American dining etiquette culture

Before meals:

No hats should be worn on the table; Ladies' hats are the exception when visiting others during the day. In a formal banquet, men must stand behind their seats and wait until all the ladies are seated before they can sit down.

Before starting to eat, the host should say a thank-you prayer before cooking, which is very common in American families. Guests should join this thank-you prayer, and at least keep quiet while praying to show their respect. If the invited guests have different beliefs, the host's thank-you prayer should not include abstruse religious ceremonies.

generally, after everyone gets the food, everyone starts eating together. You shouldn't start eating before others get the food; You can eat first unless those who haven't got the food please don't wait. The napkin is on the knee. In a formal banquet, the guest has to wait for the host to put his or her napkin on his or her lap before putting his or her napkin on it.

at a formal banquet, food should be delivered to everyone at the table at the same time, but guests can't pick up the tableware until the host picks it up. If you can't eat certain foods, when you are a guest, (if the host is not your relative) you shouldn't ask the host to add another food for you.

Dining etiquette:

In family-style dining, a dish is often handed to everyone, sometimes the host brings the dish to the guests, and a servant will present the dish to the guests with a little attention. If it is passed, you should pass the dish to the next person in the same direction as the other plates. When you get the dish plate handed over, you can take food from it. When taking it, don't take more than the proportion of people at the table, so that everyone at the table can get one. If you don't want to eat the dish handed over, pass it to the next person, but never explain why you don't eat or make any comments. If someone brings you a dish, he will ask you if you need it. You can simply answer "Yes, please give some" or "Thank you, I don't need it".

When serving a diner, the food is served from the diner's left in front of him or her; When the plates are removed, they are taken from the diners' right. But for drinks, they can be presented and withdrawn from either side. When drinking soup, start with a spoon near you and beat the soup away from you. Don't put the whole spoon in your mouth to drink soup, but drink soup beside the spoon. If there is only a little soup left in the soup bowl, you can lift the soup bowl slightly near your side with your hands without a spoon, which will make it easier for you to pour the remaining soup into your spoon.

If it is difficult to fork food with a fork, you can help with a piece of bread or a knife. But never use your hands directly. According to American custom, you don't have to eat all the dishes on the table, and it's not impolite to finish the dishes on your plate in the end. Don't ask others why they don't eat a dish, or why they don't finish it.

don't criticize the dishes on the table, and you shouldn't judge the weight of the dishes. Keep your mouth shut when you eat. Don't make noise while eating, and don't talk when you have food in your mouth; There should be no undue noise when eating. When you need to leave the table, just say "excuse me" or "I'm sorry, I have to leave for a moment". Don't explain in detail why you want to leave, let alone say "I have to go to the toilet".

don't talk loudly, as if the whole table must listen to you; Let others have a chance to speak. Never blow your nose or spit on the dining table. If you have to do this, you have to leave the table first and do it in a secret place. You shouldn't burp, cough, yawn and sneeze at the dinner table. In case you do, apologize to everyone and say "I'm sorry".

when sitting in a dining chair, you should not be listless and pretend to be deaf, nor should you lean back and sit with your chair tilted up. Do not play with food or tableware; You can't talk with the tableware dancing, and you can't point the tableware at people. You can put the part below your elbow on the dining table, but don't put your elbow on the dining table.

You should not use your mobile phone to talk or send and receive short messages at the dinner table, nor should you read books or listen to the walkman. You can read newspapers only at breakfast. If there is something urgent that needs to be called, you must say hello to the whole table first, and then leave the table before answering the phone, so as not to affect everyone by your speech.

if something put in your mouth must be taken out, you must take it out in the same way as you put it in your mouth. Only fishbones can be taken out by hand. Don't ask for more of the same dish until you have finished that one on your own plate. In a formal banquet, men should stand up when a woman enters and leaves the table.