Since childhood, we are taught that we must wash hands before eating, that we should chew with a closed mouth, and we are taught how to use cutlery. And what else? Well, perhaps, they tell us a couple of nuances of "correct behavior at the table." In fact, very few people since childhood are trained to eat according to the generally accepted rules of etiquette and the norms of behavior at the table. Therefore, let's talk about them in more detail. After all, in fact, it's embarrassing to be surrounded by cultural people, in the notion of dining etiquette, if you yourself do not know how to behave properly at the table.
General rules - minimum for all
In order not to be known as ignoramus at the table, one must know the simplest general rules of table etiquette.
How to sit? You need to sit not very far, but not very close to the edge of the table. In no case should the elbows lie on the table. Sitting should be straight and do not bend over the plate.
Napkin . The first thing you need to pay attention to before meals is a napkin. A linen napkin should be placed on your knees, but your hands and mouth must be wiped with a paper towel. After you finish the meal, put a linen napkin on the table.
Cutlery. There are cutlery for general use and for individual use. From the general dish, you need to take the dishes with common cutlery (spoons, forks, tongs). Do not confuse and do not take food with individual appliances from the general dish.
The main thing is not to get confused with a knife and fork. Using a knife and fork eat solid meat dishes (chops, fillets, liver, langets, etc.). In this case, the knife is held in the right hand, and the fork is in the left hand, while watching the little finger, which should not be set aside. Soft meat dishes are eaten without using a knife, while the fork "passes" into the right hand. At the end of the meal, a fork and knife are placed on the plate.
Fish cold dishes are eaten using snackbars.
Soup is eaten spoon calmly and leisurely. If the soup is hot, do not stir it with a spoon, and wait until it cools down to a comfortable temperature for a meal. Spoon scoop from themselves. Think, so you are accustomed to eating? .. Bring the spoon to your mouth with the left wide edge. If soup remains a little, and you are going to eat it, raise the plate with your left hand from yourself. At the end of the meal, the spoon is left in the plate.
Hot appetizers from chill molds and kokotnits are eaten with a teaspoon or a coconut fork. If special devices are not available, you can use two conventional plugs.
If there was a need to temporarily stop the meal, then the fork and knife are placed on the plate in the position in which they were held: the fork with the handle to the left and the knife to the right.
A teaspoon is used only for stirring tea and is not left during tea drinking in a cup. Therefore, do not forget to put a spoon on the saucer.
Calm, just calm. Are you very hungry? This is not a reason to attack food. Eat slowly, so you will appear before the guests of a cultured person and even more enjoy eating delicious food. In addition, do not fill your mouth with a large amount of food or bite off immediately large chunks of food.
If you accidentally drop a knife or fork, do not try to pick them up immediately, you better ask for another appliance.
Bread etiquette
Bread, in fact, a delicate product, and you must also eat it. Not everyone knows that bread is eaten in small pieces, for this, a small piece is broken off from a whole piece over its plate.
There is a special pie plate, where you need to put bread from a common plate for bread. Here, in a cake dish, it is customary to spread butter on bread. Similarly come with caviar, but spread it not with a knife, but with a special spatula. The pate is taken with a knife and fork.
Sandwiches are taken by hand. If these are prepared for snacks, then they eat with a knife and fork.
His Majesty, dessert!
I think that many people are used to the fact that before serving the dessert, the table is being prepared anew: extra dishes, glasses, wine glasses and bottles are removed. Dessert dishes are eaten with special appliances. If a cake or pie is provided for dessert, then for each guest a dessert plate is placed separately, a dessert spoon or dessert knife lies on the right, a dessert fork on the left. Note that tea or coffee is placed to the right of the dessert dish, but the cup handle should be turned to the left.
What to talk about?
Do not criticize the dish prepared by the hostess, but praise, on the contrary, is encouraged. At the table it is not customary to start talking about troubles and illnesses. Do not affect the incomprehensible and uninteresting for other topics. And do not start a conversation with a person sitting far away from you, it's best to wait until you can move in closer.
Remember, it happens that not every food can be to your liking. But do not talk about sympathy or antipathy, this you show your bad manners. Any piece of food that you have in your mouth must be eaten. The only exception is fish bones or fruit bones, which should be carefully and almost unnoticeably pulled out of the mouth.
In fact, we touched on only a part of the basic rules of etiquette and the norms of behavior at the table, the most basic ones. Table etiquette is practically an entire science, so there is always something to learn and what to strive for. Owning good manners at the table will help you feel more confident and calm and, importantly, exclude the possibility of being in an awkward situation because of your ignorance.