You have invited an important client for a business
lunch. You are interviewing for a job, and a meal is part of the interview.
You are attending an awards dinner. Do you know how to use the cutlery
properly? Do you know which side your bread plate is on? In short, do
you practice dining etiquette? In situations like these, your table
manners are on display. Making a good impression requires that you know
the rules of dining. Fortunately, they are easy to follow. Use these
tips to help you maneuver the business meal with finesse.
The napkin.
When everyone is seated, place your napkin on your lap, with the fold
toward you. Do not tuck it in to your shirt collar to save your tie
or blouse. When you need to leave the table-for instance, to use the
restroom-the words "Please excuse me" are all that is needed.
Your associates do not need to know where you are going. When you leave
the table, place your napkin on your chair, not on the table.
The silverware.
The knives and soupspoon are always on the right. The forks are always
on the left. The rule of thumb is to work your way in from the outside
of the place setting. At a typical restaurant, the table is set for
two courses, a salad and an entrée: the salad fork is farthest
to the left, and the entrée fork is closest to the plate. At
a banquet or formal dinner, the table may be set for many courses; the
place setting and the amount of silverware on the table will tell you
how many courses will be served. Remember that at a formal dinner, the
fork and spoon above the plate are used for dessert.
The salad course.
In America, salad is often served as the first course. It is OK to cut
your salad, but cut only a few bites at a time. If you are at a restaurant
that does not offer both a salad knife and an entrée knife, you
may use your entrée knife to cut your salad; then, after you
finish the salad, place the knife across the top of your bread plate,
with the blade facing toward you and the handle pointing toward the
right. If you are at a formal dinner, both the salad fork and salad
knife will be removed when that course is finished.
The table setting.
Where do all the plates and glasses go? A simple way to remember is
"solids to the left, liquids to the right." Your salad and
bread plates are to the left of the dinner plate; your water and wine
glasses are to the right. If you are seated at a round table for a formal
dinner, the napkin is often placed in the water glass-to the right of
your plate. I often see people taking the wrong napkin or using the
wrong bread plate at these formal dinners. Once one person uses the
wrong implement, it throws off the whole table. Remember this simple
formula so that you are not the one to blunder.
Bread and rolls.
These items are always passed to the right. If
the breadbasket is in front of you, open it and hold it for the person
to your right. Take your roll only when the basket comes back around
to you. Your butter knife is not for cutting your roll; use it only
to take butter from the butter dish and to butter your bread. Do not
cut your roll in half, butter it and eat it like a hamburger bun. The
proper way to eat bread is to break off one piece at a time, butter
it with the butter knife and place it in your mouth.
The soup course.
Spoon the soup away from you. Sip it from the side of
the soupspoon; do not turn the spoon around and put the
end in your mouth. Do not blow on the soup to cool it
off. Instead, let it cool before eating. When you are
nearly finished with the soup, and you want the last few
morsels, tip the bowl away from you, not toward you. In
between sips, and when you are finished, leave the spoon
on the plate beneath the bowl.
Silverware positions.
Once a utensil is picked up, it should never be placed back on the table.
Don't make the mistake of leaning your silverware partly on the plate
and partly on the table; it shows a lack of dining etiquette. If you
want to take a break from eating to participate in the conversation,
set your fork down on the plate with the tines facing up and pointing
to the center of the plate and place your knife at the top of the plate,
blade facing inward. This is the proper placement for the American style
of dining.
When you have finished eating, place your knife and fork in the "4:20
position": that is, if the plate were a clock, the "hands"-your
utensils-would say 4:20. The fork is closest to you, and the knife is
right behind it, with the blade facing inward. This position tells the
wait staff that you are finished with your meal.
Don'ts.
If you want to mind your manners, there are some things you should never
do.
For instance, do not:
- Chew with your mouth open or make smacking noises
when you chew. Instead, chew quietly with your mouth closed.
- Speak with food in your mouth.
- Chew ice. Ice is not food.
- Push food onto your fork with your fingers.
- Hold the fork like a shovel. The fork is held the
same way you hold a pencil.
- Reach across someone. Instead, ask him or her to
pass the item you want.
- Wave your utensils in the air while you speak.
- Engage in personal grooming at the table (for instance,
combing hair or applying lipstick).
- Pick your teeth at the table. If something is lodged
in your teeth, excuse yourself and take care of it in the restroom.
Your table manners - or lack of them
- have a big impact on your professional presence.
Don't do anything at the table that will embarrass
you or your dining partners. Instead, use these tips
to finesse the business meal with poise and grace.
Are
you interested in discussing what we can do to help you?
Contact
us for a free 1/2 hour consultation
today!
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Juanita Ecker, President of Professional
Image Management, provides corporate training on meeting and tradeshow
etiquette, dining etiquette, business decorum, networking skills, telephone
manners, professional image and business casual. She can
be reached at (518) 279-9388, by e-mail at image3@nycap.rr.com,
and via the Web at www.professionalimagemgt.com.