Proper Dining Etiquette

Without being equipped with proper etiquette of dining, attending a formal dinner can be quite stressful and embarrassing. Personally, I think it is a minefield, one where embarrassment is just around the corner. I've learned from experience that the only way to enjoy the food and company at a formal meal, is to be well versed with dinner table etiquette. Otherwise, you'll spend most of the evening trying to follow en suite, or wondering what to do next. Apart from how you will fare through the meal, good table etiquette also takes into consideration the other. It ensures that the meal is a pleasant and enjoyable experience for all present.

Dining Etiquette

To start with, if you are wondering what is dining etiquette, the answer is that it boils down to being polite. And it includes not just table manners, but other little details, such that you should respond to an invitation within a week after you receive it, so that you give the host adequate time to plan based on the number of guests he/she is expecting. Punctuality is another important rule. Your host would have planned the evening, so try not to through them off by being late. Only ten minutes after the give time is acceptable. One factor that can be very aggravating, is if a guest shows up with a date without informing, which again can throw a host off, from the food estimate to the table setting. So if plan to take someone along, ensure you ask your host if it would be okay, well in advance. It is a rule almost all over the world that one must take something along, a bottle of wine being the standard.

Rules to Follow

Once seated at the table, here are the things to keep in mind:

• When seated at the table, one must assume an upright posture. Keep your spine straight, and don't bend over to the plate, but bring the spoon to while eating. Allow your wrists and forearms (not elbows) to rest on the table. If you haven't started eating or have finished, you may fold you hands in your lap.
• When you sit at the table, open the napkin, and place it on your lap, and use it to wipe your fingers and mouth at the end of the meal. Before moving away from the table once the meal is over, place the used napkin to the left of your plate, and do this without folding it.
• You must follow the lead of the host, or the person in whose honor the dinner is organized. Once everyone is served, you must only begin eating when the host/chief guest starts. During the meal, you must try to keep the same pace as the host/chief guest, but only close your plate when the last person (still eating) finishes eating.
• Now we come to the part that most people struggle with. While most of know that you move from the outside in, it will do you good to learn the purpose of each piece of cutlery. However, to give you a general idea, the forks are placed to your left and are in the order of salad fork, dinner fork and desert fork (from the outside). On the right, the outermost spoon is the soup spoon, followed a teaspoon, and then the dinner knife. Your butter knife and plate will be placed above the fork, and your wine goblets will be above the spoons. The outer most one will be for white wine, followed by the one for red wine, and then the water goblet.

With these pointers, we have laid a foundation of proper dining etiquette. However, the learning doesn't end here, for there are many more dos and don'ts related to formal dining.