The rules of etiquette at the table: the purpose of cutlery

“Why do I need etiquette rules at the table if I don’t go to restaurants?” “- many people think. But in fact, the elementary rules should know everything. Good tone rules can be useful both at a party and in public places. In order to feel free and confident in society, it is not enough to know in which hand and how exactly to hold the spoon. Therefore it is worth exploring all the rules in more detail.

In order not to get into a ridiculous position in an expensive institution, you need to know the basic rules of table etiquette.

As soon as you come to the institution, remove the outerwear and leave it in the wardrobe, ladies can fix their hair in front of a mirror. More thoroughly correct makeup and hair should be exclusively in the ladies' room.

Be sure to remember how to sit at the table, because it all starts with this. Do not sit too tightly to the table or positioned so that later it will be difficult to reach the devices. You need to sit at the table with your back straight. And it is important to remember that the table should be comfortable. Therefore, you should immediately sit down comfortably., so as not to be distracted from the meal by the search for a comfortable position.

It is worth remembering that In no case can not put your elbows on the table. This is even taught to children from an early age, but in adulthood, not everyone remembers this rule. Putting on the table can only hands.

If it became necessary to take a salt shaker or, for example, bread, then you should not get up from your seat or reach across the table to get what you want.

If you are asked to transfer the bread, then never take it in hand when you bring it up. It will be true if you pass a basket of bakery products, and the person himself takes as much as he needs.

It is not necessary to fill the napkin, which is usually located on a plate, behind the collar, as is shown in many films. This can be done only if a child is sitting at the table. An adult should neatly spread a napkin on his lap. A napkin should be taken only when the main dishes are served.after the meal, you can gently wipe her mouth and hands, and then it should be put on the table.

During the feast, you can take hands cookies, some types of cakes and fruit. The rest of the dishes should be eaten exclusively with the help of cutlery. It is also worth remembering that it is absolutely impossible to chew with an open mouth, talk with your mouth full and rush during a meal.

Proper use of cutlery speaks of your deep knowledge of etiquette. It’s not so difficult to use the usual devices at home, in a restaurant or as a guest due to all the rules of etiquette. Proper serving already suggests how to use cutlery. Objects must be kept in the hand that corresponds to the side of the plate, near which the instruments lie.

You need to take the first items that are on the very edge, and not near the plate itself. Remember that directly during the meal hands should be shed. So it will be more convenient to manage the dish, and it will comply with the rules of etiquette. If during dinner, your left hand is free while your right hand is occupied, then you cannot hold it on your lap, dropping it under the table.

Hold a glass or a glass of wine to the leg with three fingers. Sometimes it is allowed to touch the legs with four or all five fingers. If you take the glass by the base, then the prints will remain and, moreover, the drink will heat up, which should not be.

Glasses with other drinks that are served cold, such as champagne or white wine, also need to be held at the bottom of the leg itself. If you want to put ice, for example, in whiskey, then you need to put ice pieces only with special tongs. A glass of brandy can be held on the ground in such a way so that the leg passes through the fingers.

It is necessary to start the meal only when food and drinks are served at your table. To satisfy hunger with bread sticks or bread, as many do, is not worth it.

The spoon should always be only in the right hand, even if you are by nature a lefty. In order for it to lie correctly in your hand, the thumb of your hand must be on top of the handle of the device itself.

Fork by the rules must be kept in your left hand. Of course, sometimes there are exceptions when it is held in the right hand. This is allowed when you are served a dish that does not require the use of a knife. For example, it can be a tender casserole, a lush and tasty omelet, or vegetables. Then you can use this cutlery in your right hand.

Remember that the first dishes, namely all kinds of soups, you need to eat very carefully. Collect broth with a spoon in the direction away from you. So the soup does not spill, does not stain the tablecloth and clothing. Spoon with the soup should be as carefully as possible to bring to his mouth.

When serving soup with large pieces of meat or poultry, you need to initially eat the whole broth - the liquid part of the dish. And after that you can eat meat with cutlery such as a fork and knife. So laid on etiquette.

In the case when soup is served with meatballs or, as they are now fashionably called, meat-ball-s, they can be divided into small pieces using a spoon. The same can be done with dumplings. When eating the soup, be sure to tilt the plate slightly toward you, holding it with one hand. In order not to get into an awkward position, leave some liquid from the dish on the plate, do not finish the dish to the end. It is completely allowed.

If a steak or some other meat dish is served, the fork should be in the left hand and the knife in the right hand. A large piece of meat should not be immediately cut into comfortable pieces. Each time you need to cut off a not very large piece and immediately send it to your mouth. Of course, it will be more convenient to immediately divide the dish into portions and enjoy the meat without using a knife, but this is wrong. If meat is served with a special sauce, then they need to water only the meat itself, but by no means a side dish.

In that case, if the meat has already been eaten and left a side dish, then it can be eaten without a knife, while it is allowed to hold the fork in your right hand. If a light vegetable salad is served to the meat platter, which will replace the usual side dish, that is, you need it on the plate in which it was served.

Such meat dishes, where meat is cooked on the bone, cannot be eaten to the end. In no case can you gnaw the bone, take it with your hands and gnaw the meat. You need to eat exactly as much as you can cut the meat from the bone.

When eating such second courses, as cabbage rolls or meatballs, it is quite possible to use only a fork, which should be held in the right hand.

Salads are eaten exclusively with forks. If there are large chunks or large lettuce leaves in the dish, then it is possible to cut them with a knife and continue the meal.

When serving dinner, bread is served in the form of a portioned bun or simply bread sliced, then a piece of the product should be put on a pie plate, after it can be broken off into pieces, but not bitten off. If the bread is already buttered or caviar, then it can not be eaten with knives and forks or cut. Sophisticated sandwiches are allowed to eat with the help of devices, otherwise the dish can break up into pieces.

Snacks such as cheese, sausages, ham, rolls must be carefully pinned with a special fork. Large pieces of such snacks need to be divided into small ones, and this can be done immediately, and then you can eat foods with the help of a fork. Always take exactly as much as you can eat. Do not fill your plate with a variety of snacks at once.

Very often shrimps are served for supper now, and not everyone knows exactly how to eat them. If shrimps are served as snacks, which already have a skewer, then you need to take it, dip it in a sauce and then eat it. If shrimps are an addition to the main dish, that is, they are needed with the help of specially designated devices.

The end of dinner is also an important point, which requires some knowledge and compliance with the rules. After eating, for example, after you finish the soup, you should leave the spoon in the plate itself. Do not place it after use on the surface of the table or on a cloth.

When you deal with the meat dish, the fork with the knife should be left in the plate, putting them parallel to each other. If your meal is not over yet, then these cutlery should be crossed. Thanks to this, the waiter, looking at the plate, will understand that it is impossible to pick up the appliances and the dish.

During the dinner, if you need to use a napkin, you can use paper products. At the same time, the cloth napkin remains on its knees until the person has finished the meal. Women are absolutely not allowed to use cloth napkins even at the end of dinner, if the lips are made up. Use paper napkins only.

Rules of etiquette and behavior at the table are needed not only when you are in a restaurant. This can be useful at home, if you plan a holiday and the arrival of invited guests. Every self-respecting hostess should know exactly how to set the table.

First you need to lay a tablecloth on the table. When choosing a tablecloth for the holiday table, be sure to consider its size. Tablecloth should not disturb guests during the feast.. Too long or short edges are wrong. The edges of the tablecloth should barely reach the seat of the chair, keep this in mind.

Napkins choose to match tablecloths. Fabric napkins can be folded in a variety of ways using a special ring. Rolled napkin must be placed directly on the plate of each guest.

Plates should also be set correctly. In no case do not put them directly to the edge of the table, retreat at least three centimeters so that guests can sit comfortably. A soup spoon should be placed on the right side of the plate. Always put it with the convex side down.

On the same side, you should position the knife. Its sharp side should be directed directly to the plate. The plug, as you already know, should be exclusively on the left side. Put this object to the teeth up. Glasses for drinks have opposite a knife.

Always put the saucepan on a small saucer so that guests do not stain the tablecloth during dinner. There should be a napkin on the plate, and only then you can put the sauceboat itself. If you serve a table with individual sauceboats, they should be on the left side of the pie plate.

There are also a number of additional rules:

• Bread must be taken exclusively with his hands, and not impale it on a fork.
• Cutting off a portion of the meat, you can grab a little side dish and eat it all together.
• If you eat soup, then a tablespoon should always remain on the plate. No need to lay it on the table or lean against the edge of the plate.
• At a dinner party at home, a portion of meals should be served on the left side of the guest.
• From the general saucepan you need to take the sauce with a special spoon. And you should take a little sauce, so it was enough for all those present.
• You can never eat sauce from a plate, dipping bread in it.

• If you accidentally spill a drink on a tablecloth or drop a drop of soup or sauce, then blot the stain with a cloth and leave it on the table.
• If the cutlery fell to the floor, then you should not get up from a chair and rather lift it. Ask for a new device.
• Do not pick up from the floor and fallen food. Keep calm, even if part of the dish falls under the table.
• In the event that you bit off a piece of a dish that is too hot, then rather drink it with a drink. Do not open your mouth wide, wave your hands and report to everyone that you burned.
• If a piece of spicy food was swallowed, then it cannot be washed down, otherwise it may become worse.
• If you want to eat a sandwich with pate, then you need to put a piece of bread on your plate, then add a little pate with a special spoon. Pate should be applied to the bread with a knife, and then there is a ready sandwich using two cutlery.

How to use cutlery, you can see in the next video.