Table Etiquette - In decades past, table manners were taught at home, drilled into you every night until you just couldn’t stand to hear about it anymore. “no elbows on the table!” “use your napkin!” The tone of the instructor indicated their horror. Breaking table etiquette was almost a crime.
Today, while attending a party, you may notice table etiquette has fallen by the wayside. So here’s a crash course rundown on the basics, in case you fell between the cracks and haven’t yet learned the important social meanings and consequences of proper table etiquette.
Let’s say you’ve been invited to your girlfriend’s home for a “getting-to-know-you” dinner with her parents. No need to freak. Whether it’s a simple family meal or elegant dinner, the basic rules are the same. Here’s how to make a good impression.
When you’re invited to be seated, don’t just plop down in your chair. Offer to pull Mom’s chair out, gracefully sliding the chair to a comfortable seating position. Repeat with girlfriend. You’ll definitely make points here.
Once seated, check out the table setting. You may see a napkin rolled artfully up in a napkin ring. Simply pick it up, slide the napkin out, setting the ring to the left of your table setting. Unfold the napkin and spread it across your lap. You’ll look silly just clutching the napkin possessively in your hand.
Take a peek at where knives and forks are placed. Utensils flank each side. If there’s just a knife, fork and spoon, no problem. You know what to do with them.
If you find multiple forks and spoons, here’s the secret of using utensils according to proper table etiquette. Utensils farthest from the plate are used first. So if you’ve got a large spoon, whatever arrives first at the table and requires a spoon to eat it, wins! A bowl of soup takes a soup spoon. The salad Use the smaller salad fork at the outside of the table setting. These utensils are removed after each course, so you just keep moving towards the middle. Proper table etiquette is almost yours.
You may see a small plate to the left of your setting, with a tiny knife resting on the plate. The small plate is for bread and the little knife is for buttering the bread. When the butter dish is passed, your personal bread knife is used to place the butter on your plate, never applied directly to the bread first!
If someone says grace, absolutely don’t make any silly comments like "rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub!" The person saying grace may stand or simply put their hands on the table. Bow your head in respect and chirp in with your "amen" at the end.
As dinner is served, don’t neglect to thank the person serving or offering the food. The rest is easy. No elbows, use your napkin and sit up straight! You’ll be a hit with the parents.
Previous Articles Highlighter:
Take Out Boxes (1)
...one can part with their pizza boxes. Perhaps it is that they are odd shaped and hard to handle, though I can’t really say for sure. Take out boxes have taken on a new life in recent years, thoug...
Teapot Cake (2)
...is often a requirement. It can be frustrating when you realize how tricky it is to construct a cake in a special shape. That’s not the case with a teapot cake. You can make one with the pans a...
Teflon Sheet (3)
...I have to use in the oven. The Teflon sheet is great for cooking just about anything in the oven. Things won’t stick, and if you do burn something, they usually come clean anyway. Cookies slide ...
Vegetarian Crock Pot (4)
...to come up with different dishes. One delicious dinner that takes just a few minutes to make is vegetarian crock pot chili. Ground beef has long been the staple of chili. There’s no mistaking...
Wedding Cake Decorating (5)
...is fairly simple. In fact, you can even purchase plain, cakes that haven’t yet been iced from most bakeries. This is going to cost a bit more than baking the cakes yourself, but it’s cert...
Wedding Cake Designs (6)
...of this tradition. I personally like sorting through all the wedding cake designs. How can anyone not Here’s the deal; you’re going to need one seriously fancy cake for your wedding ...
Wedding Cookies (7)
...as a complement and began working on unique designs for wedding cookie project. My first design was actually simple and not very original. I made round vanilla flavored cakes, about the size of a m...
Whole Foods Market (8)
...have been to many whole foods markets, and it is always the same story. They are all – every last one of them – packed with yuppies who feel that their ability to spend a little extra mon...
Wood Fired Pizza Oven (9)
...in a wood fired pizza oven That stuff is utterly amazing. And the best part is you can own a wood fired pizza oven of your own. I was watching this debate on the Travel channel. It was basically ...
Worlds Finest Chocolates (10)
...it. Nonetheless, no one does it like my grandmother does. She is not just any grandmother, you see, she is a professional chocolatier, and quite a skilled one at that. When my grandmother goes to t...
Bulk Chocolate (11)
...to work with and if it is not dealt with correctly the end results can be disappointing. I have been making homemade candies since I was a young girl. I still make my mother’s coconut balls...
Salad Recipes (12)
...have a neighborhood get together at the end of August. We set the date and passed the word. We decided that we would get together closer to the date and come up with a menu. Three weeks prior to the...
Crock Pot Soup (13)
...wander from website to website checking out all of the different versions of one dish. Some people add beef broth to their crock pot soup recipe while others swear by chicken broth. It’s really...
Fish Recipe (14)
...e . around the Mediterranean and in Japan, have less heart disease and obesity. Apart from health issues, a fish recipe offers great flavor and is usually quick and easy to cook. Your friendly, local ...
Ice Cream Machine (15)
...seem to buy for yourself. My husband and I didn’t think that anyone would choose the ice cream maker over other items on the registry but we added it anyway. I was very happy and surprised ...
Pepper Grinders (16)
...grinders, you are getting fresh ground pepper. The pepper balls are ground much like a coffee grinder grinds down the coffee bean. The resulting pepper is fresher than what you get out of the store...
Pepper Plant (17)
...pepper plant. There were over a dozen peppers hanging on the plant and there were still blooms to open. I looked up the salsa recipe that my sister-in-law gave me. The recipe made eight pint jars of s...
Bbq Recipes (18)
...and sauces etc. There are traditional, classic sauces such as Aioli Sauce. This is the basis of mayonnaise and consists of garlic, egg yolks, olive oil, lemon and seasoning. A tasty Barbecue ...
Healthy Recipes (19)
...in their foods. The heart attack really frightened my mother. She was determined that dad would regain his strength and be healthier. She became a fanatic at making sure everything she served him ...
Hershey Chocolate (20)
...gave Roald Dahl the idea for his story in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The company was founded in 1894 by Milton Hershey and is one of the oldest chocolate companies in the United States. Even ...
Hot Pepper Sauce (21)
...homemade, some recipes produce a watery liquid while others have a chunkier marinade consistency. You’ll also find some like a very thick barbecue sauce. The hottest hot pepper sauces are thick...
Hot Sauce (22)
...children were younger they would do there home work at the counter so we could answer any questions that they had. Now that they are older they are asked to help out with the cooking tasks as well ...
Italian Cooking (23)
...very seriously. Every meal is a family celebration, each course enjoyed with lots of conversation. A meal in Italy is purely delightful. Italian cooks insist on the very freshest foods. Perhaps more...
Rotisserie Cooking (24)
...cooking is good for keeping the flavor in. You can cook just about anything using this method but chicken, lamb and pork do seem to suit it best. Placing vegetables such as peppers between the pieces...
Slow Cookers (25)
...you owe it to yourself to try this fabulous time saver. If you’ve got one stuck away in garage storage, consider bringing it back to active kitchen duty. Here are some reasons to tempt you....
Barbecue Sauce Recipe (26)
...a result the meat, which he is most concerned about, is usually perfect however the side dishes are either under done or overcooked. I love to cook and have taken many courses and have experimented in...
Chocolate Brownies (27)
...good for you; it’s considered a major food group by adolescents and women of all ages. You can’t ever go wrong bringing a plate of this delicious desert to any type of gathering. They...
Chocolate Cake Recipe (28)
...make and it made a very large cake. This particular chocolate cake recipe has a chocolate frosting that is made with melted semi sweet chocolate and powdered sugar. When my husband came home from th...
Chocolate Fudge (29)
...bad, still others may be sad. The lucky person is able to hang onto the happy ones, forgive the bad ones and learn from the sad ones and more forward. My family memories include trips we took as a fam...
Easy Dinner Recipes (30)
...hilarious when you see the television commercials for these places. They act like everything is kosher; the food is completely fine and healthy, nothing to worry about. They even have a guy in a clown...
Greek Recipes (31)
...and honey is sometimes served as a dessert. Cheese is an important export and there are distinctive varieties, such as Kasseri, Feta and Mizithra. Several dishes use filo pastry, which is very th...
Healthy Lunch Recipes (32)
...keep in mind that we need more than two meals a day. Humans are grazers and should eat frequently, in smaller portions. Grabbing lunch on the go or skipping it completely is something we all do and sh...
Beef Jerky Recipes (33)
...there was a big dehydrating fad. Everyone was buying a food dehydrator to make dried fruits, nuts and jerky. The problem with these machines was that it seemed to take forever and you had to follow ...
Cereal Boxes (34)
...if I let each one of my children pick out a box of cereal, I could be easily spending $10.00 a week for merely three boxes. I don’t think so. It took me a while to figure out that it is not th...
Chocolate Covered Strawberries (35)
...There are lots of companies, both on and off the internet, that sell them. It isn’t easy to choose and your mouth will water when you look at the pictures to compare your options. Most of t...
Coffee Machine (36)
...in the 60s Yeah, you know the one. You can buy the stuff in any supermarket or drugstore, and it never tastes any better than the time before. Give it up already! That pre-ground garbage is never ...
Dunkin Donuts Coffee (37)
...is all that matters. For dinner it’s take-out from the Chinese place down the street or maybe a pizza from Domino’s. Oh, and then there’s breakfast. This consists of a jelly-f...
Ice Cream Machine (38)
...ice cream. Whether intended for home or business use, you are sure to find a suitable ice cream machine for your needs. Personal use requires a manual ice cream machine. Made from wood, a manual mac...
Italian Cooking (39)
...but he does. He especially loves when I make Italian dishes, though we both know that I don’t really know anything about true Italian cooking. My sauce secret is not really a secret at all. I...
Jobs For Cooks (40)
...head chef. Cooks may find that this is a great way to learn more about fine cuisine, and they may also find that this is a way to get their foot in the door. Some chefs or cooks intern at fine restau...
Low Acid Coffee (41)
...taste. I, on the other hand, really like to enjoy my morning brew. Good taste and low acid coffee do not always go hand in hand. After months of trying different low acid coffee brands I discovered ...
Books For Cooks (42)
...If you’re one of these cooks, you know that books for cooks are not confined to recipe books. Food and cooking can literally keep you occupied for a life time, if you so desire. The more you...
Easy Dinner (43)
...kids don’t let me have too much time in the evening to prepare an elaborate meal in the kitchen. I’m limited to about 30 minutes until they get stir crazy and start running around the hou...
Kitchen Scale (44)
...America, a kitchen scale usually does mean something to limit your intake of this or that portion. In Europe, a kitchen scale is used to weigh ingredients for recipes. European cook books and recipe m...
Low Fat Cooking (45)
...my best to eat right. But since that’s not doing the trick, I’m going to have to make some lifestyle changes right away. For instance one thing decided to do is change my kitchen and shopp...
Simple Recipes (46)
...out after graduation. I had always been thin and hadn’t worried about it. Suddenly, there was a diamond ring on my finger and I was thinking about how I’d now have to make meals for s...
Electric Ice Cream Maker (47)
...could make any homemade ice cream recipes that we could dream of. Little did I know that convenience is not always a good thing. With the crank operated ice cream machine, making ice cream was a lo...
Kitchen Gadgets (48)
...to and I also receive kitchen gadgets as gifts. There are basic fundamentals that I update every so often, such as the food processor and deep fryer. Now, I’m not saying that an ice cream mak...
Cake Decorating Magazine (49)
...cake decorator to learn new skills. Scheduling is a big obstacle for me and finding a professional who has time to spend with me would be way too difficult for me. A cake decorating magazine was t...
Chocolate Cake Recipe (50)
...any kind of cooking instruction is through family. Just about everyone has a relative who has a fantastic chocolate cake recipe or two that everyone looks forward to during family get-togethers. This ...
Chocolate Chip Cookies (51)
...as well. No matter which recipe you choose you are pretty sure that the chocolate chip cookies will be appreciated. Now that the World Wide Web is a hub of information for a plethora of topics, I h...
Healthy Dinner Recipes (52)
...all the way around, enjoying better health, saving money and maybe losing a few unwanted pounds. Start by setting aside a half an hour each week to look over your pantry and think about what you wan...
Kitchen Equipment (53)
...yet not so far that we need to stay over night when visiting. My daughter is very excited about decorating her home. My daughter and her husband have very good taste. They are going to be in a subur...
Low Carb Cooking (54)
...It is never good practice to completely cut out a food that is so prevalent on the food pyramid. Part of incorporating low carb cooking into your lifestyle on a long term basis is to remember that th...
Southern Living Cookbook (55)
...photographs. I find this aspect of the book to be really great because I am a visual learner. This Southern Living cookbook is the next best thing to a personal chef teaching you the ins and outs o...
Baby Feeding (56)
...that happens, there can be parts of the bottle that can be too hot and the babies mouth might be burned when feeding. I listened to this advice and she did not. I guess everything turned out okay, but...
Barbecue Sauce Recipe (57)
...have always loves to cook, and insist on cooking every time, is barbecued meat. I love barbecuing, grilling, roasting, smoking – anything that involves placing a good cut of meat over high heat ...
Barbeque Ribs (58)
...to make, and they always seem to come out very well. In fact, they are the only two things that I think come out well, but as long as my family looks like they aren’t starving, I have to think t...
Bbq Sauce (59)
...inside melted. I have to remember that when a package goes half way around the world, it is going to go through some temperature changes. One of the most surprising hit items I sent her was the bb...
Beef Jerky Recipes (60)
...beef jerky recipes are a popular way to prepare a delicious – if unhealthy – snack food. Most of the time, people who cook up a beef jerky recipe are hunters. The best beef jerky, after al...
Belgian Chocolate (61)
...reputation for being the best. This may have been the boast of the Swiss at one time, before the Belgians raced ahead. There is a long tradition of chocolate making in Belgium, which only needed a goo...
Birthday Cake (62)
...had their assigned chores. When your chores were done you had free time until dinner. Mom’s traditions around birthdays included picking your favorite meal as well as your birthday cake. There w...
Birthday Candles (63)
...and stupid to being a little wiser, but still a little stupid. I realize now that being older can be better than being young, even though you could have never told me that when there were only six...
Bottled Drinking Water (64)
...be a simple item. Water has become big business. When I ask for some water at a restaurant, what used to be a straightforward request, I am asked a series of questions. Do I want sparkling or still w...
Broiler Pan (65)
...is the name of the game. I would like to spend hours in the kitchen preparing the meals for my family, but the number of hours that I am away from home at my job does not allow this luxury. I do f...
Burr Coffee Grinder (66)
...coffee grinder. I went in search of one, and I could only find the one that has blades. There is a big difference in how these coffee grinders deal with the coffee bean. The burr coffee grinders dig...
Cake Decorating Ideas (67)
...they appear in my head, but I would be lying. For example, the beautiful double layer chocolate spiderman cake decorating idea turned out to be two sagging hexagon shaped cakes stacked on top of each ...
Cake Decorating Supplies (68)
...You will have to know where to shop to find quality pans and cake decorating supplies, however, but what you need is not as hard to find as you may think. If you can’t find stuff locally, you...
Cake Designs (69)
...If your child has a theme in mind but you can’t find that theme locally, you may be able to find a design online to try at home or to present to your local baker. Remember that when it comes ...
Camping Cookware (70)
...cookware. You just suddenly think that you need to take something with you, and you look through what you have in your own home. I had seen camping cookware in the store as we were preparing to go...
Ceramic Coffee Mug (71)
...warm, and they also are very easy to use. You can put your ceramic coffee mug right into your dishwasher when you are done and it is ready to go the next day. You can find a good ceramic coffee mu...
Cereal Boxes (72)
...find a box to share. Why my husband insists on trying to share each week boggles my mind, because I figure that by now, he should know what is coming. He seems to forget that each week this share t...
Chef Choice Knife Sharpener (73)
...not perform as well as a well maintainer chef knife that is not serrated. Using the chef choice knife sharpener along with a good chef’s knife just makes more sense, as the serrated knives ten...
Chef Hat (74)
...fifth birthday, my parents began to teach me how to cook. It was something that I had wanted to do since I was about three years old. My mom was a great cook, as was my dad. They both worked part ti...
Chicken Dinner (75)
...got was a chicken dinner. I don’t know what it was about this dinner, but it was always so good, and we could not wait until the next time we could have one. The restaurant that made them is lo...
Chile Pepper Magazine (76)
...dream come true. Any way you cut it, there’s a recipe you’ll love. The Chile Pepper magazine caters to a niche market of millions of hot chile lovers, featuring recipes from the w...
Chocolate Apples (77)
...We lived in that same town until I was an adult. I remember taking one of my girlfriends to get chocolate apples at the fair. She was from a bigger city. The county fair was something totally new t...
Chocolate Brownies (78)
...I know a lot of people like to do this. Just because my idea of the perfect brownie is different from everyone else does not mean I won’t enjoy one now and then. When I make chocolate brownies ...
Chocolate Cake Recipe (79)
...you anything that she knows. She is always willing to explain sewing, cooking, or advanced mathematics. There is one thing, however, that she guards jealously. It is her greatest secret, and one ...
Chocolate Chip Cookies (80)
...inn owner, Ruth Wakefield, in 1930. She added small chunks of Nestlé’s Semisweet Chocolate Bar to her basic butter cookie dough and the rest is history. The cookies became an immedia...
Chocolate Covered Potato Chips (81)
...you, no foreign land can touch our vast array of goodies. You name it; from cakes, to pies, to cookies, to chocolate bars, to candy toys, to ice cream, to shakes, to smoothies, to custards, to dessert...
Chocolate Covered Strawberries (82)
...you can make this delightful treat at home to share with your partner. It might seem that it’s a complicated task. It’s not at all and in fact if you have the right ingredients you are...
Chocolate Factory (83)
...I decided then and there that she should never be able to watch my child again. She didn’t put my daughter in danger, but there are times when she just doesn’t use her head, and this ...
Chocolate Fondue Fountain (84)
...use, it’s probably a good idea to rent. A chocolate fondue fountain is shaped somewhat like a tall vase, and is actually a simple appliance. Usually, there are just two controls required t...
Chocolate Peanut Butter (85)
...butter works is in chocolate peanut butter cups. I am fairly certain that this is the artificial kind of peanut butter with the partially hydrogenated oils. I checked the package once, and I belie...
Coffee Can (86)
...latte is where you can get your hands on this new technology. Supposedly, it takes six minutes to heat the coffee and it will stay warm for thirty minutes after it is heated. Pretty interesting, if ...
Coffee Machine (87)
...topped tables and huge jukeboxes. My favorite haunt was very like this and it was run by a friendly old Italian couple. They liked to see the young people, and we called them Mama and Papa. It ...
Coffee Of The Month Clubs (88)
...back in the 80s. Now you’ve moved on to the Columbia House stuff. Hey, but what about the beneficial coffee of the month clubs Do you have these on your list The truth is that if youR...
Coffee Shop (89)
...your coffee and be in your own world. There are sofas and tables, places to work if needed and magazines. The atmosphere is pretty laid back and casual. Not all coffee shops have that décor. A...
Cooking Courses (90)
...friendships with three of them. It seems that even though we see each other daily it is hard to keep up with what is going on in each others lives. We make it a point to have lunch as often as possib...
Cooking For 2 (91)
...at the stove and bring them to the table to eat. This cuts down on the amount of dishes we do because there are no serving bowls. I t takes much less time to prepare two chicken breast verses ba...
Creme Brulee Torch (92)
...itself. Now I am addicted to making fine desserts, crème brulee is my first choice but I have also delved deeply into pulled sugar projects that are really amazing. The crème brulee tor...
Crock Pot Soup (93)
...all it takes. One of the many virtues of a crock pot is its ability to cook tough cuts of meat to tender perfection over many hours of slow cooking. Oddly, although your meat may require many hours of...
Cuisinart Grind And Brew Coffee Maker (94)
...hot beverage as fresh as possible. The freshness depends heavily on the beans. Freshly ground beans make the best cup of java. Not everyone has time to work with whole beans. The Cuisinart Grind and ...
Custom Coffee Cup (95)
...Custom promotional products, such as custom T-shirts and custom coffee cups, can do just that. When I first started out in business, I ran my own coffee shop. It was a notoriously difficult time ...