Smoked salmon | Champagne, Calif. sparkling wine, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc |
Grilled fish | Sauvignon Blanca, Pinot Blanc, Loire Valley whites, Riesling, champagne |
Pork | Pinot Noir, red Burgundy, Chianti, Dolcetto |
Lamb | Cabernet, Merlot, red Bordeaux red Rhinos, Barolo, Rioja Reservas |
Roast chicken | Pinot Noir, red Burgundy, Chianti, Zinfandel, Spanish reds |
Steak | Cabernet, Merlot, red Bordeaux, red Rhones, Chilean |
Salads | Sauvignon Blanc, Loire Valley whites |
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On Tasting Wine
"There are no standards of taste in wine, cigars, poetry, prose, etc. Each man's own taste is the standard, and a majority vote cannot decide for him or in any slightest degree affect the supremacy of his own standard." -Mark Twain, 1895
The following are the necessary steps for tasting wine. You may wish to follow them with a glass of wine in hand. Wine tasting can be broken down into five basic steps: Color, Swirl, Smell, Taste, and Savor.
Color
The best way to get an idea of the color of the wine is to get a white background and hold the glass of wine in front of it. The range of colors that you may see depends, of course, on whether you're tasting a white or red wine. Here are the colors for both, beginning with the youngest wine and moving to an older wine:
WHITE WINE : pale yellow-green, straw yellow, yellow-gold, old gold, yellow-brown, maderized, brown
RED WINE: purple, ruby, red, red brick, red-brown, brown
Color tells you a lot about the wine. There three main reasons why a wine may have more color:
It's older
Different grape varieties give different color. (For example, Chardonnay usually gives off a deeper color than does Riesling.)
The wine was aged in wood.
Swirl
Why do we swirl wine? To allow oxygen to get into the wine: Swirling releases the esters, ethers, and aldehydes that combine with oxygen to yield the bouquet of the wine. In other words, swirling aerates the wine and gives you a better smell.
Smell
This is the most important part of wine tasting. You can only perceive four tastes-sweet, sour, bitter, and salt-but the average person can smell over 2,000 different scents, and wine has over 200 of its own. Now that you've swirled the wine and released the bouquet, you should smell the wine at least three times. You will find that the third smell will give you more information than the first smell did. What does the wine smell like? What type of nose does it have? Smell is a very important step in the tasting process and most people simply don't spend enough time on it.
Pinpointing the nose of the wine helps you to identify certain characteristics. The best way to learn what your own preferences are for styles of wine is to "memorize" the smell of the individual grape varieties. For white, just try to memorize the three major grape varieties: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling. Keep smelling them, and smelling them, and smelling them until you can identify the differences, one from the other. For the reds it's a little more difficult, but you still can take three major grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Taste
To many people, tasting wine means taking a sip and swallowing immediately. This isn't tasting. Tasting is something you do with your taste buds. You have taste buds all over your mouth-on both sides of the tongue, underneath, on the tip, and extending to the back of your throat. If you do what many people do, you take a gulp of wine and bypass all of those important taste buds.
What should you think about when tasting wine?
Be aware of the most important sensations of taste and where they occur on your tongue and in your mouth. One can only perceive four tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, and salt (but there's no salt in wine, so we're down to three). Bitterness in wine is usually created by high alcohol and high tannin. Sweetness only occurs in wines that have some residual sugar left over after fermentation. Sour (sometimes called "tart") indicates the acidity in wine.
Sweetness-Found on the tip of the tongue. If there's any sweetness in a wine whatsoever, you'll get it right away.
Fruit and Varietals Characteristics-Found in the middle of the tongue.
Acidity-Found at the sides of the tongue, the cheek area, and the back of the throat. White wines and some lighter-style red wines usually contain a higher degree of acidity.
Tannin-The sensation of tannin begins in the middle of the tongue.
Tannin frequently exists in red wines or wood-aged white wines. When the wines are too young, tannin dries the palate to excess. If there's a lot of tannin in the wine, the tannin can actually coat your whole mouth, blocking the fruit. Remember, tannin is not a taste. It is a tactile sensation.
Aftertaste-The overall taste and balance of the components of the wine that lingers in our mouth. How long does the balance last? Usually a sign of a high-quality wine is a long, pleasing aftertaste. The taste of many of the great wines lasts anywhere from one minute to three minutes, with all their components in harmony.
Savor
After you've had a chance to taste the wine, sit back for a few moments and savor it. Think about what you just experienced, and ask yourself the following questions to help focus your impressions. Was the wine:
Light, medium, or full-bodied? For a white wine: How was the acidity? Very little, just right, or too much? For a red wine: Is the tannin in the wine too strong or astringent? Is it pleasing? Or is it missing? What is the strongest component (residual sugar, fruit, acid, tannin)?
How do you know if a wine is good or not?
The definition of a good wine is one that you enjoy. Do not let others dictate taste to you!
The following are the necessary steps for tasting wine. You may wish to follow them with a glass of wine in hand. Wine tasting can be broken down into five basic steps: Color, Swirl, Smell, Taste, and Savor.
Color
The best way to get an idea of the color of the wine is to get a white background and hold the glass of wine in front of it. The range of colors that you may see depends, of course, on whether you're tasting a white or red wine. Here are the colors for both, beginning with the youngest wine and moving to an older wine:
WHITE WINE : pale yellow-green, straw yellow, yellow-gold, old gold, yellow-brown, maderized, brown
RED WINE: purple, ruby, red, red brick, red-brown, brown
Color tells you a lot about the wine. There three main reasons why a wine may have more color:
It's older
Different grape varieties give different color. (For example, Chardonnay usually gives off a deeper color than does Riesling.)
The wine was aged in wood.
Swirl
Why do we swirl wine? To allow oxygen to get into the wine: Swirling releases the esters, ethers, and aldehydes that combine with oxygen to yield the bouquet of the wine. In other words, swirling aerates the wine and gives you a better smell.
Smell
This is the most important part of wine tasting. You can only perceive four tastes-sweet, sour, bitter, and salt-but the average person can smell over 2,000 different scents, and wine has over 200 of its own. Now that you've swirled the wine and released the bouquet, you should smell the wine at least three times. You will find that the third smell will give you more information than the first smell did. What does the wine smell like? What type of nose does it have? Smell is a very important step in the tasting process and most people simply don't spend enough time on it.
Pinpointing the nose of the wine helps you to identify certain characteristics. The best way to learn what your own preferences are for styles of wine is to "memorize" the smell of the individual grape varieties. For white, just try to memorize the three major grape varieties: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling. Keep smelling them, and smelling them, and smelling them until you can identify the differences, one from the other. For the reds it's a little more difficult, but you still can take three major grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Taste
To many people, tasting wine means taking a sip and swallowing immediately. This isn't tasting. Tasting is something you do with your taste buds. You have taste buds all over your mouth-on both sides of the tongue, underneath, on the tip, and extending to the back of your throat. If you do what many people do, you take a gulp of wine and bypass all of those important taste buds.
What should you think about when tasting wine?
Be aware of the most important sensations of taste and where they occur on your tongue and in your mouth. One can only perceive four tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, and salt (but there's no salt in wine, so we're down to three). Bitterness in wine is usually created by high alcohol and high tannin. Sweetness only occurs in wines that have some residual sugar left over after fermentation. Sour (sometimes called "tart") indicates the acidity in wine.
Sweetness-Found on the tip of the tongue. If there's any sweetness in a wine whatsoever, you'll get it right away.
Fruit and Varietals Characteristics-Found in the middle of the tongue.
Acidity-Found at the sides of the tongue, the cheek area, and the back of the throat. White wines and some lighter-style red wines usually contain a higher degree of acidity.
Tannin-The sensation of tannin begins in the middle of the tongue.
Tannin frequently exists in red wines or wood-aged white wines. When the wines are too young, tannin dries the palate to excess. If there's a lot of tannin in the wine, the tannin can actually coat your whole mouth, blocking the fruit. Remember, tannin is not a taste. It is a tactile sensation.
Aftertaste-The overall taste and balance of the components of the wine that lingers in our mouth. How long does the balance last? Usually a sign of a high-quality wine is a long, pleasing aftertaste. The taste of many of the great wines lasts anywhere from one minute to three minutes, with all their components in harmony.
Savor
After you've had a chance to taste the wine, sit back for a few moments and savor it. Think about what you just experienced, and ask yourself the following questions to help focus your impressions. Was the wine:
Light, medium, or full-bodied? For a white wine: How was the acidity? Very little, just right, or too much? For a red wine: Is the tannin in the wine too strong or astringent? Is it pleasing? Or is it missing? What is the strongest component (residual sugar, fruit, acid, tannin)?
How do you know if a wine is good or not?
The definition of a good wine is one that you enjoy. Do not let others dictate taste to you!
How to Serve Wines
The proper etiquette of wine serving and drinking should be one of complete informality and ease. It does not require long planning and great care of execution, except, of course, in the case of great and old wines. Some general rules to follow would be:
Serving temperatures:
(a) Red table wines should be left standing in the dining room approximately 24 hours before the meal for allowing any sediment to settle, and then brought to room temperature.
(b) White and Rose wines are served slightly chilled (around 50'F.), and one hour on the shelf of a refrigerator will bring them to the right temperature.
(c) Champagnes and other sparkling wines take longer to chill and should be left in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Uncorking:
(a) Red wine is improved if the bottle is uncorked about one hour before the meal. Wine is a living body. It is dormant in the bottle, and, as soon as the bottle is uncorked, the wine is "awakened" and starts "breathing." It absorbs oxygen from the air, and this oxidation activates the development of the "bouquet" and the aroma. One hour or so of "breathing" gives depth and smoothness to red wine.
(b) White and Rose wines have a very delicate fragrance which would lose its freshness if it were exposed to air for too long a time. Therefore, the bottles are opened just before serving.
All experts agree that one type of wine glass is perfect for all wines, including Champagne. The perfect glass is long stemmed and tulip-shaped, with a bowl the size of an orange. It is clear and thin, without heavy ornamentation. As a matter of fact, any large glass or goblet is better than the small, so-called "wine glass" that is in use in many homes and restaurants. Serving wine in a water goblet is a good idea when no regular wine glass is available.
Serving:
Wine is poured as soon as food is brought to the table. It is the host, rather than the hostess, who serves the wine and sees to it that glasses are replenished all during the meal. The glasses are never filled. They are served only half-full.
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The term Fine Dining brings to mind all kinds of images, from crisp white table cloths to waiters in tuxedos. Fine dining, just as the name suggests, offers patrons the finest in food, service and atmosphere. It is also the highest priced type of restaurant you can operate. While you may bring in mucho bucks with a fine dining restaurant you will also pay out more money than if you were running a more casual restaurant, such as a diner or café.
There are three main areas of focus with a fine dining restaurant: the menu, service and atmosphere.
Fine Dining Menu
Many people choose fine dining restaurants for a special occasion, so the food must not disappoint- in either selection or quality. You don’t need to feature a huge menu, but it should be interesting, offering unique items that patrons wouldn’t find at any other restaurant. Many fine dining restaurants offer prix fixe menus or limited menus that change on a daily or weekly basis. A great benefit of a smaller, rotating menu allows you to buy seasonal items when they are at their peak of freshness. Your chef can also exercise his or her creativity when designing dishes.
Fine dining wine and liquor selections should be on the high end. No Allen’s Coffee Brandy or Bud Light needed. Instead, you should carry top shelf liquors and a wide selection of cognacs, brandies and other after-dinner drinks. Your wine list should compliment your menu. Each wine should be paired with individual dishes.
Fine Dining Customer Service
Customer service in a fine dining restaurant is much more attentative than in casual dining establishments. Fine dining service goes far beyond taking an order and delivering food. Many fine dining services include:
• Escorting patrons to the table, holding the chair for women
• Escorting patrons to the restrooms
• Crumbing the table in between courses
• Replacing linen napkins if a patron leaves the table
• Explaining menu items without notes
• Serving food directly on the plate at the table
All of the details that are expected of a fine dining server require that your staff be rigorously trained. They should be able to answer any and all questions customers may have about a menu or item or wine. They should also be ready to make menu recommendations, if asked. No detail is ever too small to pay attention to in fine dining.
Fine Dining Atmosphere
Fine dining used to be synonymous with snooty French waiters and restaurants with names like “Le Fancy-Smancy” (or something of that ilk). Today fine dining can be in any type of setting and feature a wide variety of cuisine, from ethnic to organic, local fare. Standards you should always include in fine dining are fine china, glassware and flatware (absolutely no paper, plastic, or Styrofoam). While tablecloths are hard to escape in fine dining, the rest of the atmosphere is up to you. You can take the traditional route, with silver candelabras and rose centerpieces, or go for hip and trendy with a bold color scheme and modern furnishings. Music playing subtly in the background should reflect your theme, such as classical for a traditional fine dining restaurant or jazz tunes for something modern. Lighting should also be subtle, leaning toward dim (romantic).
Fine dining requires a lot of attention to detail, but it can pay off in the end when you have reservations months in advance, waiting to eat at your restaurant.
The Formal Place Setting
There is general agreement among etiquette experts and writers of etiquette manuals that far too many people are not sure they can choose the proper flatware for the appropriate course of the meal. As all published text tells you, use the outermost flatware as necessary, one set for each course, and you will not make a mistake unless the table has been improperly set to start with.
For a formal place setting, you will receive exactly the flatware you will need, arranged in the correct order. Good etiquette requires you to assume that the host has correctly designated each piece of flatware to its task. As each course is finished, the corresponding flatware (used and unused) will be removed with the dish, leaving you ready for the next course to arrive. If the meal is to have more than three or four courses, common sense and aesthetics tell you not to place a slew of forks and knives at the sides of the charger/service plate, so on these occasions the proper new flatware will be brought to you with each course after all of the original settings have been used.
A service plate, also known as a charger plate is never eaten from. It will either be removed when the first course is brought, or the different courses will be set on top of it. A set table may contain any or all of the flatware below.
Oyster Fork
There is a small fork provided for eating oysters. It will be to your right. They say every rule has an exception and this is the one exception to the rule of placing forks to the left of the plate.
Soup Spoon
The soup spoon will be located to the right of the plate. It is usually the only spoon provided with the initial place setting.
Salad Fork and Knife
The salad fork may have a thicker tine at the left of the fork. For right handed people, which are the majority, this strengthens the fork for use in cutting large greens without having to use the salad knife.
Fish Fork and Knife
Both a special fork and a knife should be provided for fish. In the old days, the fish knife often had a silver blade, because fish, which is often served with lemon, reacts with the steel in old knife blades, causing an unpleasant taste. The invention of stainless steel in the 1920s took care of this problem. The fish fork is usually shorter than the meat fork.
Meat Fork and Knife
In the western hemisphere, the innermost fork and knife are provided for the meat course of the meal. In some countries where they eat the salad after the main course, the innermost fork and knife are for the salad and are always smaller than the meat fork and knife.
Dessert Spoon and Fork
The dessert spoon and/or fork may be set when you arrive, or may be brought in with the dessert. If they are part of the initial place setting, they would be placed horizontally north of the plate, parallel to each other, with the fork closest to the plate and the tines of the fork pointing right. The bowl of the spoon should point to the left.
Teaspoon
When coffee and tea are served, a teaspoon will be provided and it is brought in on the saucer next to the cup.
Butter Knife
If a bread plate is provided, as in the photo to the left, a butter knife will also be provided. Remember this is only for the butter as bread is never cut with that or any knife, but simply ripped apart.
Chopsticks
In today's eclectic cuisine, your dinner may include one or several oriental courses. If so, chopsticks may be provided for your convenience, such as with nigiri sushi or rolls. Chopsticks may be used for more than one course.
Foods That Are Proper To Eat With Your Fingers
Artichoke
The artichoke is actually the leaf-enclosed flower bud of a plant that is in the thistle family. It is usually served steamed with a dipping sauce. To eat it, pull a leaf off, dip it, scrape the flesh from the base of the leaf with your top teeth, and discard the leaf on the plate provided for that purpose. You may encounter a special plate made with a central niche for the artichoke, a niche for a small bowl of sauce, and a sort of moat all around on which the leaves are to be discarded. Continue eating the leaves until the prickly "choke" is revealed. This is the point when it is clear you have a species of thistle in front of you. Switch to fork and knife, first to remove the choke, then to eat the heart and base.
Asparagus
Asparagus
Asparagus may be eaten with the fingers as long as it is not covered with sauce or otherwise prepared so it is too mushy to pick up easily. Of course, it is also just fine to use a fork and knife to eat asparagus, even when it is perfectly al dente and sauce-free. But you might appreciate getting to act like a rebel without breaking any rules.
Bacon
Bacon
When bacon is cooked until it is very crisp, and there is no danger of getting the fingers wet with grease, it is okay to pick it up to eat it. This is an instance of practicality winning out over decorum, since trying to cut a crisp piece of bacon usually results in crushing it into shards that are quite difficult to round up onto a fork.
Bread
Bread
Bread must always be broken, never cut with a knife. Tear off a piece that is no bigger than a couple of bites worth and eat that before tearing off another. If butter is provided, and at formal events it customarily is not, butter the small piece just before eating it. There is an exception to this rule: if you are served a hot roll, it is permissible to tear, never cut, the whole roll lengthwise down the middle and place a pat of butter inside to melt.
Cookies
Cookies
It is never necessary to try to eat the cookie that comes as a garnish to your dessert with a spoon. Unless it has fallen so far into the chocolate sauce that there isn't a clean corner by which to pick it up.
Corn on the Cob
Corn on the Cob
It is unlikely that it will be served at a formal event, but if you encounter corn on the cob, it may be picked up and eaten. The approved method of doing so is to butter one or two rows at a time and to eat across the cob cleanly.
Chips, French Fries, Fried Chicken, and Hamburgers
Chips, French Fries, Fried Chicken, and Hamburgers
All these items, which could also probably be classified as "fast foods", simply will not be served in a formal setting. Most are intended to be eaten with the hands, although a particularly messy hamburger could be approached with fork and knife, and steak fries, the thick-cut, less crispy variety, may be best eaten with a fork.
Hors d'Oeuvre, Canapés, Crudités
Hors d'Oeuvre, Canapés, Crudités
Almost everything that is served at a cocktail party or during a pre-meal cocktail hour is intended to be eaten with the fingers. Some of these foods make appearances at regular meals as well, although not often at very formal ones. When they do, it is still permissible to use the fingers to eat them. This includes olives, pickles, nuts, deviled eggs, and chips.
Sandwiches
Sandwiches
The straightforward sandwich, that is, any sandwich that is not open-faced, not too tall to fit in the mouth, not saturated with dripping sauces or loaded with mushy fillings, is intended to be picked up and eaten. Otherwise use fork and knife.
Small Fruits and Berries on the Stem
If you are served strawberries with the hulls on, cherries with stems, or grapes in bunches, then it is okay to eat them with your fingers. Otherwise, as with all berries, the utensil of choice is a spoon. In the case of grapes, you may encounter a special scissors, to be used to cut off a small cluster from the bunch. If not, tear a portion from the whole, rather than plucking off single grapes, which leaves a cluster of unattractive bare stems on the serving platter.
Small Fruits and Berries on the Stem
If you are served strawberries with the hulls on, cherries with stems, or grapes in bunches, then it is okay to eat them with your fingers. Otherwise, as with all berries, the utensil of choice is a spoon. In the case of grapes, you may encounter a special scissors, to be used to cut off a small cluster from the bunch. If not, tear a portion from the whole, rather than plucking off single grapes, which leaves a cluster of unattractive bare stems on the serving platter.
Proper Use of a Napkin
Using the napkin at formal occasions, as with much else associated with etiquette, should be a delicate affair. It is meant only to be dabbed at the lips and should not get dirty in the process. It might seem that the napkin is provided precisely so that it can help the diner clean up any mess that might occur during the course of the meal. Of course, this was its original use, (once the tablecloth itself ceased to be used as a napkin), and at an informal occasion such as a barbeque, it still performs this service. The more formal the event, the more ceremonial the presence of the napkin, because the purpose of nearly every aspect of table manners is to preserve cleanliness and proper appearance. If all other elements of the meal are going well, there will be no danger of smudging the linen.
Starting
As soon as you are seated, remove the napkin from your place setting, unfold it, and put it in your lap. At some very formal restaurants, the waiter may do this for the diners, but it is not inappropriate to place your own napkin in your lap, even when this is the case. If your napkin falls on the floor during a very formal event, do not retrieve it. You should be able to signal a member of the serving staff that you need a fresh one.
Finishing
Finishing
When you leave the table at the end of the meal, place your napkin loosely next to your plate. It should not be crumpled or twisted, which would reveal untidiness or nervousness, respectively; nor should it be folded, which might be seen as an implication that you think your hosts might reuse it without washing. The napkin must also not be left on the chair. There is a European superstition that a diner who leaves the napkin on his chair will never sit at that table again, but other, less supernatural, reasons are often cited for this, such as, it might seem as if you have an inappropriately dirty napkin to hide, or even that you are trying to run off with the table linens.
Proper Use of Knife, Fork, and Spoon
The rules that specify how knife, fork, and spoon must be used have evolved along with the forms of the utensils themselves. In general, these rules are explicitly intended to prevent the utensils from appearing threatening. Consequently, flatware is held delicately, carefully balanced on the prescribed fingers and guided by the fingertips. To hold any utensil in a fist, or to manipulate it in such a way that is pointed at anyone would hint at potential danger, as would even setting it down in an inappropriate way.
How To Hold Eating Utensils
In general use, both spoon and fork are held horizontally by balancing them between the first knuckle of the middle finger and the tip of the index finger while the thumb steadies the handle. The knife is used with the tip of the index finger gently pressing out over the top of the blade to guide as you cut.
American Style (also known as the zig-zag style)
By American custom, which was brought about partly by the late introduction of the fork into the culture, all three utensils are intended for use primarily with the right hand, which is the more capable hand for most people. This leads to some complicated maneuvering when foods, such as meat, require the use of knife and fork to obtain a bite of manageable size. When this is the case, the fork is held in the left hand, turned so that the tines point downward, the better to hold the meat in place while the right hand operates the knife. After a bite-sized piece has been cut, the diner sets the knife down on the plate and transfers the fork to the right hand, so that it can be used to carry the newly cut morsel to the mouth. Emily Post calls this the "zig-zag" style.
Proper Use of Knife, Fork, and Spoon
The European, or "Continental," style of using knife and fork is somewhat more efficient, and its practice is also slightly used in the United States, where left-handed children are no longer forced to learn to wield a fork with their right hands. According to this method, the fork is held continuously in the left hand and used for eating. When food must be cut, the fork is used exactly as in the American style, except that once the bite has been separated from the whole, it is conveyed directly to the mouth on the downward-facing fork.
Regardless of which style is used to operate fork and knife, it is important never to cut more than one or two bites at one time.
Proper Use of Knife, Fork, and Spoon
Another significant difference between the American and the European styles of using knife and fork is the American insistence that even the most awkward foods (peas being a great example) must be captured by the unaided fork. In Europe it is permitted to use the knife or a small piece of bread to ease an item onto the fork.
Used Flatware
Proper Use of Knife, Fork, and Spoon
The European, or "Continental," style of using knife and fork is somewhat more efficient, and its practice is also slightly used in the United States, where left-handed children are no longer forced to learn to wield a fork with their right hands. According to this method, the fork is held continuously in the left hand and used for eating. When food must be cut, the fork is used exactly as in the American style, except that once the bite has been separated from the whole, it is conveyed directly to the mouth on the downward-facing fork.
Regardless of which style is used to operate fork and knife, it is important never to cut more than one or two bites at one time.
Proper Use of Knife, Fork, and Spoon
Another significant difference between the American and the European styles of using knife and fork is the American insistence that even the most awkward foods (peas being a great example) must be captured by the unaided fork. In Europe it is permitted to use the knife or a small piece of bread to ease an item onto the fork.
Used Flatware
There are numerous rules and prohibitions regarding the proper placement of flatware once they have been used. Essentially, used flatware must never be allowed to touch the surface of the table, where it might dirty the cloth. It is not proper to allow even the clean handle of a knife or fork to rest on the cloth while the other end lies on the plate. At the end of a course, a utensil must not be left in any dish that is not flat, the soup bowl, for example. All these items are usually presented with a plate underneath the bowl or cup, on which the utensil must be placed after use.
Reading the Placement of Flatware
Reading the Placement of Flatware
The positioning of knife and fork when not in use acts as a sort of semaphore, allowing the diner to indicate the degree to which he intends to pause in eating. Flatware should always be placed on the plate during pauses between bites. If this is to be a very short time, there is no set pattern. For longer waits, perhaps caused by a diverting twist in the table conversation, the diner places the fork on the left and knife on the right, so that they cross over the center of the plate. The diner preparing to pass his plate for a second helping places the fork and knife parallel to each other at the right side of the plate, so that there is room for the food.
When the diner has finished, he signals this by setting the fork and knife parallel to each other, so they lie either horizontally across the center of the plate or are on the diagonal, with the handles pointing to the right. The cutting edge of the knife blade should face toward the diner (again, avoiding all possible aggressive implications), and the fork is best placed with the tines pointing up
When the diner has finished, he signals this by setting the fork and knife parallel to each other, so they lie either horizontally across the center of the plate or are on the diagonal, with the handles pointing to the right. The cutting edge of the knife blade should face toward the diner (again, avoiding all possible aggressive implications), and the fork is best placed with the tines pointing up
Proper Clearing Order
Another misconception exists here. Should plates be cleared as soon as each guest is finished, or should you wait until the last guest in the table has finished that course? The rule is simple. You should wait until all guests have finished with a course before removing the first dish. Just as the ideal of service is to present each course to the entire party at once, it is best to clear the plates at the same time, too.
It has become common for waiters to remove plates as each guest finishes, in violation of this rule of serving etiquette, perhaps because it can be interpreted as extreme attentiveness on the part of the waiter. Nevertheless, the rule holds firm. The most elegant service calls for the removal of all dishes at the end of that course. There is nothing more irritating than to have a plate removed from under you while you are still chewing your food. Not only should you wait, but you should also give some time between courses. Food should not come out as soon as one course is finished. The idea here is to make a nice evening of the affair, and multi-course meals should take hours.
Proper Serving Order
Ever wonder what is the correct order to serve your guests? The following should help you out.
At a formal restaurant or banquet, food should be presented to guests in the following order:
1. Guest of honor
2. Female guests
3. Male guests
4. Hostess
5. Host
After the guest of honor, first the women, then the men, are served in one of two ways:
Dishes can be presented to guests in the order of their seating, starting at the host's right
Dishes may be presented in order of seniority, starting with the most influential and proceeding down to the least prominent guest.
Clearly, using the latter system requires the hosts to furnish information regarding the order of service ahead of time. In restaurants, most groups include neither guest of honor nor hosts, so the meals will simply be served first to the women, then to the men.
Serving Food Properly – An Often Misunderstood Practice
Most people in the US think that all food should be served from the left and removed from the right. This is a misconception and stems from the fact that long ago, all food was served in large trays and each guest was served individually tableside from this large tray. If you still do this, then yes, by all means, your guests should be served from the left. But if you are like most people today and have the plates presented to your guests with the food already on it, nicely displayed and decorated, then it should be served from the right, and it is incorrect to serve it from the left. Below is detail of when to serve from the left and when to serve from the right. From the Left In general, the diner is approached from the left for three purposes and three purposes only: 1. To present platters of food from which the waiter will serve or the diner will help himself. 2. To place side dishes such as vegetables or dinner rolls 3. To clear the side dishes that were placed from the left. The reason most often given for this is that most people are right handed. So, for example, when a waiter must use his right hand to serve from a platter, it is least intrusive if he stands to the left. This way, the platter can be held safely away from the guest as the waiter leans forward to reach his/her plate. And, in the case of placing side dishes, it makes most sense to put them to the side that is less in focus, leaving the right side free for the main dish. From the Right These days it is nearly universal practice, even in very formal circumstances, for food to arrive already arranged on the plate, rather than to be presented on a platter. Preplated food (except for side dishes), as well as empty plates and clean utensils brought in preparation for upcoming courses, are always placed from the guest's right side. At the end of the course, these plates are also cleared from the right. Wine and all other beverages are presented and poured from the right. This is a logical, since glasses are placed above and to the right of the guest's plate, and trying to pour from the left would force the server to reach in front of the guest. |
Japanese Table Manners
Drinking rules
When drinking alcoholic beverages, it is customary to serve each other, rather than pouring your own beverage. Periodically check your friends' cups and refill their drinks if their cups are getting empty. Likewise, if someone wants to serve you more alcohol, you should quickly empty your glass and hold it towards that person.
While it is considered bad manners to become obviously drunk in some formal restaurants, for example in restaurants that serve kaiseki ryori (Japanese haute cuisine), the same is not true for other types of restaurants such as izakaya, as long as you do not bother other guests.
Do not start drinking until everybody at the table is served and the glasses are raised for a drinking salute, which usually is "kampai". Avoid using "chin chin" when drinking a toast, since in Japanese this expression refers to the male genitals.
How to eat...
 | ... Rice:Hold the rice bowl in one hand and the chopsticks in the other. Lift the bowl towards your mouth while eating. Do not pour soya sauce over white, cooked rice. |
 | ... Sushi:Pour some soya sauce into the small dish provided. It is considered bad manners to waste soya sauce, so try not to pour more sauce than you will use. You do not need to add wasabi into the soya sauce, because the sushipieces may already contain it, or may be eaten plain. However, if you choose to add wasabi, use only a small amount so as not to offend the sushi chef. If you do not like wasabi, you can request that none is added into your sushi. In general, you are supposed to eat a sushi piece in one bite. Attempts to separate a piece into two generally end in the destruction of the beautifully prepared sushi. Hands or chopsticks can be used to eat sushi. In case of nigiri-zushi, dip the piece into the soya sauce upside-down so that the fish enters the sauce. A few kinds of nigiri-zushi, for example, marinated pieces, should not be dipped into soya sauce.In case of gunkan-zushi, pour a small amount of soya sauce over the sushi piece rather than dipping it into the sauce. |
 | ... Sashimi:Pour some soya sauce into the small dish provided. Put some wasabi on the sashimi piece, but be careful not to use too much as this will overpower the taste of the fish. Dip the sashimi pieces into the soya sauce. Some types of sashimi are enjoyed with ground ginger rather than wasabi. |
 | ... Miso Soup:Drink the soup out of the bowl as if it were a cup, and fish out the solid food pieces with your chopsticks. |
 | ... Noodles:Using your chopsticks lead the noodles into your mouth. You may want to try to copy the slurping sound of people around you if you are dining in a noodle shop. Rather than being bad manners as Westerners are often taught, slurping noodles is considered evidence of enjoying the meal.In case of noodle soups, be careful of splashing the noodles back into the liquid. If a ceramic spoon is provided, use it to drink the soup, otherwise, lift the bowl to your mouth as if it were a cup. |
 | ... Kare Raisu: (and other dishes in which the rice is mixed with a sauce)Kare Raisu (Japanese style curry rice) and other rice dishes, in which the rice is mixed with a sauce (for example, some domburi dishes) may become difficult to eat with chopsticks. Large spoons are often provided for these dishes. |
 | ... Big pieces of food: (e.g. prawn tempura, tofu)Separate into bite sized pieces with your chopsticks (this takes some exercise), or just bite off a piece and put the rest back onto your plate. |
Japanese Table Manners
Tables and sitting
In Japan, some restaurants and private homes have low tables and cushions on the floor, rather than Western style chairs and tables. These are usually found on tatami floors. Please visit our information page about sitting techniques and rules for more information.
Itadakimasu and Gochisosama
In Japan, you say "itadakimasu" ("I gratefully receive") before eating, and "gochisosama (deshita)" ("Thank you for the meal") after finishing the meal.
Individual versus shared dishes
It is not uncommon in private households and in certain restaurants (e.g. izakaya) to share several dishes of food at the table rather than serving each person an individual dish. When eating from shared dishes, move some food from the shared plates onto your own with the opposite end of your chopsticksor with serving chopsticks that may be provided for that purpose.
Chopsticks
The proper usage of chopsticks is the most fundamental element of Japanese table manners, and therefore, we have assigned them a separate information page.
Some Table Rules
- Blowing your nose in public, and especially at the table, is considered bad manners.
- It is considered good manners to empty your dishes to the last grain of rice.
- Talking about toilet related and similarly unappetizing topics during or before a meal is not appreciated by most people.
- Unlike in some other parts of East Asia, it is considered bad manner to burp.
- After eating, try to move all your dishes back to the same position they were at the start of the meal. This includes replacing the lids on dishes and putting your chopsticks on the chopstick holder or back into their paper slip.
Table Manners
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Sit up fairly straight. Keep your elbows in. Spread your napkin on your lap when you are seated.
Large dinner napkins are half-folded, small napkins opened full-size.
At the end of the meal, leave the napkin semi-folded at the left side of the place.
Wait until all are served before beginning to eat.
Use the silverware farthest from your plate first.
Pass to the right.
Only cut one or two small pieces of meat at a time.
Eat in small bites and slowly.
Place used silver on the dish to which it belongs. Replace your chair after the meal.
Removing Things From your mouth - The general rule for removing food from your mouth is that it should go out the same way it went in. Therefore, olive pits can be delicately dropped onto an open palm before putting them onto your plate, and a piece of bone discovered in a bite of chicken should be returned to the plate by way of the fork. Fish is an exception to the rule. It is fine to remove the tiny bones with your fingers, since they would be difficult to drop from your mouth onto the fork. If you need to spit out a fatty piece of meat, spit it into your napkin, so that you can keep it out of sight.
Accidents
Don't clean up spills with your own napkin and don't touch items that have dropped on the floor. You can use your napkin to protect yourself from spills. Then, simply and politely ask your server to clean up and to bring you a replacement for the soiled napkin or dirty utensil.
If the item you drop is obstructing a walkway, you can brush it out of the way with your foot until the server can remove it. The basic reasoning behind the hands off rule is that a spill shouldn't disrupt the meal for too long, and while you are eating you shouldn't be cleaning things that will make your hands dirty.
If the item you drop is obstructing a walkway, you can brush it out of the way with your foot until the server can remove it. The basic reasoning behind the hands off rule is that a spill shouldn't disrupt the meal for too long, and while you are eating you shouldn't be cleaning things that will make your hands dirty.
Specific Food Tips
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Chicken is eaten with a fork and knife
Clams and oysters in the half shell - hold the shell with the left hand and lift the clam out using your oyster fork.
Crab, shrimp and lobster cocktails are eaten with a cocktail fork.
Fried Fantail Shrimp are picked up by the tail and eaten with the fingers.
Crab/lobster claws are cracked with a nutcracker, broken with the fingers and the meat taken out with an oyster fork.
Butter is placed on a baked potato with a fork, not with a knife.
Baked Potatoes: Don"t take the insides out and put the skin aside (or take the foil off). Eat it by scooping out the insides bite by bite.
Soup - Dip the spoon into the soup, moving it away from the body, until it is about two-thirds full, then sip the liquid (without slurping) from the side of the spoon (without inserting the whole bowl of the spoon into the mouth). It is perfectly fine to tilt the bowl slightly -- again away from the body -- to get the last spoonful or two of soup
THE EUROPEAN STYLE
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You can call it the European Style or the Continental Style . This method of using utensils is simply more efficient and less formal. Use common sense; if the occasion calls for a more formal technique use the American Style . According to the European Style , the fork will remain in the left hand and the knife in the right. When food is cut, the fork is used exactly as in the American Style , except that once a portion has been separated from the whole, it is conveyed directly to the mouth on the down-facing fork.
You don't have to put down the knife every time and transfer the fork over to the right hand. As you can see, the European method is more forgiving and allows you to use your knife in more situations. With the European technique, it is also permitted to use a little piece of bread to ease a stubborn item onto the fork. Here's a quick tip; whether you use the American Style or European Style , it's important to never cut more than one or two bites at a time
THE NORTH AMERICAN STYLE
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Normally, a utensil should be used with the same hand that you use to write. If you are right-handed, place the fork in your right hand. You should be able to eat and cut your food with the fork only (assuming you are at a fine restaurant where portions are usually small and the texture is soft). It might be very difficult to cut some types of foods, such as a big steak, so use your judgment when it comes to using a knife. This can lead to heavy maneuvering when foods, such as meats, require the use of both a knife and fork to obtain a bite of a manageable size. Simply take the fork in your left hand and turn the tines so that they point downwards. This will allow you to better hold the meat in place while the right hand operates the knife.
Once a bite-sized piece has been cut, set the knife down on the plate and transfer the fork to the right hand. Pick up the freshly cut piece of meat and carry it to your mouth. Indulge . Remember this method is strict; you cannot even use the knife for hard to mount foods such as peas, and the fork must pick up everything on its own. As you can see, this style is slightly difficult to master
HOW TO HOLD UTENSILS
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Before we begin, remember that these tips are for general use; more sophisticated techniques can be acquired, with time and experience. First, it is important to hold the spoon and fork horizontally by balancing them between the first knuckle of the middle finger and the tip of the index finger while the thumb steadies the handle. The knife on the other hand is used with the tip of the index finger leaning on the blade of the knife.
Do not apply too much pressure; simply use it as leverage and guidance, as you cut your food. Pretty simple up to now, just remember to look around if you forget what to do in a particular situation. Just stay calm and enjoy the meal. The following are two styles of using utensils, the Zigzag method (North American Style) and the European Style . I would suggest going with the European Style , it's more effective
USED UTENSIL PLACEMENT
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Again many rules could be applied on the proper placement of utensils once in use. In order to simplify these rules, here are the basics. Essentially, used flatware should never touch the surface of the table. You wouldn't want to dirty the tablecloth, or get other material on the utensil. Make sure your fork and knife are well balanced on the plate when pausing for a drink. If the pause should last longer, make sure you place the fork on the left and the knife on the right, so that they crossover the center of the plate.
Be prepared not to leave any utensils in a non-flat dish when the busboy comes around to clear the table. The soup bowl, the shrimp cocktail, or the teacups are all presented with a plate underneath; therefore use them to place the used flatware. For those of you who want a second serving, place the knife and fork on the right side of the plate, so that there is room for the food. Finally, when you are finished, pair up the knife and the fork horizontally or diagonally in the plate. The cutting edge of the blade should be pointing towards you. As for the fork, it can be placed upwards or downwards.
Enjoy your dining experience and remember to always project a confident image, as it is one of the keys to success.
Find out what you can eat with your fingers, and how to pass the salt.
Top 10 Rules for Fine Dining
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10. General Dont’s
Don’t make a fuss. If you don’t like something, leave it.
Don’t blow on hot food to cool it down. Wait for it to cool itself.
Don’t smoke at the table unless invited to by the hostess.
Don’t photograph the table, it looks desperate.
Don’t move your plate after your meal has been served.
Don’t treat the servers badly. It makes you look common.
Don’t eat chicken or chops with your fingers.
Don’t point with your cutlery.
Don’t hold your fork while you drink your wine.
Don’t overstay your welcome
Don’t blow on hot food to cool it down. Wait for it to cool itself.
Don’t smoke at the table unless invited to by the hostess.
Don’t photograph the table, it looks desperate.
Don’t move your plate after your meal has been served.
Don’t treat the servers badly. It makes you look common.
Don’t eat chicken or chops with your fingers.
Don’t point with your cutlery.
Don’t hold your fork while you drink your wine.
Don’t overstay your welcome
Top 10 Rules for Fine Dining
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9. Difficult FoodsSome foods can be difficult to eat. This is how you should do so:Artichokes: using your fingers break of one leaf at a time. Holding the spiny end, dip the base in your dish of melted butter or sauce and suck out the fleshy interior with your teeth. Place the remains on your place. Once you reach the soft centre called the heart, use a knife and fork to eat it as you would a steak.Asparagus: Pick up each stem with your left hand and dip the tip in the butter or sauce. Eat it one bite at a time, never put the whole stalk in your mouth. If you are left with a hard base, you may discard it on your plate. The thick white variety sometimes seen in Europe should always be eaten with a knife and fork, never with your fingers.Cheese: Small round cheese must always be cut in small pie-shaped wedges. Larger cheeses that have already been cut into a large should be cut from the pointy end first (this is called the nose).Escargots: These snails are usually served with a special gripping tool and a small fork. Grip the snail shell with the gripper and use the fork to turn the meat out.Fruit: If a dessert course is served, you will probably have a dessert fork and knife. You should use these on larger pieces of fruit.
Top 10 Rules for Fine Dining
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Unless you know every guest at the table very well, you should not discuss politics, religion, or sex at the table. You should also avoid any controversial subjects that may fall outside of the scope of those three topics. Dinner is meant to be enjoyed, not to be a forum for debate.
You should give equal time to the person sitting on your left and your right. It can be difficult to talk easily with strangers but it is absolutely imperative that you do so that everyone can join in on the conversation. This is such a strict rule that I know of a lady of high standing who was seated next to her greatest enemy. In order to comply with the rule, she simply recited the alphabet to him the whole time. Having said that, I would not recommend this behaviour at all as it implies another kind of rudeness.
Do not yell to the ends of the table. You should speak in low tones but you do not have to act like you are in Church or a Public Library – dinner is meant to be enjoyed and the conversation is a fundamental part of that. If you are not very confident with speaking to others, a good rule of thumb is to ask the person questions about themselves (never personal questions). Everyone loves to speak about himself and this will also make you appear to be a good listener.
Top 10 Rules for Fine Dining
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If you are having bread with your meal there will usually be a small side plate on the left hand side (or above your left left hand cutlery) of your place setting; if so, use it. If not, it is perfectly acceptable to place your bread directly on the table to the left of your plate. You should not put the bread on your plate directly.
Bread should never be cut. When you wish to eat it, tear a bite sized piece off with your fingers. Don’t worry about crumbs if there are no side plates – the servers will sweep each setting between courses if needs be. Normally there should never be butter served at a dinner table, but these days it is seen from time to time. If there is butter, use your butter knife (found either on the bread plate or to the extreme right of your setting) and transfer sufficient butter for your bread in one go. Place it on the side of your side plate. If there is no side plate your hostess should ensure that you have your own individual butter dish. You should butter each piece of bread as you eat it, rather than buttering it all up front.
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