Ensure all smart phones and shrieking children are turned off.
- Posture!
- There is absolutely no room for hats at the dinner table. Not even if hat hair is looming.
- Hold it honey! It is polite to wait for everyone to be served before starting, unless it is a hot dish and everyone agrees otherwise.
- Hold cutlery with elegance – similar to the way you hold your pen. We are not eating with digging tools, nor are we bike riding!
- When using both utensils, such as when cutting meat for example, hold your fork with your left hand, knife with your right. Whether you switch the fork back to your right hand or not is up to you – it is generally accepted to do either.
- During chew breaks, cross your knife and fork to signify you are not finished.
- Chew with your mouth closed, gorgeous.
- First: swallow. Then: speak. Even if there are questions being thrown your way.
- Personal eye contact is essential at the dining table. You are not conversing with the asparagus.
- Take your time. Enjoy the flavours. Breathe. Leave mouth stuffing for all-you-can-eat contests.
- When eating dinner rolls, tear off and butter one piece of bread at a time. Never bring the entire roll to your mouth.
- Pasta spoons are a huge no-no in Italy, however the fork-spoon duo are widely used by spaghetti lovers across North America.
- No slurping – ever!
- On the rare occasion that you need to spit out a piece of fat or bone, discreetly bring your napkin to your mouth like you are wiping your lips.
- Do not reach. If you need something that is not in front of you, politely ask that another person passes it to you.
- Keep it respectful. No foul language (oh my, what would the Queen say?!)
- Do not use a toothpick at the table. Excuse yourself to the restroom.
- Taste buds satisfied? Place your knife and fork together, in a parallel position so that the plate resembles a clock with your utensils as hands at four o’clock.
- Don’t stack plates! This buffet-style practice distracts guests and instills a hurried atmosphere.
- Thank your host.
There are two important rules to remember when it comes to table manners at large round-table functions. First, in terms of cutlery, work your way in. Take a look at the image below. The utensils for starters, including soup and salad, are in the outermost positions. Dinner forks and knives are innermost.
Second, it can get very confusing when there are so many glasses and bread plates on either side of you – which are yours? My friend Nat has a perfect solution. If you can remember this helpful trick at your next dinner event, it will save you from drinking someone else’s wine or munching on their bread roll. While holding your hands in front of you with palms facing each other, connect your right thumb to your right forefinger (creating a ‘b’), and left thumb to your left forefinger (making a ‘d’). The ‘b’ stands for bread, therefore everybody’s bread plate will always be on their left. The ‘d’ stands for drink, which will always be on a person’s right. Works every time.
Brix & Vine 