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Written by Unmukt Goel
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Dining for us NUS students is severely restricted to a quick bite at the canteens or a casual dinner in our hall dining room. The fine art of dining is not something we practice everyday, yet proper etiquette while dining at formal functions is a must in the world we will step into after graduation.
In this corporate world, the impressions we make on other people greatly affect our personal success. Dining etiquette, apart from making a favorable impression, projects one's status and affects how others perceive us. While the basis of such etiquette is basic courtesy and well known table manners like ‘no elbows on the table', formal dining can be a lot more complicated and calls for a higher awareness and understanding of dining etiquette.
In this article, HOOKED looks at some of the most elementary dining rules that should help you to create a good impression.
 Good dining etiquette starts well before dinner is served. Look for a place card to know where to sit, otherwise, wait for the host to indicate where to sit. Get to your place and hold the chairs for the women on either side to sit. Wait for the host to sit before sitting down. Introduce yourself to the people sitting around you and greet everyone around you.
One of the most confusing things for novice diners is the place setting. The multitude of cutlery can be overwhelming, but there is a simple and straightforward way to deal with it. Always start with the outermost knife and fork (each set is for one course of the meal).
Knives and spoons are placed to the right of the plate, while forks (except the oyster fork which is placed to the right) are placed to the left. The butter knife may accompany the bread plate or be placed as one of the outer knives. Dessert spoons and forks are generally brought separately with the dessert, though in some cases they may be placed with the other knives and forks.
The proper way to use the knife and fork is to hold with the fork and cut with the knife. Customarily, the fork should not be switched to the right hand, though by American standards, this is permitted.
When you are finished with a course, place the knife and fork side by side in the centre of the plate. Finish each course with everyone else at the table. It is rude to be eating long after everyone else is finished with their food.
Glassware is set to the top right of the plate. It may either be changed with each course or placed in descending order of size from inside to outside. Generally, the glasses are for water, red wine and white wine from inside to outside. The proper way to hold the glass is from the stem for the white wine (so that the body heat does not warm it) and from the bowl for the red wine.
There may also be a champagne glass placed after the white wine glass, which should also be held from the flute. You should not touch a glass till it has been filled, or completely empty out its contents.
Basic manners apply during the meal. Don't talk with your mouth full or wave your cutlery around. The napkin should be placed on the lap and not tucked into the shirt. Don't make a mess of the napkin; use it only to wipe the edges of your mouth.
Dirty utensils should never touch the table, and neither should hands be used to touch food unless bread is being cut or certain foods can only be eaten by hand. Soup must be scooped up by tilting the bowl away from you and scooping in an outward direction.
No slurping from the bowl
Always pass both the salt and the pepper if someone asks for either one of them. Don't add salt and pepper till you have tasted your food. Don't start eating until everyone (or in large groups, at least three people) have been served or the host asks you to.
After your meal, your napkin must be placed loosely to the left of your place setting. The meal ends only when the host indicates that it has, and it is considered rude to leave early, unless absolutely necessary.
During your meal, you must never raise your voice above a polite level, or use profanity. Other basic manners like not using your cell phone while dining should be practiced. At a restaurant, do not tip the waiter as this would be an insult to the host.
It is very easy to make a bad impression on someone while dining as the slightest errors can have a great effect. However, good dining etiquette does not come merely through reading this article. It must be practiced regularly so as to familiarize oneself with the various rules and nuances.
It takes a lot of effort to be a well mannered guest, but the results are most rewarding. HOOKED
For more detailed information about dining etiquette, visit:
http://www.bizforum.org/etiquette.htm
Images courtesy of:
http://www.marthastewart.com/
http://nupboard.blogspot.com/
http://forums.egullet.org/
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Written by Guest on 2008-06-13 04:34:34
 good quote... |
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