Dietary etiquette, with a long history, is one of the concrete manifestations of social civilization.
Every nation will form a set of its own standardized food etiquette in the long-term practice of food life. China's food etiquette, which has been established from top to bottom for thousands of years, has consistently become a feature of a cultural phenomenon in China. According to literature records, in the Zhou Dynasty, food etiquette has formed a fairly perfect system, especially the praise and admiration of Confucius, who once served as a wine sacrifice in Lu, and has become an important aspect of expressing the appearance of a great country, a state of etiquette and a place of civilization in successive dynasties. As the traditional banquet etiquette of the Han nationality in ancient times, the catering etiquette in the contemporary world is very standardized, especially in formal banquets, which is very orderly and plays an important role. Catering is a common social activity. China is rich in catering culture, and China people are hospitable and pay attention to catering etiquette.
Directory:
First, China ancient dining etiquette second, modern Chinese food etiquette
(A) China catering (banquet) category
(B) Chinese banquet etiquette
1 Choice of dining place 2 Ordering etiquette 3 Chinese wine knowledge 4 Table setting etiquette
(3) Tableware etiquette
(4) Dining etiquette 1. Seating arrangement 2. Serving procedures 3. Special attention to picking vegetables, toasting and drinking soup 4. Etiquette of the host and guest 5. How to speak at the table 6. Table manners.
Chinese food etiquette text: First, China ancient catering etiquette.
The traditional ancient banquet etiquette of the Han nationality has such a set of procedures: the host is invited to meet guests outside the door temporarily. When the guests arrive, they greet each other, introduce them into the living room and offer refreshments. After the guests are seated, the guests are guided to the table, with the left as the top, which is regarded as the chief. There are two seats relative to the first seat, three seats below the first seat and four seats below the second seat. The guests sit down, the host toasts the dishes, and the guests thank each other with gifts. There is also a certain emphasis on serving wine during the dinner: the elders and guests should be respected first, and the host should be the last. After the banquet, guide the guests to sit in the living room and serve tea until they say goodbye. This traditional banquet etiquette remains intact in most parts of China, such as Shandong, Hongkong and Taiwan Province, and it is reflected in many film and television works.
At the same time, in ancient China, there were strict regulations on the consumption of rice and vegetables, which reflected the difference of grades through food etiquette. For example, princes and nobles pay attention to the rank of cattle, the sheep should be millet, the elephant should be straight, the dog should be beam, the goose should be straight, the fish should rise, and all gentlemen should eat and let go. The daily meals of the poor are mainly bean rice and huotang, and what the people eat is mostly bean rice and huotang. There are more than twenty kinds of dishes. Every king's gift, eat 600, eat 6 animals, drink 6 clear, shame 100 has 20 products, treasure 8 things, sauce 100 has 20 jars. This tells us that the diet offered to the king should conform to certain ethics. The Book of Rites and Rites says: Rites are most valuable, the beans of the son of heaven are six out of twenty, the princes are six out of ten, the princes are two out of ten, the doctors are eight, and the doctors are six.
The ritual of eating and drinking for the common people is the ritual of drinking in the countryside. Sixty people have three beans, seventy people have four beans, eighty people have five beans, and ninety people have six beans, so it is also wise to support the elderly. Drinking in the countryside is a ceremony for villagers to gather together to drink at the right time. At this celebration, the elders are the most respected. Rites come from diet, and at the same time strictly restrict dietary activities. Not only pay attention to food specifications, but also there are rules for the placement of dishes. "Book of Rites Quli" says: "Where eating is a gift, the left dish is right, the eater is left, and the soup is right. Outside the stir-frying place, inside the sauce-dredging place, right of the onion slices and right of the wine paste. Those who set aside the customs will be left and right. " [i] This set of rules is also recorded in detail in the Book of Rites.
In the process of eating, there is also a set of red tape. "Book of Rites Quli" contains: * * * Not enough to eat, * * * Don't choose your hands when eating, don't fight for food, don't let go of food, don't stream songs, don't eat, and don't bite your bones. Don't fight fish, don't throw dog bones. No solid gains, no rice, no rice, no soup, no teeth. Guest flocculant soup, the owner can't cook it. The guest apologizes, and the host resigns to the basket. It's better to bite the bullet than to bite the bullet inside. Don't worry about it. If the guest kneels before eating, and the meal is withdrawn to give a photo, the host will say goodbye to the guest and then the guest will sit down. [ii]
Second, modern Chinese food etiquette
(A) China catering (banquet) category
Catering is a common social activity. Chinese banquet refers to a banquet with the traditional national style of China, which abides by the eating habits and etiquette norms of China people.
Banquet activities can be divided into three types in terms of their purpose and nature: one is ceremonial, such as welcoming important guests or political dignitaries for official visits; Banquets held to celebrate major festivals or hold an important ceremony are all etiquette needs, and such banquets should have certain protocol specifications and procedures. The other is friendship, mainly for communicating feelings, expressing friendship and developing friendship, such as welcoming guests, seeing them off, saying goodbye and getting together. Another kind is the nature of work, where the host or participants hold a banquet to solve a certain job so as to discuss the work at the dinner table.
These three situations often complement each other and have both. The purpose, form and nature of the banquet are different, but the basic etiquette followed by the host and guest is the same.
For social gatherings in the form of meals, banquets can be divided into formal banquets and informal banquets. A formal banquet is a grand and formal banquet. It is often a large-scale dinner event that is carefully arranged for banquets, held in high-end hotels or other specific locations, and pays attention to ostentation and extravagance and atmosphere. For the number of people present, dress, seating arrangement, the number of dishes, music performance, guest and host speeches, etc., there are often very strict requirements and attention. Informal banquets, also known as informal banquets, are also suitable for formal interpersonal communication, but they are more common in daily communication. Its form is simple, focusing on interpersonal communication, but not on scale and grade. Generally speaking, it only arranges relevant personnel to attend, does not invite spouses, and often does not make excessive demands on dress, seat arrangement and the number of dishes, and does not arrange music performances and speeches by the guests and the host.
(B) Chinese banquet etiquette
1. Choice of dining place
Eating is the best way to shorten the distance between people, so the restaurant is no longer a simple dining space, and the choice of dining place directly affects the effect of the banquet. Thousands of years of Chinese culture, vast territory and romantic figures of past dynasties have become inexhaustible materials for various restaurants, and the following are common:
(1) takes a specific historical dynasty as the theme.
With a strong historical charm, it shows its historical features in terms of dishes, decorations and services, such as Datang Restaurant and Qing Palace Imperial Restaurant.
(2) Take specific local dishes as the theme.
Many restaurants choose one of many cuisines as the basis for making menus, decorating and providing services, thus forming a restaurant with the theme of local cuisines. Such as Guizhou Xiangge and Jiangsu Zhehui.
(3) Take scenic spots as the theme of restaurant layout.
Highlight the theme of the restaurant through murals, statues and decorations with regional characteristics. This is an excellent choice for people who want to enjoy both delicious food and scenic spots. Such as the Great Wall Hall, Dunhuang Palace, Xihu Xuan and Meilong Town.
(4) Take flowers and plants as the theme
Create an immersive atmosphere for guests with potted plants, woodcuts and murals. Such as Taoyuan, Meiyuan and Furong Building.
(5) Taking history and literature as the theme.
According to the familiar historical materials, it is the best way to narrow the distance between people to adapt or take its homonym, such as the romance of Sichuan.
When choosing a dining place for business banquets, the main consideration is whether it can reduce each other's vigilance and create a stress-free dining atmosphere. Dim the lights and play dim music. The customer's line of sight should be blocked by a screen or a huge green plant, so as to make the guests concentrate and get a favorable decision easily.
Step 2 order etiquette
According to our eating habits, it is better to say "please eat vegetables" than "please eat". Therefore, the arrangement of the menu should not be sloppy. Many people invite guests to dinner and are not familiar with various cuisines, so "misfits" often occurs. At present, the eight most representative cuisines in China are Shandong, Sichuan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan and Huizhou. Some people use anthropomorphic methods to describe their characteristics incisively and vividly: Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine are like beautiful women in the south of the Yangtze River; Shandong and Anhui cuisine is like Gu Zhuo's simple northern strong man; Guangdong and Fujian cuisine are like romantic and elegant sons; Sichuan and Hunan cuisine are like celebrities with rich connotations and talents.
Different dishes also have different cooking methods. For example, stewing is to add soy sauce, sugar and other sauces to the fried, fried or boiled raw materials, boil them with high fire, and then heat them with low fire for a long time. The shape of the product is complete, and it is not broken or cracked. Stew is a kind of dish which is made of a variety of raw materials processed into slices, shreds, strips and dices with strong fire. In addition, there are methods such as baking, boiling, frying, roasting, rolling, exploding, steaming, stewing and simmering. Knowing the basic cooking skills is also helpful to point out the menu that is satisfactory to both the host and the guest.
In general, the menu structure of a standard Chinese meal includes:
Appetizer (appetizer)
Soup (soup)
Main course (big dish)
Noodles or rice
Dim sum (dessert)
The appetizer is usually a big platter composed of four cold dishes. Sometimes there are as many as ten kinds. The most representative ones are cold jellyfish skin and preserved eggs. Sometimes cold dishes are followed by four kinds of hot dishes. Common ones are fried shrimp, fried chicken and so on. However, hot plates are mostly omitted. The main course is immediately after the appetizer, and it is also called a big dish and a big dish, which is more than a proper table. If the menu is marked with "Eight Major Items", it means that * * * has eight main courses. The number of main courses is usually an even number of four, six and eight, because China people think that even numbers are auspicious numbers. At a luxurious dinner, there are sometimes as many as sixteen or thirty-two main courses, but it is usually six to twelve courses. These dishes are made of different materials, with sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty flavors, and with various cooking methods such as frying, steaming, boiling, frying, roasting and frying. The order of its dishes is mostly based on the principle of light and rich taste, or dry-burning and soup mating. It usually ends with soup. Dim sum refers to the dessert served after the main course, such as pie, cake, steamed stuffed bun, almond tofu, etc. Finally, the fruit.
When entertaining guests, you can ask the guests to order, or ask the ladies to order first.
When arranging the menu, we must consider the dietary taboos of the guests, especially the dietary taboos of the guests. For example, religious dietary taboos, "three highs" patients for health reasons taboos, like to eat spicy food and other regional preferences.
Decide the main course first and then mix it with others. The main course represents the taste and the host's "position", that is, the "budget price". Therefore, the host should have his own opinion on what to order for the main course.
The special dishes of the day can be attached to the menu, can also be placed on the table with a vertical menu, and sometimes displayed in the form of advertisements at the door of the restaurant. Special dishes may be varieties with excess raw materials, or seasonal dishes or chefs' specialties. If it is a leftover dish or a seasonal dish, it is usually cheaper and can be selected appropriately.
3. Knowledge of Chinese wine
"Singing to wine, what is life?" China is also an ancient wine-making country, with its bold mind and unspeakable emotions. Our ancestors first discovered by chance that sugary wild fruits would naturally ferment into wine. Since ancient times, there has been a legend of "ape making wine". It is said that apes living in the mountains make wine, and the leftover fruits are piled up together. Due to the action of microorganisms such as yeast attached to the peel, mature fruits naturally ferment, which leads to the original wine, which is called "ape wine".
Wine is a common drink, as the saying goes, no table can be reached without wine. Common can be divided into liquor, yellow wine, beer, health wine several categories:
Liquor is an emotional catalyst for dinner occasions. The eight traditional famous wines in China include Kweichow Moutai, Shanxi Fenjiu, Sichuan Wuliangye, Sichuan Jiannanchun, Anhui Gujing Distillery, Jiangsu Yanghe Daqu, Guizhou Dongjiu and Luzhou Laojiao Tequ.
Yellow rice wine: Shaoxing rice wine, Longyan sink wine, etc.
Beer: draft beer, dry beer and dark beer, etc.
Health medicinal liquor: Shanxi Zhuyeqing, etc.
When pouring beer, you should pour it slowly, then rush it, and finally gently lift the bottle mouth. The foam naturally surges, and the bubbles keep the beer fresh and delicious. Once the foam disappears and the aroma decreases, the bitterness will be aggravated, which will hinder the taste.
Chinese food is often marked by opening a glass of wine at the beginning of the banquet. At the beginning of the banquet, the host raises a glass to all the guests. At this time, whether you can drink or not, you should raise a glass and drink lightly. It represents the host's gratitude and blessing.
When the host stands up to propose a toast, all the guests should also stand up in return, which is the basic etiquette.
When toasting elders or superiors, you should hold cups with both hands and stand up to propose a toast.
Many wine country heroes lift their necks when drinking and pour the whole glass of wine into their throats. Although they are full of heroism, they are very unsightly.
4. Table manners
Chopsticks, spoons, dishes-taking plates, seasoning plates, soup bowls, teacups, wine glasses and so on are placed in front of everyone's seat. Sometimes there are utensils or napkins for placing bones. Chopsticks, use more cylindrical long chopsticks. In the past, chopsticks made of ivory and coral were used as status symbols, but today, plastic chopsticks with imitation teeth are quite common. The reason for using long chopsticks is that it is convenient to hold vegetables. Spoons, mostly made of ceramics. Sometimes, a spoon rack for putting the spoon on is provided. Take the dish, which is a medium-sized dish with a slightly higher edge. Sometimes prepare two. Deep bowl, soup bowl with deep opening.
(2) Tableware etiquette
Compared with western food, a major feature of Chinese food is that the tableware is different. We mainly introduce the use of tableware that often has problems.
1. Chopsticks Chopsticks are the most important tableware in Chinese food. Chopsticks are usually used in pairs. When picking vegetables and eating with chopsticks, we should pay attention to the following "small" problems: First, don't lick whether there is food left on the chopsticks. Isn't it a bit appetizing to pick up vegetables with licked chopsticks? Second, when talking to people, you should put down your chopsticks temporarily, and you can't dance with chopsticks like a baton while talking. Third, don't put chopsticks vertically on food. Because this kind of insertion is only used when paying homage to the dead. The fourth is to strictly enforce the functions of chopsticks. Chopsticks are only used to hold food. It is impolite to use it to pick teeth, scratch or pick up things other than food.
2. Spoon Its main function is to scoop up dishes and food. Sometimes, when eating with chopsticks, you can also use a spoon to assist. Try not to use a spoon to get food. When taking food with a spoon, don't overfill it, so as not to spill it and dirty the dining table or your clothes. After scooping up food, you can "pause" for a moment in the same place, and then move back to enjoy the soup when it won't flow down again.
When you don't use the spoon temporarily, you should put it on your own plate. Don't put it directly on the dining table or let it stand at attention in the food. After taking food with a spoon, eat it immediately or put it on your own plate, and don't put it back. And if the food you take is too hot, you can't scoop it with a spoon or blow it with your mouth. You can put it in your own bowl and wait for it to cool before eating. Don't put a spoon in your mouth, or suck or lick it repeatedly.
Step 3: plates
A smaller plate is a dish, which is mainly used to hold food, and it is similar to a bowl in use. Plates should generally be kept in place on the dining table and should not be piled up together.
What needs to be introduced emphatically is a kind of dish called dishware with special purpose. The main function of the dish is to temporarily put the dishes taken from the public dish plate for enjoyment. When using a dish, don't take too many dishes at a time. It looks messy and like a hungry ghost reborn. Don't stack a variety of dishes together, or they will "taste" each other, which is not good-looking or delicious. Don't spit the residue, bones and thorns you don't eat on the floor and table, but gently take them and put them at the front end of the food plate. When you put them, you can't spit them directly from your mouth on the food plate, but put them next to the plate with chopsticks. If the plates are full, you can ask the waiter to change them.
4. The water cup is mainly used to hold water, soda, fruit juice, cola and other soft drinks. Don't use it to hold wine, and don't invert the glass. In addition, what you drink in your mouth can't be spit back into the glass.
5. Napkin Before eating Chinese food, if you are more particular, you will put a wet towel on each diner. It can only be used to wipe hands. After wiping your hands, you should put them back on the plate and take them away by the waiter. Sometimes, a wet towel will be put on before the formal banquet is over. Different from the former, it can only be used to wipe your mouth, but not your face or sweat.
6. Toothpick Try not to pick your teeth in public. Cover your mouth with your other hand when you have to pick it up. Don't watch it in public or enter again, and don't throw it around or spit it out casually. After picking your teeth, don't hold a toothpick for a long time, let alone use it to get food.