What is proper dinner etiquette?

Here is the silverware and dinnerware rule: Eat to your left, drink to your right. Any food dish to the left is yours, and any glass to the right is yours. Starting with the knife, fork, or spoon that is farthest from your plate, work your way in, using one utensil for each course.

How do you set a silver service table?

Silverware Placement 101

Place utensils in the order of their use.
Forks should be placed to the left of the plate.
Spoons are laid on the right side of the plate, aside from the dessert spoon which, similar to the dessert fork, is placed above the dinner plate.

Who is served first at a formal dinner?

Service begins with the lady of honor seated to the right of the host, proceeds counterclockwise, and ends with the host. But when a formal affair has no one guest of honor, service begins with the most important female guest.

Is it rude to eat before everyone is served?

Should you wait for the entire table to be served before you start eating? “A good host and a polite guest knows it’s important to wait for everyone to be served,” Gottsman says. “However, a gracious guest that knows everyone else’s food is getting cold will not want to hold up the table.

What are some bad table manners?

The worst offenders are as follows:

Double-dipping.
Touching all of the food.
Eating the best part of a dish before passing.
The presumptive addition.
Chewing with you mouth open.
Blowing your nose in a restaurant.
Talking on the cell phone at dinner.
Being rude to the server.

How do you serve drinks at a table?

Generally speaking, when your servers are bringing drinks to the table, have them handle the glasses from the bottom. Always handle glassware by the stems, handles, or the bottom of the glass.

Is it rude to sniff?

Whether you sniff or blow is usually dictated by local etiquette: Some cultures find public nose-blowing to be abominably rude, while others view sniffing as an intolerable faux pas.

Which side does the napkin go on?

left

Should waiters serve from the left or right?

If the customer’s plate is arranged in the kitchen it should be delivered to them from the right side. Pre-plated food (considering the exceptions above), beverages, all empty plates, and utensils should be served from the guest’s right. All dishes served from the right need to also be removed from the right.

Which is the correct order for a simple table setting?

The first and basic rule to get you started is: Utensils are placed in the order of use; from the outside in. A second rule, with only a few exceptions, is: Forks go to the left of the plate, and knives and spoons go to the right. (The oyster fork is the only fork placed to the right of the setting if it will be used.)

When clearing plates from a table which plate should you pick up first?

Clearing the soiled plates: Ladies first, eldest to youngest, before the gentlemen. Or plates with most left-over’s first. With an open arm, pick up the 1st plate in your right hand, turn slightly left and away from the guest and transfer the plate to your left hand.

What side should you be served from?

As a general rule of thumb, you should aim to serve from the left: that is, changing cutlery, laying down food, and serving drinks. The theory behind serving from the left is that the majority of customers will be right-handed, so you will be less likely to interrupt their movements as you serve.

Who get served first at the dinner table?

The guest of honor seated on the host’s right is always served each dish first. If there is serving help, servers move around the table counter-clockwise from her, serving the host last. When food is served directly from the kitchen, service is also counterclockwise from the host’s right, with the host served last.

What is the correct way to set a table?

Place the dinner plate in the center of the table setting. The fork is placed to the left of the plate. Place the knife to the right of the dinner plate and then set the spoon to the right of the knife. Set the water glass in the top right corner, above the knife.

What is a sign to clear a table?

Removing items progressively throughout the meal provides expected customer service, and maintain a clear ‘work surface’ to allow food and drinks to be more easily placed on the table. When guests place their knife and fork together in the center of the plate this is the usual sign that they have finished their meal.

What are the sequence of table service?

Beverages are served first. Always serve beverages from the right of the guest. While the guests are waiting for their meal, bread and butter must be served immediately. Waiting staff must ensure that the same is replenished as soon as it is over.

How do restaurants clear a table?

Remove serving platters first, then plates, and then silverware. In general, clear the largest items from the table first, and work your way down to the smallest items.

Who should be served first?

The general rule is that women are served before men, older people before younger people, and guests before family members. And when I say serve, I mean they are encouraged to serve themselves. If there is no guest, and it is just your family, it is respectful to have mom served first.

Is it rude to finish your plate in China?

In China, leave some food on your plate – it’s rude to clean your plate, like you’re telling your host that he or she did not provide you enough. In Muslim countries, eat with your right hand. If you happen to be left-handed, go ahead and use your left, but keep your right hand away from the action.