The rules of etiquette at the table: the norms of behavior and serving

The image of a modern successful person includes many details. One of them is the ability to keep in society and follow the rules of behavior at the table. In this way, you will prove yourself as a well-bred and intelligent person.

The history of ethics is very old. Some more cavemen knew how to behave beautifully and tried to teach others about it. Etiquette norms were formed over time and improved each time. Now this science teaches us the right behavior at the table.

Small details immediately catch the eye and can spoil the first impression of a person, so it will be useful to refresh the already known rules of etiquette or learn new ones. Experts recommend teaching children how to use cutlery and set the table from the earliest years, especially since modern manufacturers offer a wide selection of safe, bright and beautiful forks and spoons. It is believed that this skill should be worked out not only at a party or a restaurant, but also at home.

Consider the basic rules that relate to table setting and cultural behavior at the table.

Eating is one of those basic processes that inevitably accompany people throughout their lives. During business lunches, partners come to an agreement and sign important contracts. None of the festivities can do without a buffet or a grand feast. At the table, the family feels the strongest rallyingSince you can discuss all the problems behind a plate of food and enjoy the success of the household. Joint lunches or dinners bring people together and improve the quality of communication.

It is much more pleasant to deal with a person who observes the rules of etiquette, does not cause inconvenience to others, eats silently and carefully. It is never too late to correct mistakes in your behavior and become a more cultured person.

Let us consider in more detail the features of cultural behavior during the meal.

First of all, you should pay attention to the way you sit on a chair. A person’s posture speaks not only about his ability to keep himself in society, but also about his habits and character. A confident person always sits with a straight back and occupies most of the seating area.his posture is relaxed and relaxed. It is this position of the body that is most appropriate at the table.

When placed at the table, the hands are placed on the edge of the table, and the elbows are slightly pressed against the body. A slight forward bend is allowed for ease of eating.

When eating you need to behave quietly and carefully. Cutlery should not be taken away from the face. A person should eat calmly and unhurriedly, chewing each piece of food carefully with its mouth closed. It is forbidden to smack, sip, chomp or make other sounds. And certainly you should not talk with your mouth full, as it looks extremely ugly.

There are a number of simple rules that you can follow to learn the correct behavior during the meal:

• The distance from the body to the edge of the table should be such that the person sitting does not feel any discomfort.
• You can not put your elbows on the table, as well as personal items, such as wallet, keys or cosmetics. This is considered bad form.
• Do not reach for food across the table. Just ask the person next to give you the desired plate or salt shaker, and then politely thank you for the help.
• To keep clothes clean, you can use a special textile napkin, which is placed on your knees before the start of the meal. Young children are allowed to fill the napkin by the collar.
• Products from common dishes should be taken with devices designed for this. The only exceptions are sugar, cookies and fruit.

Often, lunch or dinner takes place in a restaurant. For such a case, there are special recommendations for etiquette:

• A man misses his companion first. He should open the door for her, take the outerwear, move the chair. If the company consists of both women and men, then the meeting becomes more informal.
• In case of several people gathering, the delayed wait no more than 15 minutes. Further, the meal begins regardless of whether the latecomers approached or not. The delayed person apologizes to all the participants of the dinner and joins the meal. At the same time, it is not necessary to attract the attention of everyone sitting at the table and try to explain the reason for the delay.
• With the participation of men and women in the dinner, the menu selection and ordering dishes usually falls on the shoulders of the stronger sex. He can offer his companion certain dishes and order them in case of consent.
• It is considered good form to start eating only when dishes are brought to all those present at the table. At the same time, those who are waiting may invite the rest to start their meal, even when their dishes are not ready yet.
• You should not defiantly examine and smell the dishes, carefully examine each ingredient and comment on the composition. It looks indecent.
• Bones should be carefully spit out on a fork or spoon and placed on the edge of the plate.

Etiquette prohibits doing the following things in a restaurant:

• To carry out hygiene procedures, sitting at the table. It is recommended to comb your hair, correct makeup, wipe your face or neck with napkins in the restroom room. It is also not accepted to leave traces of cosmetics on the dishes. It is better to blot your lips with a napkin before starting the meal in order to avoid the appearance of lipstick prints on the glass.
• Noisy blowing on a dish or drink. It is recommended to wait for cooling, and then start eating.
• Call the attendants loudly, knock on the glass, or snap your fingers. It looks extremely uncultured.
• Take food from a common plate with personal cutlery. For this are common serving forks and spoons.

As noted earlier, children should be taught to etiquette from the earliest years. Children quickly learn new information, and the learning process is easy to turn into a game. First of all, the child must be taught to wash their hands before each meal. At first, the parents themselves set an example and help the baby, and then this action will be fixed on the machine itself.

To plant a child should be at a common table with all adults, so that he gets used to the company.There are special high chairs that will allow the baby to sit on the same level with adults and feel like a full member of the family. During dinner, it is not recommended to turn on the TV, which will distract from the process of absorption of food.

For the collar, you can fill the textile napkin. It will prevent pieces of food and drinks from getting onto your clothes. For small children, special plastic forks and knives were invented. They do not have sharp blades and teeth, so that the child will not cause injury to himself, and the bright colors will attract interest.

At the table should sit straight, you can not swing in a chair and disturb others sitting at the table. Shouts and loud conversations are unacceptable.

An important point in the process of teaching the child good manners at the table is a ban on playing with food. It is necessary to explain to children that this behavior is unacceptable, and one should not smear food on the table.

After the meal, you need to thank the hostess for a delicious dinner and ask permission to leave the table. One way to teach a child the proper serving is to involve him in the process of setting the table. Let the kid help arrange the plates and lay out the cutlery.

Rules of behavior at the table in different countries of the world are somewhat different from the usual to us. Some moments may be quite unusual and exotic for Russia. We learn what tourists should pay attention to in order to avoid uncomfortable situations:

• In Japan and Korea, As is known, they eat with the help of special sticks. During the meal, they should be placed parallel to the edge of the table or on special stands. But sticking sticks into rice is not recommended, as it is a symbol of a funeral.
• On the table in Brazilian institutions catering is a special token, painted in green and red on both sides. The green side says that the visitor wants to bring him more food. And it often happens that the waiter brings new dishes almost without interruption. To limit the hospitality of staff, you should turn the token to the red side.
• Georgia famous for its wine. It is not surprising that this drink accompanies almost every meal. Tourists should remember that during the feast it is customary to drink wine completely after each speech.

• In India and England It is not recommended to eat with the left hand, as in the traditional Indian religion this hand is considered unclean. This rule also applies to handshakes and document transfers.
• Coffee lovers should be careful in Italy since in this country it is not customary to drink cappuccino in the afternoon. Locals believe that it can badly affect digestion. Another interesting fact: in Italy do not add parmesan to pizza or pasta. French etiquette is somewhat similar to Italian.
• Tourists traveling in China, restaurants often order fish. With this choice of dishes should be remembered that it is impossible to turn the portion. This is a bad omen, which means a high probability of a wreck of a fisherman’s boat. After eating the upper half of the portion, it will be better to first remove the spine from the fish and only then continue the meal.

The table should always be properly served regardless of whether it is a business lunch or a family dinner. It teaches culture and gives the meal a solemn mood.When you see neatly placed plates and cutlery, it’s much easier to follow table behavior recommendations.

There are a huge number of ways of serving the table, which depend on the time of day, the nature of the event and many other factors.

For a classic table setting that fits any occasion, you can use the following rules:

• On the table must be present tablecloth. This will give even the most ordinary meal a festive and solemn mood. It is better if the tablecloth will be a light shade. Dishes on this canvas will look stylish. According to the rules, the tablecloth should hang no more than 30 cm from the edge of the table.
• Arrange the chairs should be with a certain interval between them, so that the diner was comfortable to sit and not touch the elbows of neighbors.
• At a distance of about 2-3 cm from the edge of the serving plate is placed, which serves as a stand for everything else. Above put a deeper dishes. Plates for bread and pies are located on the left. Soups and broths are served in a special soup bowl or bowl.
• Cutlery is put on napkins made from cellulose. They are selected to match the tablecloth. Cloth cloths to protect clothes put on a plate in a rolled form.

• To the right of the plate are those devices that hold, respectively, in the right hand. Place a tablespoon so that the convex side is on the bottom. The knife should lie cutting side towards the plate. Fork tines must face upwards. A dessert spoon is placed on top of the plate.
• Some people prefer to drink water during a meal, so it does not hurt to put a glass of clean drinking water in front of a knife. In addition to water, in a glass there can also be juice, compote or other non-alcoholic beverages.
• Plates with common dishes are placed in the center of the table. They are supposed to put cutlery for general use.
• Hot drinks are served in a special coffee pot, and cups are immediately placed on the table. Under the cup should put a small saucer, and next - a teaspoon.
• Sugar is poured into a sugar bowl. Together with it is served a serving spoon. Nowadays, sugar bowls with a dosing unit are often used.
• All dishes should be perfectly clean, without chipping and cracking.

A person who came to a restaurant for the first time may become entangled in a large number of different cutlery. The following rule will allow you to feel more confident: devices lying on the left side of the dish are held only in the left hand. These are usually forks of different sizes. A similar rule applies to cutlery on the right - it can be spoons and table knives.

As an exception, you can take a fork in your right hand if there is a crumbly side dish on the plate: rice, buckwheat, mashed potatoes. In other cases, a table knife may help to collect food on the fork.

Sometimes serving includes the presence of several forks and knives at once. In order not to get confused, you can gradually replace the cutlery during the change of dishes, starting from the farthest from the plate and ending with others.

You can remember the following combinations of dishes and cutlery intended for them:

• dessert is eaten with a teaspoon or a special dessert spoon;
• tablespoons for soups and broths;
• the fork in combination with a table knife is used for hot meat dishes;
• for fish there is a special fish knife;
• cold snacks are usually eaten with a fork and diner diner;
• fruits can be eaten with hands or special cutlery.

Etiquette rules also determine how to properly hold cutlery in your hand:

• The spoon should be placed in the hand so that the thumb is on top of the handle. Broth should be scooped in the direction away from you, to eliminate the possibility of droplets falling on clothing. If there is soup with pieces of meat on the table, then it is first necessary to eat liquid broth, and then cut the meat with tableware.
• It is recommended to hold the plug so that the fingers are farther from the base. In this case, you can hold both the teeth down and up. It depends on the type of food served.
• When using a table knife, the fork is held strictly in the left hand, and the knife in the right. In this case, you can help yourself with your index fingers, they will more accurately direct the pressure of the device.
• The knife can be used for spreading butter or pate on a slice of bread. It is forbidden to take pieces of food with a knife or lick the blade.
• When using a knife for meat should be remembered that you should not cut the entire portion at once. It is necessary to gradually cut off small pieces and eat them.

A dish with spaghetti can cause difficulties when trying to eat it carefully. But actually, it's pretty simple to do. You need to put the fork in the middle of the portion, separate a small amount of spaghetti, wind it on the cutlery and immediately bring it to your mouth. This method looks neat and beautiful.

At the end of lunch or dinner, cutlery should be placed on a plate parallel to it, with the knife and fork handles should be directed in different directions. As a rule, this is a signal that you are finished with lunch or dinner, and the waiter can carry off the appliances. You should not move the plate away from you, you need to leave everything in its place.

It should also be noted that while eating, the fork and knife should not be left on the table. You need to put them strictly on a plate, even after a meal.

The rules of etiquette relate not only to the serving and the ability to eat nicely with the help of cutlery, but also to the very behavior during the feast. Regardless of where the meal takes place, at a party or in an expensive restaurant, there are a number of unspoken rules:

• before starting a meal, the guest usually waits until food is brought to all those sitting at the table;
• you do not need to open alcoholic beverages yourself - the waiter or the landlord must do it;
• You should not talk at the table in a loud voice, as this may prevent other guests from enjoying meals and relaxing;
• if lunch or dinner takes place in a restaurant, then it is recommended to clink glasses as quietly as possible so as not to cause inconvenience to other visitors.

The rules of table etiquette include the manner of conducting a conversation. So, experts do not recommend discussing issues related to disease, finance, political events and religion. When talking with one of those sitting at the table, you need to meet his eyes, listen carefully and not interrupt.

If some topics turn out to be unpleasant, you can try to transfer the conversation to another direction or politely refuse to discuss this issue. In the event of an intense dispute, it is better to defuse the situation with a funny joke or a relevant joke.

A cultured person should also listen to some more helpful tips:

• During the making of a toast, one of the participants in the dinner should stop eating and listen carefully to it. Conversations or other actions that distract from speech are unacceptable.
• The cud should be wrapped in a paper napkin and carefully placed near the plate.
• When using a toothpick you need to cover your mouth. Do not break a toothpick and scatter its parts.
• Bread from a common plate can be taken by hand.Do not bite off immediately a large piece. It is recommended to break off a small slice and only then put it in your mouth.
• Do not eat poultry hands, and then gnaw the bones of it. Such actions look indecent.
• Cutlery is usually passed with a pen forward, and take - in the middle.
• After dinner, the knee napkin should be put next to the plate.
• A glass of wine should be held by the foot, so as not to mess with a glass, and keep the drink chilled.

These simple rules will make it possible to increase general literacy and culture in a short period of time, as well as show your best side during a business or friendly lunch.

On the rules of etiquette at the table, see the following video.