Dining etiquette which fork to use

Regarding the position of the cutlery on the table, to the right you will find the spoons and knives, always starting with the spoon on the far right, a small knife for starters just to the side , and on the left, the traditional table knife in both cases with the edges towards the inside of the table. The same applies with the forks, which will always go to the left of the plate, placed in the order that will be used starting from the outside. Place the water glass and wine glasses to the right of the place setting just above the table knife.

Above the place setting, you have a dessert spoon and fork. Bread and butter plates go to the left with the butter knife placed across the plate. The correct use of cutlery has a trick: always use the utensils on the outside first and working your way inward.

As for the starters, the same thing applies work your way from the outside in. The same goes for the glasses, if you are serving both red and White wine, set glasses right to left in the order used, White wine for the first course and fish dishes on the outside, then for the red wine next. Although in many cases, the cutlery for the dessert is not put on the table until the time comes, protocol places them on the table from the beginning.

The cutlery for dessert is laid on the table above the dinner plate. The language of the cutlery is very interesting and useful when it comes to socializing. Here are a few tips to get it right. For example, when taking a break during lunch or dinner, you should place your fork and knife in the centre of your plate with the tips facing each other forming an inverted V.

When you have finished eating a course, and you are ready for the next one, the correct thing is to place the knife and fork forming the shape of a cross, with the fork facing up and the knife to the left.

If you wish to show your appreciation, you can position the cutlery to the right. This way you will indicating to the staff that the food has been to your liking.

At a very formal dinner party, if there are no name cards at the table, wait until the host indicates where you should sit. The seating will typically be man-woman-man-woman with the women seated to the right of the men.

The dinner guests may join in or be respectfully silent. Most prayers are made by the host before the meal is eaten. Toast: Sometimes a toast is offered instead of a prayer.

Always join in with a toast. If the host stands up during the toast, also stand up. End of Dinner: Serving tea or coffee signifies that the formal part of the evening is over. Guests may now feel free to leave, or linger if the host or hostess encourages them to do so.

Thank You Note: After a formal dinner party, a thank you note should be sent to the hostess. Depending on how well you know your hosts, a telephone call is also acceptable. At a restaurant, be sure to say thank you to your server and bus boy after they have removed any used items. Butter, spreads, or dips should be transferred from the serving dish to your plate before spreading or eating. Pass food from the left to the right. Do not stretch across the table, crossing other guests, to reach food or condiments.

If another diner asks for the salt or pepper, pass both together , even if a table mate asks for only one of them. This is so dinner guests will not have to search for orphaned shakers. Never intercept a pass. Snagging a roll out of the breadbasket or taking a shake of salt when it is en route to someone else is a no-no. Always use serving utensils to serve yourself, not your personal silverware.

Do NOT talk with food in your mouth! This is very rude and distasteful to watch! Wait until you have swallowed the food in your mouth. Always taste your food before seasoning it. Usually the hostess has gone to a lot of work making sure the food served is delicious to her standards.

It is very rude to add salt and pepper before tasting the food. Do not blow on your food to cool it off. If it is too hot to eat, take the hint and wait until it cools.

Always scoop food, using the proper utensil, away from you. Cut only enough food for the next mouthful cut no more than two bites of food at a time. Eat in small bites and slowly. Do eat a little of everything on your plate. If you do not like the food and feel unable to give a compliment, just keep silent. It is acceptable to leave some food on your plate if you are full and have eaten enough. If the food served is not to your liking, it is polite to at least attempt to eat a small amount of it.

It is never acceptable to ask a person why they have not eaten all the food. Even if you have dietary restrictions, it is inappropriate to request food other than that which is being served by the host at a private function. If you have serious dietary restrictions or allergies, let your host know in advance of the dinner.

Never wave or point silverware. Do not hold food on the fork or spoon while talking, nor wave your silverware in the air or point with it.

Try to pace your eating so that you do not finish before others are halfway through. If you are a slow eater, try to speed up a bit on this occasion so you do not hold everyone up.

Never continue to eat long after others have stopped. Unfold your napkin and place it on your lap within 1 minute of sitting at the table to dine. When you are finished with your dinner, place it loosely on the table, not on the plate and never on your chair. Keep elbows off the table. Keep your left hand in your lap unless you are using it. Do not talk with your mouth full. Chew with your mouth closed.

Guests should do their best to mingle and make light conversation with everyone. Do not talk excessively loud. Give others equal opportunities for conversation. Talk about cheerful, pleasant things at the table.

Do not clean up spills with your own napkin and do not 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. Loud eating noises such as slurping and burping are very impolite. The number one sin of dinner table etiquette! Do not blow your nose at the dinner table.

Excuse yourself to visit the restroom. Wash your hands before returning to the dining room. If you cough, cover your mouth with your napkin to stop the spread of germs and muffle the noise. If your cough becomes unmanageable, excuse yourself to visit the restroom. Turn off your cell phone or switch it to silent or vibrate mode before sitting down to eat, and leave it in your pocket or purse. It is impolite to answer a phone during dinner. If you must make or take a call, excuse yourself from the table and step outside of the restaurant.

Do not say that you are going to the restroom. Whenever a woman leaves the table or returns to sit, all men seated with her should stand up. Do not push your dishes away from you or stack them for the waiter when you are finished. Leave plates and glasses where they are. Once used, your utensils, including the handles, must not touch the table again. Always rest forks, knives, and spoons on the side of your plate or in the bowl. When you are finished with a course, place your utensils silverware used on your place in the position.

Never turn a wine glass upside down to decline wine. It is more polite to let the wine be poured and not draw attention. Otherwise, hold your hand over the wine glass to signal that you do not want any wine. Hold your wine glass by the stem, not the rim. Where a different wine is served with each course, it is quite acceptable to not finish each glass of wine poured. Dividing or sharing the restaurant bill with others:. Always assume that if you are dining in a group of more than 6 people 3 couples , that the check is going to be divided evenly among everyone.

When dining with other couples, if you know you are going to ask for a separate check, tell the server before you order so that the process is simplified later. If someone only orders soup and everyone else orders 2 to 3 courses, it is not fair to make them pay the same. If there are a couple people not drinking alcohol while the rest of the group is, separate the beverage total to take this into account and do not overcharge the non-drinkers.

Remember that the amount you tip reflects the total price before any coupons, gift certificates, etc. Just because you get a discount, does not mean that your server did not serve up the full order. If the owner of the restaurant serves you himself, you should still tip him. He will divide the tip among those who work in the kitchen and dining room. Food that is served at a cocktail party or during a pre-meal cocktail hour is intended to be eaten with the fingers.

This includes olives, pickles, nuts, canap, deviled eggs, and chips. It is both proper and polite to pluck the leaves with your fingers, leaving fork and knife aside for now. Pull off a leaf, holding it by the pointed end. Put the other end in your mouth and pull it between your teeth, scraping the length of the leaf the edible portion of the leaves becomes greater as you get closer to the center of the artichoke.

Just before you get to the very center, leaves will become almost white with purple tips. Be careful of these leaves because their purple ends are prickly. When the leaves are pulled, you will be left with the base, the heart, crowned with a fuzzy patch.

You have now reached the best part of all, the very reason for eating artichokes: the heart. Carefully scoop away the fuzzy stuff with your knife or spoon though a properly prepared artichoke will already have the choke removed. With knife and fork, cut bites from the heart like pieces of prime fillet. If you are provided with a dip such as a vinaigrette or mayonnaise, put a small part of the edible portion of the leaf in the dip and scrape with your teeth as directed above.

Do not overdo it on the dip or you will not taste the artichoke. Most etiquette books say that you can eat whole asparagus spears, without a sauce, by picking up with your hand. However, if you do this at a restaurant or dinner party, you will draw strange glances.

Be safe and use your knife and fork to cut and eat them. Only pick asparagus up with your hands if the hostess does. Bacon can be consider finger food if it is dry, crisp, and served whole. If bacon is broken into pieces, served in thick slices, or cooked but still limp, it should be eaten with a knife and fork. The rule is simply that bacon with any fat on it should be eaten with a knife and fork.

Generally, eat berries with a spoon, whether they have cream on them or not. Use your fingers to remove bread from the serving plate. When a bread and butter plate is on the table, use it appropriately. Break slices of bread, rolls and muffins in half or in small pieces never larger than one bite. Butter each bite at a time. Small biscuits do not have to be broken. It is never appropriate to cut a roll with a knife.

When the rolls are served in a basket, take one, and always pass the basket to your right. Place the roll on the break plate, which is located on the left side. Use your own butter knife and the butter on your plate; buttering should be done on the plate or just above it.

Use your butter knife for spreading and not as the butter server. The butter knife remains on the bread and butter plate at the end of the meal. To preserve the full flavor of caviar, scoop it out using mother-of-pearl utensils, and NEVER use a metallic spoon metal oxidizes the eggs , which will create an unwanted and pretty horrid metal bite. If necessary use a wood or plastic spoon. Do not mush caviar up while you are serving yourself or others, lift the spoon carefully.

Caviar should be scooped from the container vertically from top to bottom to avoid crushing the egg. If caviar is passed to you in a bowl or crock with its own spoon, serve a teaspoonful onto your plate. As the following accompaniments are offered, use the individual serving spoon in each to take small amount of minced onion and sieved egg whites and yolks, as well as a few lemon slices and a couple of toast points.

When it comes to using forks and spoons, not everyone is aware of the proper way. The use of spoons and forks has evolved over the years but that does little to alleviate the fear that people have of cutlery! Merely holding forks and knives in the right hand is not enough; it is of utmost importance for you to know what must be used when. The use of fork and spoon differs according to the food that people of different countries eat. For example, people belonging to south Asian countries, African and the Arab nations prefer to consume their food using their hands or with minimalistic usage of cutlery.

Whereas, the others are divided into two ways of dining: The American style and the European continental style of dining. When cutting, hold the fork in your left hand in a pen-like hold, tines facing down. To follow the American style, hold the knife only while cutting, in which the fork tines should be closer to you than the knife.

Make a cut and switch hands, put your knife down at the edge of your plate and transfer your fork from the left hand to your right. Turn it so the tines are facing upward and take a bite. However, the European style of dining is more efficient, let us see how.

To cut the items in your plate, hold the knife in your right hand and the fork in your left hand, the tines facing down. Bend your wrists so that your index fingers are pointing down towards your plate. Then, hold the food down with the fork by applying pressure through the index finger. Now comes the main difference in both styles of eating. Unlike the American style, here you do not transfer your fork to your right hand. You keep the fork in your left hand with the tines still curving downwards and eat.

Spoons are held in your right hand and are used to eat foods like ice-cream, soups, broths, etc. While eating with a spoon, you should not make slurping noises while sipping and always ensure that you sip from the side of the spoon rather than the tip of it.

Also, it is considered bad etiquette to hold the spoon in your fist or to point towards people using a spoon. While you eat rice and other small items using a fork, pick them up in a slight scooping manner rather than stabbing at them. The American style solely depends on the fork which is less efficient , while the European style uses the help of a knife or a piece of bread for scooping the food on the fork. When you are just pausing between eating, place your silverware in a resting position.

In European style: put your fork and knife on the plate in a cross position with your knife below the fork and fork tines facing down. A weekly guide to the biggest developments in health, medicine and wellbeing delivered to your inbox. Thank you for subscribing! Your subscription is confirmed for news related to biggest developments in health, medicine and wellbeing.

Back to Top. Select a City Close.