What should I pay attention to when eating western food?

A Complete Book of Western Etiquette

Dining is the most common link in our daily life, and it is also the most common way for social activities, business exchanges and family or friends to get together. Therefore, mastering good table manners can not only reflect personal accomplishment and temperament, but also increase your charm and grace.

Western food may be strange to some people. Actually, eating western food is not as complicated as people think. As long as you master the table manners of western food, you will find that eating western food is also a kind of life interest.

start with napkin cloth

"table manners start from napkin." is a common saying in western food etiquette, which means "table manners start with napkin cloth."

location of napkin cloth

napkin cloth is usually folded and placed on the decorative plate in the middle of the seat, which is a common napkin arrangement at a formal dinner party. Besides, napkin cloth will also be placed on the edge of the plate. Need to remind everyone that if the napkin cloth is not placed in the middle of the plate, it will be on your left, and the napkin cloth on the right belongs to the guest sitting on your right. Be careful not to take the other napkin cloth by mistake. In addition, sometimes the napkin cloth is put in the cup, and your napkin cloth is in the cup on the right.

How to use the napkin cloth

After sitting down, don't rush to open your napkin cloth, because the first person to open the napkin cloth should be the hostess, and her action announces the official start of the dinner.

Many people think that when eating western food, napkin cloth should be hung on the chest to prevent food from staining clothes. In fact, this is not elegant. Napkin cloth hanging on the chest or around the neck is only suitable for children or people who are inconvenient to eat. The average person should spread the napkin cloth flat on his legs when eating, and the larger napkin cloth can be folded in half and spread on his legs.

napkin cloth, also called mouth cloth, is used to wipe your mouth, so don't use it to wipe your face or clean the tableware. If you need to wipe your sweat, you can use a tissue. Some people are used to wiping the dishes before eating. In fact, this is very impolite behavior, so it must be avoided. Some ladies will use napkin cloth to wipe off the lipstick marks left on the tableware, which is actually wrong. Although lipstick is unsightly left on tableware, paper towels should be used when it is necessary to wipe off lipstick marks.

During the meal, before drinking, you need to wipe the oil stains on your mouth with a napkin cloth. Except for wiping your mouth when necessary, your napkin cloth must be kept flat on your legs during the whole meal at the table.

when you need to leave during a meal, you should put the napkin cloth on your chair. This means that you will come back to continue eating before the meal is finished.

after eating, take your napkin cloth from the middle and put it on the table, the specific position is on the left side of your plate. Just put it away at will, don't fold it specially, but be careful not to wrinkle the napkin cloth.

Just like opening the napkin cloth, putting the napkin cloth back on the table is done by the hostess first, which means the dinner is over.

Tips:

Avoid excessive movements when wiping your mouth with a napkin cloth. The correct and elegant way to use it is to gently rub it.

Usage of tableware

There are many tableware in western food. When you sit down, you will find a series of tableware in front of you. If you are not familiar with these tableware, start to understand them now. When you know them and remember where they are placed, it is easy to learn how to use these tableware.

1. Napkin

2. Salad fork

3. Diner fork

4. Charger plate

5. Diner knife

6. Salad knife. Bread-and-butter plate

9. butter Spreader)

1. Dessert spoon)

11. Dessert fork)

12. Water glass)

13. red wine glass. White wine glass

western tableware should be placed with "Liquid on the right, solid on the left", which means "liquid on the right, solid on the left". Therefore, the water cup and wine glass used to hold the liquid are placed in the upper right position of the main tray. Usually, the water glass is placed in front of the knife, and the red wine glass is on the right side of the water glass, and then the white wine glass. The wine glasses are arranged at the upper right of the plate along a diagonal line, which is not only beautiful, but also convenient to use. The solid is on the left, which refers to the plate used to hold bread. After knowing the tableware placed on the left and right, you won't take the wrong glass on the left, and you won't eat the wrong bread for the guests on the right.

Other tableware is basically obviously placed in front of you, so it is not difficult to distinguish it, and it will not be confused with the tableware of the left and right guests.

cutlery such as knives, forks and spoons are placed on the left and right sides of the main dish, and the outermost one on the right side is usually a spoon, which is used when drinking soup. Then there are groups of forks and knives placed on the left and right sides of the main disk, usually each group is a combination of a knife and a fork. But when eating special dishes, the waiter will add some special utensils. After you order, the waiter will put the silverware in front of you in order according to your menu.

The order of using knives, forks and other utensils is not difficult. You just need to remember that the left and right sides are taken from the outside to the inside in order. In western food, soup is the first course, so the spoon is naturally placed in the outermost position. Then there is the salad, with a set of knives and forks slightly smaller than those for the main course (usually meat). Closest to the main dish is the knife and fork used to eat the main course. In front of the main dish, there are sometimes a pair of smaller forks and spoons, which are used for dessert. In addition, sometimes coffee cups will be placed on the right side of the glass on the dining table in advance. However, at a formal dinner, coffee cups are usually not set out first, but served with dessert after the main course. Sometimes dessert wine will be prepared at dinner, which is usually placed on the right side above the wine glass.

How to eat soup

Soup is usually the first course of western food. After all the soups at the same table are served, the hostess takes the spoon and takes the lead in eating soup, and then everyone starts. Don't sip the soup, scoop it from the inside out with a spoon, and then send the soup to your mouth. When you drink to the end, you can lift the soup plate slightly outward to tilt it so as to scoop up the remaining soup.

How to use a knife and fork

Knives and forks are usually used at the same time, with the knife in the right hand and the fork in the left hand. The way to hold a knife and fork is to hold the handle of the knife and fork with your hand, with your thumb pressed against the side of the handle and your index finger pressed against the back of the handle. Pay attention to the fact that the index finger can't extend too long, and the correct posture is that the fingertip just presses the joint between the handle and the blade.

There are two ways to use knives and forks: American and European. American usage is to hold a knife in your right hand and a fork in your left hand. First, cut the food into small pieces, then put the knife on the plate (pay attention to the blade facing inward), then change the fork from your left hand to your right hand, and fork the food that has been cut into small pieces with the fork tip facing up when eating. European-style rules always hold a knife in the right hand and a fork in the left hand, cut a small piece and eat a small piece. When you fork food in European usage, the fork tip should be down. You are free to choose a usage, but now there are more people who adopt European usage, and even in the United States, European usage is becoming more and more popular. No matter which usage is adopted, when you cut food with a knife, you must use it with a fork. Fork pressing on food can fix food.

There are steak knife and fish knife different from ordinary knives. The use of steak knife is the same as that of ordinary dinner knife, but the use of fish knife is slightly different. Because fish doesn't need to be cut, the fish knife is used to peel it off. Therefore, the correct way to hold a fish knife is to hold it with your thumb, forefinger and middle finger, which is the same as holding a pencil.

Every dish in western food is equipped with a special knife and fork. After eating a dish, the knife and fork should be placed side by side on your plate, and their two ends point to the 1: and 4: positions on the clock. Also note that the fork is placed on the inside, the knife is on the outside, and the blade should face inward. If you need to leave the table temporarily when eating, or put down your knife and fork to get something, your knife and fork should be placed on the plate in a figure of eight, which means that you will continue to eat this dish, and you should also pay attention to the fact that the blade should face inward.

Tips:

1. When cutting food, use the knife as close as possible to the fork, which makes it easier to cut.

2. If you find yourself using the wrong fork during the meal, you can continue to eat, and ask the waiter to get you a new fork when the next dish comes up.

manners at dinner

It is not enough to learn how to use tableware at the dinner table. You must also know how to behave yourself more appropriately.

Seating before eating

is the first step of table manners. At a more formal banquet, you should sit on the left side of the chair. First of all, stand on the left side of the seat, take a step forward with your left foot, then take your right foot in front of the chair, and finally take a step to the right with your left foot. Such simple three steps are the most standard seating posture. If your seat is on the far left side against the wall and you can't enter from the left side, you can sit on the right side, and the pace is just the opposite of sitting on the left side.

As a gentleman, he should help the lady on the right to sit down. As a lady, you should generously accept the help of men and express your gratitude.

where to put your handbag after taking a seat is a concern of many people. Larger bags can be placed on the ground; The handbag you carry when attending a formal dinner party should be small, but even if your handbag is very small, you should never put it on the dining table, but should put it between your back and the back of the chair, or put it on your leg, and then the napkin cloth can be covered on the handbag. Need to be reminded that the handbag covered under the napkin cloth must be a very small style, and the medium-sized or large handbag is not suitable for sitting on the leg when eating.

after taking a seat, you should sit upright with your feet on the ground. Men's sitting posture is slightly different from that of women. Women's sitting posture requires that their legs be close together, while men can slightly open their legs, but be careful not to open them too wide, let alone lift their legs.

When you don't start eating, men can lean back lightly, while women should keep a straight sitting position at a formal dinner, and don't fill the whole chair. A lady's arms should be as close to her body as possible, and her hands and fingers should be folded and buckled, which can be placed on the table lightly, but her elbows should never be placed on the table, and her cheeks should not be supported by her hands. If the chair has an armrest, the elbow can be gently placed on it.

When eating

Before the guests are seated, the waiter may have poured the drinking water for the guests. You can drink this water from the time you sit down to the time before the meal begins. However, even if the waiter pours you wine, don't drink it in a hurry. You should wait patiently for the host to propose a toast to announce the start of the banquet. If the host doesn't propose a toast, we should wait for everyone at the same table to pour the wine, say "Cheers" to the person next to you and start drinking. In addition, remember to sip when drinking at the table.

When eating, you need to keep a straight sitting posture. With each bite, lean forward slightly and put the food into your mouth. Don't bend over and tilt your head. At the dinner table, you should not just enjoy the food and lower your head to eat, but communicate with the people next to you. If the people around you don't know each other, you can introduce yourself and talk, but pay attention to talking softly and avoid laughing loudly.

There are still many differences between western food and Chinese food. When eating bread, you should tear off a small piece of bread with your index finger and thumb and put it in your mouth. Don't cut the bread with a knife or fork it. If butter is needed, don't butter the whole piece of bread at once, but butter the torn pieces of bread.

Westerners refer to eating soup as eating soup, which means that you can't suck and drink soup, and try not to make any noise. As mentioned earlier, the direction of scooping soup with a spoon should be to take the soup from the inside out and then send it to the mouth. When eating soup, many people will add a little seasoning according to their own taste, such as salt or pepper, but never sprinkle salt or pepper without tasting the food, which is disrespectful to the hostess or chef. When you want to take these seasonings, you should ask the person closest to them to pass them to you. Don't get up or reach for them far away, and the same is true when taking butter.

avoid making noise when eating. If you can't swallow something in your mouth, you can spit it out, but you should put the fork to your mouth to take it out and put it on your plate. Be careful not to spit things directly from your mouth on the plate or on the napkin cloth.

If you accidentally drop the tableware on the floor during the meal, don't bend down to pick it up. You should signal the waiter to get another one for you, but be careful not to attract attention.

Sometimes before dessert is served, a bowl of lemonade is served, which is used to clean hands and is called "finger bowl". You can put your fingers in the water and gently clean the oil stains on your hands.

The final food of western food is usually dessert, which is the end of a perfect dinner. Dessert cutlery is usually already placed in front of your plate, but sometimes it is sent to the table with dessert. Dessert is usually served with coffee or tea after dinner, but never eat dessert with a fork in one hand and a coffee cup in the other.

Taboos on the dining table

Don't put your elbows on the table or open them too wide when eating.

keep quiet and don't shake your legs or kick your feet.

don't touch your body.

don't put your belongings on the dining table.

don't put on makeup or comb your hair on the dining table.

don't undress at the dining table.

avoid talking or drinking alcohol and beverages when your mouth contains food.

don't yawn at the dinner table.

Try to avoid using toothpicks, and be sure to cover your mouth when using them.

avoid leaving lipstick on the tableware.

During the meal, don't just eat and drink, but talk to friends at the same table.