Table setting in a restaurant. Cutlery. Basic rules of table etiquette

It wouldn't hurt for each of us to brush up on the rules of table etiquette, and perhaps even learn something new about how to behave while eating. The most important rules etiquette that absolutely everyone should use.

Each of us notices when in a cafe at the next table someone eats sloppily or secretly wipes their hands on their knees. In the same way, other people notice our mistakes; any behavior is striking and can cause embarrassment. Therefore, it is better to check yourself and correct your own behavior if necessary.

How to behave at the table

General rules apply to any situation; they will never be superfluous. The first thing we pay attention to when we see a person is his posture. Posture characterizes not only a person’s behavior or state, but also reveals the secrets of his character.

An insecure person will fidget nervously on the edge of his chair, a complex person will try to slouch in order to become less noticeable. Sit upright, but so that you are comfortable. Your hands can be placed on the edge of the table or on your knees, and it is better to press your elbows to your sides.

By the way, in order to learn how to hold your elbows near your body, in Soviet times it was advised to periodically train - have lunch, holding a couple of weighty books with your elbows. This is necessary so that the correct bodily pattern is formed, and you hold your elbows flawlessly even when you don’t think about it at all.

Rules table etiquette imply almost all situations that can happen to a person and give a clear recommendation on what to do in a given situation.

Naturally, table etiquette at home and restaurant etiquette are somewhat different. However, there are rules that are appropriate in any situation:

Don't talk too loudly;
Do not move the fork or spoon with food too far from your mouth;
You should not make sounds while eating;
You should eat calmly, without unnecessary haste.

Restaurant

The rules of conduct in a restaurant imply some composure - you need to behave correctly and with dignity in order to make a pleasant impression on others.

The man must let the lady go first, but if a group of men or women goes to the restaurant, then everyone is on equal terms or relies on the initiator of the dinner.
If several people are supposed to meet at dinner, and some of them are late, then by mutual agreement with the rest of the guests, you can wait about a quarter of an hour for the latecomers. A longer wait is a sign of disrespect for guests who arrived on time.
If you happen to be late, you should apologize and then simply join the others. Shouldn't be attracted special attention to the fact of being late and explain the reason, just join in the table conversation.
When a man and a woman meet in a restaurant, the man must read the menu and offer his companion some dishes. For a girl in this case to express her indifference is a sign of bad manners. Etiquette in a restaurant implies the participation of the lady in choosing dishes.
In a restaurant, you should not have a conversation in a raised voice or laugh loudly. If this happened by accident, it makes sense to apologize to other visitors and be quieter. Observe table etiquette, and if someone behaves inappropriately at the next table, you should inform the waiter about it.
You need to start eating when the waiter has brought out the ordered dishes to everyone present. If the person who is waiting for his dish to be prepared does not mind, he can make an invitation to others to start eating.
It is strictly forbidden to perform hygiene procedures at the table - wiping your face, neck and hands with napkins, combing your hair or applying lipstick. If you need to pay attention to your appearance, it is better to do this in a special room. Table etiquette also does not welcome traces of lipstick on dishes. Before starting to eat, the girl must carefully remove the lipstick with a napkin.
Any interaction with food also looks uncivilized - food is on the table to be eaten. Taking photos for Instagram, blowing on the soup, meticulously picking at the salad, commenting on the ingredients is indecent.
If you come across a piece of cartilage or a bone in some dish, you need to carefully return the inedible element back to the spoon and move it to a plate (or napkin).

How to handle devices

Under no circumstances should you check the cleanliness of the cutlery, and if you do notice a cloudy spot on a fork or spoon, you need to quietly draw the waiter’s attention to this oversight and politely ask for a replacement.
In most restaurants, the table is set in advance, and the cutlery is laid out on both sides of the serving plate.
Don’t be confused if there are more dishes on the table than you expected to see - everything has its purpose, and if you are in doubt about which fork or spoon you should take, you can always see how the other guests solve this problem.
Those utensils that lie to the left of the plate are used with the left hand, and those that are laid out on the right must be held in right hand.
When serving complex dishes, each dish requires its own utensils, so if you are in doubt about which fork you should take, take the farthest one - the one that is furthest from the edge of the plate. As you change dishes, you will gradually move closer to the closest appliances.
The knife is used either for cutting food or for spreading pates and butter (for example, during breakfasts). You should not try pieces from a knife.
Meat or fish should be cut sequentially as it is eaten. Cutting the entire portion at once is bad form. It is generally accepted that this way the dish cools down faster and loses its main flavor nuances.

Learn in advance a few differences between different cutlery so as not to get into trouble.

Forks

Second hot dishes are eaten with a table fork; it has four teeth, and its length is slightly less than the diameter of the plate and is placed on the left;
a fish fork is used for hot fish dishes, it looks smaller than a diner and has four short teeth, a fish fork is easy to recognize by its indentations - they are needed to separate the bones;
snack fork - a smaller duplicate of a table fork, used to eat cold appetizers;
dessert fork - for pies, small, matches the size of the dessert plate and looks atypical;
a fruit fork equipped with two prongs, usually served with a fruit knife;
the remaining forks are considered auxiliary, they are placed next to the dish that needs to be eaten with them.

Knives

Any second hot dish is eaten with a table knife, it is placed to the right of the plate, the blade is turned towards the plate;
a fish knife is dull and resembles a spatula, used to separate the flesh of fish from the bones;
the snack knife is small and has serrations;
the dessert and fruit knife look similar - they are the smallest.

Spoons

a tablespoon is the largest, lies to the right of the plate;
a dessert spoon is served with desserts that do not require cutting - soft puddings, jellies and whipped cream;
an ice cream spoon is served with a bowl;
the cocktail spoon has a very narrow and long handle;
a teaspoon can be served with any hot drink;
coffee spoon is the smallest, served only with black coffee.

Dialogues and behavior at the table

Table etiquette involves not only the use of cutlery, correct positioning and good posture, but also the manner of conducting dialogues and conversations.

It is worth noting that table etiquette strictly prohibits discussing provocative issues that could lead to a serious conflict - therefore, you should refrain from comments about money, politics and religion.

How to behave at the table and what to say? Be sure to look at the person who is speaking to you, listen without interrupting, and only then respond. If you consider some of your interlocutor’s questions inappropriate for a meal, gently suggest discussing this a little later. In all other cases, you should answer easily and naturally.

The restaurant also does not imply heated arguments - refrain from inappropriate comments and lighten the mood with a sweet joke if someone else raises their voice.

You shouldn’t have a conversation with just the two of you; involve the rest of the meal participants in the conversation.. For example, if the conversation is about a recent vacation, you can ask one of the interlocutors whether he is going to go on vacation in the near future or what vacation spots he prefers.

It is also good form in any table conversation to praise the owner, cook or initiator of the meeting - find a few kind words to mark the general atmosphere of the evening.

A short course in etiquette

Do as the majority does.
Don't point out others' mistakes, in the very as a last resort This can be said quietly in an undertone and only to your neighbor at the table.
Don't be away from your meal for too long.
When leaving the table, apologize.
Try everything and eat what you like.
Diets, eating disorders, and dietary restrictions are not discussed at a common table. alcoholic drinks and diet.

It is better to study some rules of behavior at the table by looking at pictures - look at the basic table setting diagrams, you can also watch a video on how to properly hold this or that device.

Table etiquette is not that difficult if you devote a little time to it, and following all the rules will help you present your best side.

Update date: 02/19/2017

Table manners have always been of great importance. You can’t talk about a person if he eats ugly, sloppy and doesn’t know how to use cutlery. After all, the rules of table etiquette have been tested for centuries, so that the behavior of everyone present at the table is harmonious and rational.

The most important rule: all cutlery located to the right of the plate is held with the right hand while eating, and all cutlery located to the left is held with the left hand.

The knife (held in the right hand) and the fork (in the left) have completely different functions: the knife holds what you take with the fork. In this case, in no case is it allowed to transfer instruments from the right hand to the left and vice versa. It is recommended to hold the fork with the tines down. You can't eat from a knife. Also, you shouldn’t cut everything with a knife at once so that you can use only one fork afterwards. It would be correct to cut off a piece and immediately put it in your mouth, otherwise the food will cool down ahead of time.

The handles of the knife and fork must be held in your hands, and index finger Hold your right hand at the beginning of the knife blade. To cut, for example, a piece of meat, the fork and knife must be held at a slight angle.

Special fish fork and knife are smaller than cutlery. However, it is not customary to cut fish with a knife. If the fish dish is boiled or fried, use a knife to separate the fish bones. If you find a bone in your mouth, you should place it on a napkin leaning against your lips, then on a plate.

You should eat the soup, scooping it away from you with a spoon so as not to stain your clothes. The soup should be eaten from the edge of a spoon, bringing it parallel to the lips. They finish the soup, slightly tilting and moving the plate away from themselves. The broth in a cup should be drunk like tea or coffee, after eating a little broth using a small dessert spoon. A spoon from the soup should not be on the table either during or after a meal - only in the plate.

If the dish does not require cutting (casseroles, pates, soufflés, hard-boiled eggs, puddings), use only a fork, holding it in your right hand. While eating, it is allowed to help with a piece of bread in your left hand.

To make a sandwich, take a small amount of caviar, pate and butter onto your plate from a common dish. You should take a piece of bread with your left hand and spread the sandwich with a knife in your right hand. It is eaten with a fork and knife.

Salads are placed on a plate with a salad spoon and eaten with a fork.

To peel an orange, cut off the top part of the peel, then make cuts lengthwise into 4-5 parts, remove all the peel and divide the orange into slices. According to the rules of etiquette, bananas are cut at the stem with a knife, the peel is removed and eaten with a dessert knife and fork, cutting off a piece at a time.

Strawberries and strawberries are taken by the sepals with your hands, and if the berries have already been peeled, they are eaten with a spoon. Cherries, cherries, and grapes are taken by hand, and the seeds are spat out onto a teaspoon or napkin.

Cake and cream pastries should not be handled with your hands: they are eaten with a dessert fork or spoon.

If food on a platter passes from hand to hand in a circle, then first offer it to your neighbor, and then, without choosing, take it for yourself. Food from the tray should be served using a fork and spoon, which is held with your left hand, helping with the fork. These devices then remain on the tray.

If you don’t know how to eat this dish when visiting, rely on the hosts of the evening.

As for drinks, it is worth remembering one rule: the smaller the container intended for it.

What you should absolutely not do at the table:

Address the waiter first name.
Discuss politics, religion, health and money issues.
Use it. And in general, their place is not on the table, but in the bathroom. Picking your teeth with them is an intimate process, so in a cafe or restaurant you need to retire to the ladies' room.
Pick up food that has fallen on the floor or cutlery. Ask the waiter for a clean fork or knife, they will bring it to you.
Hold the fork in your right hand. Even if you don't use a knife, use your fork with your left hand. This is what distinguishes people with excellent manners.
Get distracted by . At the table it should work in silent mode. Only if you are expecting an important call do you have the right to ask for forgiveness from those gathered in advance, warn them and put the phone on the table. In all other cases, the phone has no place on the table.
Announce your next diet or alcohol restrictions. In this regard, it is better not to attract attention to yourself. It’s not the fault of those around you that you can’t eat or drink something. Or that you recently became a vegetarian.
Don't rush to eat everything quickly, even if you are very hungry. You cannot start eating until food has been brought to everyone present at the table.
Do not cut or bite the bread from big piece. According to the rules, you break off small pieces with your fingers and put them in your mouth.
Do not place a handbag on a table or chair. Decent establishments have stands for this. If they are not available, hang the bag on the back of the chair. It is permissible to place the briefcase on the floor.

It is up to you to decide whether to fully comply with these rules of dining etiquette or not. But remember that acceptable behavior may not be understood by people you barely know.

We present to your attention a video about table behavior in a restaurant.

Guys, we put our soul into the site. Thank you for that
that you are discovering this beauty. Thanks for the inspiration and goosebumps.
Join us on Facebook And In contact with

The main principles of table etiquette are known to everyone, but there are a number of non-obvious rules that should be treated with great attention. For example, the statement that game is eaten with hands is only partly true - much in this matter depends on the circumstances. Let's figure out when a fork and knife are really not needed, and in what situations etiquette requires us to use cutlery.

website made a selection practical advice, with which you will stop being nervous and making mistakes at the table.

1. Miso soup

Miso soup is usually served in a small, deep bowl. Putting it on the palm of one hand and holding it by the wall with your thumb, drink the broth in small sips. Chopsticks in the other hand hold the tofu cheese and other ingredients. After the broth has been drunk, you can eat tofu, noodles, mushrooms and other solid ingredients of the dish using chopsticks or a spoon.

2. Bacon

Crispy bacon can crumble if you cut it with a knife, so it is eaten with your hands. Soft bacon tends to be greasy and can easily stain your fingers. Therefore, when eating, use a fork and knife.

3. Olives and black olives

When served as an appetizer, olives can be handled with your hands. If olives are an ingredient in a dish, such as a salad, they are eaten with a fork. The olive in the martini glass can be eaten after the drink has been drunk by tipping it into the mouth.

4. Fish steak

Fish steak is usually made from salmon, salmon or trout. It is eaten with special utensils: a fork with three teeth and a knife in the shape of a spatula. The fish meat is very soft, so it is not cut, but pieces are carefully separated with a knife, which are then put into the mouth with a fork. A knife is also used to remove the skin and bones of the fish.

5. Whole fish

Cut the fish in the middle from head to tail so as not to touch the spine. Upper layer“open” like a book, inserting a knife into the cut and holding the meat with a fork. Pieces of meat can be transferred to free space on the plate. Lift the spine with a fork, remove it from the fish and place it on a plate for bones. You can sprinkle the fish with lemon and start eating using the same fork and knife.

6. Meat on the bone, game

During a business dinner, at a party or in a restaurant, meat on the bone, chicken, and game are eaten with a fork and knife. In an informal setting - at home or at a picnic - poultry meat and ribs can be eaten with your hands.

7. Shrimp

If this is a dish with shrimps whose tails have not been peeled, then you can bring them to your mouth with your hands, holding them by the shell. Then the leftovers are put on a special plate.
Shrimp on skewers, served as an appetizer, are dipped in sauce and then put into the mouth, holding it by the stick. If the shrimp are too large and cannot fit completely in the mouth, they are eaten by biting off one piece at a time. But in this case, you should not dip the bitten shrimp into a common gravy boat.
Shrimp cocktail is served in a tall glass or deep cup. Shrimps that are too large are cut into several pieces. If using a knife is not possible, use a fork to pry the shrimp and bite off one piece at a time. Once bitten, you can dip the shrimp in a sauce reserved exclusively for you.
Peeled boiled and fried shrimp on a plate are eaten with a fork and knife.

8. Pizza

During a cocktail, pizza, cut into pieces, can be taken with your hands from a common tray or plate. The same rule applies to parties and any informal events. But if you are at a business lunch or dining in a cafe or restaurant, it is better to use a fork and knife.

9. Taco

The crispy flatbread is taken with your hands. If you're making your own filling, start with lettuce leaves - they will prevent the tortilla from becoming soggy quickly. Then you can add rice, cheese, vegetables. It's best not to put a lot of filling and keep the taco over a clean plate. If any of the ingredients fall out of the cake, it will be easy to pick it up with a fork.
A soft flatbread with filling is wrapped in a roll. The taco is topped with sauce and eaten with a knife and fork.

9. Baked Potato

Baked potatoes are eaten with a fork. Hold the potato with the fingers of one hand while the other hand removes the skin with a fork. The root crop is peeled longitudinally, from top to bottom. (If the potatoes don't have a cross cut at the top, you can make one yourself with a fork to allow steam to escape.) The potatoes are then broken apart by hand and a fork is used to stir the root vegetable pulp into the butter and other ingredients.

10. Green peas

Green peas are eaten with a fork and knife. Use a knife to collect peas on a fork, after which they put it into the mouth. Another way is to prick the peas with the tines of a fork. Under no circumstances should you mash peas and turn them into puree.

Hard cheeses, cut into pieces, can be transferred to your plate using cutlery. In a formal setting, it is better to eat cheese with a fork. But if you make a sandwich with a cracker or bread, it's okay to take it with your hands.

13. Desserts

Eclairs are always eaten with a knife and fork. You need to cut the cake very carefully so that the filling does not come out.
Donuts and puffed pastry are broken with your hands, spread with butter, and put into your mouth in small pieces.

The glazed buns are cut in half or into quarters and eaten with your hands. If the baked goods are too sticky, use a fork and knife.

Table etiquette is not only the science of how to use cutlery correctly. Also, do not forget about the rules of behavior during the feast. Don't leave your phone on a common table; Before taking a sip, swallow the food and blot your lips with a napkin to keep the edges of the glass clean; When leaving the table, say “I’m sorry.” After all, sharing a meal with polite people is much more pleasant. “Good education is not that you don’t spill sauce on the tablecloth, but that you don’t notice if someone else does it,” said Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. And there is nothing to add to his words.

Tell me, have you ever experienced uncertainty at the table and have you had to get out of a difficult situation?

If at home you can afford to eat as you please, then in a restaurant or fashionable cafe it is customary to eat food with the help of special “tools”. By what signs can they be recognized?

Fork and knife snack bars, which are used to eat cold dishes, salads, as well as ham, sausage and pancakes, are slightly smaller in size than dining rooms.

A fish fork (with four small teeth and a cut in the middle) and a knife (with a short wide blade) are convenient for separating fish fillets from the bones. But if the fish is served whole, so that those present can appreciate the size and admire the design, it is surrounded by additional utensils. A wide knife with a rounded blade and a round flat fork, more like a spoon with an oblique cut, will help to distribute food from a common dish onto plates.

For tea and coffee, in addition to spoons, you will also be served with sugar tongs, a knife with large teeth and a two-pronged fork for lemon. But there are no coffee spoons less than ten! They differ in size and name: “cappuccino”, “melange”, “glaze”... The smallest one is designed for Turkish coffee.

Exotic dictates its own

Oysters can be separated from their shells without much difficulty using a small trident. The snails are cut using tiny tweezers and a small fork. By the way, it depends on the type of snail and the structure of its shell what shape of tweezers you will be given - with rounded ends, with a ribbed surface, or absolutely flat.

Game tongs resemble curved scissors with slightly curved blades, which are convenient for breaking bones.

A special device is used for fish caviar. It is laid out in crystal caviar bowls, covered with ice and placed next to a spoon, spatula and knife. The spatula has an elongated, pointed shape so that the eggs do not become deformed.

One for all

Etiquette rules require that eaters transfer salads, appetizers and cheese from shared dishes onto their plates using so-called shared utensils - tongs, forks, spoons and spatulas. All these “tools” are placed next to the dish for which they are intended, so it is impossible to confuse them. If you have to rack your brains, it’s only to understand which knife is for butter and which for cheese; as a rule, they are located next to each other. But a recognizable detail will help to distinguish them: the one for cheese has noticeable teeth at the end - they are used to pick up the cut slices.

Pastry tongs come in large and small sizes. The first to transfer baked goods to their plate is the second - sweets and chocolate. If the sugar is lump, then tweezers with sharp blades are placed next to it. The same device is used to remove ice cubes from a special bucket.

To devices common use include a fish spatula for laying out slices, and a pastry blade for cakes.

Look for the extreme ones

Two knives, two forks, a spoon - classic table setting. All other utensils come with the corresponding dishes.

You need to start using cutlery from the edges to the center: further from the plate there is a pair for appetizers, closer to it there is a knife and fork for the main course.

At the end of the meal, the fork and knife are placed parallel to each other with the handles to the right. If you have not finished your meal, but for some reason want to take a break, the cutlery should be placed on the plate in the same way as you held it: the knife on the right, the fork on the left.

A caustic story

The fate of the device for stabbing food, the fork, in Russia was dramatic and comical at the same time.

The first fork was brought to us from Poland at the beginning of the 17th century. During a lavish dinner in honor of his marriage False Dmitry I And Marina Mnishek used this new device, which caused a storm of anger from the boyars and clergy. Some historians even say that the fork provoked Shuisky’s conspiracy: the Russian Tsar could not, they say, eat “not the Russian way.” In Rus', even two centuries after these events, holding a fork in your hand, much less dropping it, meant bringing disaster upon yourself.

How to behave at the table

1. Broths are served in cups with one or two handles. One is a hint that the first one can be drunk, two - that it should be eaten with a spoon.

2. The bread is broken over a plate and eaten in small pieces. They bring a special saucer for the buns. A bun from a common tray is first placed on this saucer, and only then eaten.

3. Meatballs, cutlets, cabbage rolls, omelette are broken with a fork, a knife is optional.

4. A spoon and a fork are needed at the same time when eating spaghetti. The pasta is wrapped around a fork, held in the right hand, and then “cut off” with a spoon.

5. Tobacco chicken (pieces after preliminary cutting of the carcass) can be eaten with your hands. In this case, it is assumed that the waiter will bring a bowl of warm water and a cloth to rinse your fingers.

6. The grapes are eaten one berry at a time, and the seeds are discreetly placed on a plate. But no matter how hard you try, it looks unaesthetic. Therefore, at lavish social events, either sultanas are served at the table, or grapes are not brought at all.

7. They don’t drink compotes, but eat them with a spoon. Drinking liquid first and then eating dried fruit is considered not comme il faut. The bones are placed on a saucer, which is served specially.

Anetta Orlova:-Etiquette is certain points of support that form a certain style of behavior. When a lot of people gather at the table, everyone brings their own habits - from eating food to talking. Here etiquette is the bridge that can connect different people.

At least once in their life, every person has encountered such a thing as setting a table. Be it preparing a home feast or going to an expensive restaurant, where several plates on the tables are complemented by more than one cutlery. There really aren't many rules you need to know to proper serving table.

Before you start arrange cutlery on the table according to the rules of etiquette, it is worth considering the dishes that will be served. Usually glasses, glasses, cups, plates, forks, knives, and spoons are placed on the table. You need to start with plates, which you will then cover with other cutlery. Everything you need first should be closest to you to make it easier to take. And even if the owner has planned a ten-course menu, this does not mean that the guest needs to put a whole mountain of plates and build a fence of forks. Classic table setting is considered to be an arrangement of no more than three cutlery.

Schemes on how to lay out cutlery

Video instructions on how to properly lay out the devices

Rules for laying out cutlery on the table

It will be important to maintain the distance between devices. It should be about a centimeter from each device and from the edge of the table. This is more of an aesthetic rule to achieve an even distribution of all the cutlery on the table. Therefore, there is no need to run around the table with a ruler and measure the exact distance.

Forks should be placed to the left of the plate. They are placed with the curve down. Classic serving consists of three forks. The main one is the first one from the plate, followed by a fork for fish, and the final fork for salads. The knives are laid out on the right. Their blades are directed towards the plate, and the number of knives is also three. The first knife is the largest - for dinner, the second - for fish and the smaller - for snacks. After the last knife, spoons are placed on the right. If the menu calls for serving first courses, then a large spoon is placed between the fish knife and the appetizer knife. If there is no fish, then between a large knife and a snack bar.

The arrangement of the plates is as follows: first the plate for the first course is placed, and on top of it is for the appetizer. If butter is served on the table, then on the left there should be a plate with bread and a butter knife. Dessert utensils are placed at the top of the plate. The knife goes first, the fork comes second, and the spoon is placed furthest from the plate. All glasses are arranged in height from left to right. The champagne glass is placed first on the left, regardless of height.