There are a lot of tableware on the table of western food, so you should use specific tableware to eat everything. People in China use western food as an integral part of learning western culture. When you enjoy the elegant dining atmosphere of western food, you should behave properly and have a "ceremony" when eating.
Napkin cloth western-style napkins are generally made of cloth, and the napkin cloth is square and flat, and the color is simple and elegant. Often put on your lap, you can also put it on your chest when you pay attention to etiquette, and you can also put it on the table when you are relaxed. One of the napkin corners is facing your chest and pressed with dishes.
Napkin cloth can be used to wipe your mouth or hands. It should be folded diagonally into a triangle shape, or folded in parallel into a rectangular shape. All stains should be wiped inside, and the appearance should always be neat. When you leave your seat, even if you leave temporarily, you should take off the napkin cloth and fold it into squares or triangles at will and put it on the side of the table or the corner of the table, preferably on your own seat.
Knife, fork, spoon knives, forks and spoons used in western food have their own uses and cannot be replaced or mixed.
Knife: It is used to cut food. Don't stir up food with a knife and send it to your mouth. Remember: hold the knife in your right hand. If there are three kinds of knives with different specifications at the same time when eating, the correct usage is: the one with small serrations is used to cut meat and make food; Medium size is used to cut large pieces of vegetables into small pieces; And that kind of small knife with a round tip and some upturned top is used to cut the bun, and then use it to pick some jam and cream to spread on it.
Fork: Hold the fork in your left hand, and move lightly when you fork the food to your mouth. Pick up a proper amount of food and put it in your mouth at one time. When picking up food in your mouth, your teeth only touch the food. Don't bite the fork, and don't let the knife and fork sound on your teeth or plate.
Spoons: On formal occasions, there are many kinds of spoons, the small ones are used for coffee and dessert; Flat for buttering and sharing cakes; Larger, used to drink soup or hold small food; The biggest one is for sharing soup, which is common in buffets.
Tableware placement: Tableware is placed from outside to inside according to the order of serving. Some dishes will remove some knives and forks after use.
Pay attention to the direction and position of knife and fork. The knife and fork are placed on the saucer in a figure of eight, with the knife edge facing inward and the fork tip facing downward, which means that you will continue to eat; Knife and fork are placed in parallel on the saucer, and the knife edge is outward, and the fork tip is upward, which means you don't eat. The spoon is placed horizontally in the soup plate with the spoon center up, which also means that the soup tableware can be taken away.
Elegant dining: when drinking thick soup, take the spoon horizontally and scoop it gently from the outside to the inside. Don't dig the spoon heavily to the end. The outside of the spoon touches the soup. Touch the inside of the spoon with your lips when drinking, and don't pick up the soup basin to drink. When the soup is about to be finished, gently lift the inside of the soup basin with your left hand on your chest, concentrate the soup on one side of the bottom of the basin, and scoop it out with your right hand. When eating pizza or other cakes, use a knife to cut out a piece just right for one bite, and fork it into the mouth.
When eating bread, take the bread in one hand, tear off a small piece in the other hand and put it in your mouth. Don't bite the whole bread. When eating western food, you should dress neatly, sit upright, keep your back straight and stretch your neck. The most important thing is to keep your hands clean and your nails neatly trimmed.
To taste the western food culture, I suggest that you have time to take a look at the Maxim Restaurant in Chongwenmen. The western restaurant arranged in accordance with the unique French romantic style at the end of19th century is gorgeous and elegant in decoration, with small bands playing classical songs and waiters in tuxedos. This is the tradition of Sim restaurant in Kyle, which allows customers to feast their eyes first (restaurant layout), then their ears (soft music) and then their mouths (delicious French dishes). Scholars who study western food, after long-term discussion and induction, think that eating western food is the most important to pay attention to six "M's".
Six m's for western food.
The first one is "Menu"
When you enter the western restaurant, the waiter will show you to your seat first. When you sit down, the menu will be brought up first. The menu is regarded as the facade of the restaurant, and the boss has always attached importance to it. The cover of the menu is made of the best fabric, and some even use soft sheepskin to make various beautiful patterns. It seems inappropriate to call it a menu here, but it should be called a "menu".
I have a unique trick on how to order good food. No matter how I eat in western restaurants at home and abroad, the food I order is often delicious and cheap, which is often praised by my colleagues. My way is to open the menu and see which dish is named after the hotel. I often take it. I know that the chef will not make fun of his own name, so the food they make with great efforts will definitely be delicious. Please have a point.
When it comes to ordering food, reading the menu reminds me of an incident that happened in Maxim's restaurant nearly 20 years ago. Four young "ten thousand households" farmers walked into this luxurious restaurant. They have money and want to taste a famous French dish. The restaurant manager and waiter were overjoyed, warmly welcomed them to their seats, politely presented recipes and respectfully invited them to order. Unexpectedly, one of them pushed the menu aside and said dismissively, "What do you want? You look at it, what is expensive, we have plenty of money! " Four farmers spent nearly 2,000 yuan to eat a famous French dish, but from time to time, they made a fool of themselves. They didn't know how to use their knives and forks, so their napkins ended up as handkerchiefs ...
Later, the general manager of the French side talked to me about this matter, and I was very touched: "From these four young people, it is exciting to see that China farmers are really rich. But it's hard for us to understand that China friends don't look at the menu when they eat western food. In France, even President De Gaulle and President D 'Estaing have to look at the menu to order western food. There is no question of having money or not, because reading menus and ordering food has become an indispensable procedure for eating western food and a way of life. "
The second is "Music"
Luxury and advanced western restaurants should have bands and play some soft music, and ordinary small western restaurants also play some wonderful music. However, the most important thing here is the "audibility" of the music, that is, the sound should reach the level of "like hearing and inaudible", that is to say, you can't hear it if you concentrate on talking with your friends, but you can hear it if you want to have a rest and relax, and you should master this temperature well.
The third is "Mood" (atmosphere)
Western food pays attention to elegant environment and harmonious atmosphere. There must be music, white tablecloths and flowers, and all tableware must be clean. In case of dinner, the lights should be dim and there should be red candles on the table to create a romantic, charming and elegant atmosphere.
The fourth is "Meeting"
That is to say, you have to choose who to eat western food with, and you must be friends, relatives and people with similar interests. Eating western food is mainly for connecting feelings, and rarely talking about business at the western food table. Therefore, in the western restaurant, there are few red-faced scenes.
The fifth is "Manner" (manners and customs)
Also known as "eating" and "eating", in short, we should follow western customs and don't do anything abrupt, especially when holding a knife and fork, if we dance, we will "lose our manners". When using a knife and fork, you should hold a knife in your right hand and a fork in your left hand. Cut the food into small pieces and send it to your mouth with a knife and fork. Generally speaking, Europeans don't change hands when using knives and forks, and always use the fork in their left hand to send food into their mouths. Americans put down the knife after cutting it, and put the fork in their right hand to send the food into their mouth. But at any time, the knife must not be sent to the entrance. At western banquets, the host will arrange for men and women to sit next to each other, and western gentlemen who pay attention to "ladies first" will show their hospitality to ladies.
The sixth is "Meal" (food)
An American gourmet friend of mine once said: "Japanese people eat with their eyes, and the form of cooking is beautiful. When they eat our western food, they use their noses, so our noses are very big;" Only your great China people know how to eat with their tongues. " Our Chinese food takes "taste" as the core, and western food takes nutrition as the core. As for taste, it can't be compared with Chinese food.