I. Dining places and matters needing attention
When invited to breakfast, lunch, dinner, buffet, cocktail party or tea party, there are usually only two kinds, one is formal and the other is casual. If you go to an upscale restaurant, men should wear neat tops and leather shoes, and women should wear suits and shoes with heels. If formal clothes are specified, men must wear ties.
Here are some of the most representative occasions and precautions:
1.buffet
Buffet (also a common one at reception) can be breakfast, Chinese food, dinner and even refreshments. There are cold dishes and hot dishes, which are placed on the food table together with tableware for guests to use. It is usually held indoors or in the yard or garden to entertain different numbers of guests. Buffet is the best choice if the venue is too small or there are no service personnel to entertain more guests.
At the beginning of the buffet, you should wait in line to get the food. Before taking food, take a plate for food yourself. We should adhere to the principle of "eat less and run more", don't take too much at a time, you can take more times. After eating, put the tableware in the designated place. It is not allowed to "get more than one bargained for". If you eat a buffet in a restaurant, it is generally priced according to the number of people who eat. Some also stipulate the length of the meal, and it is required that you must finish it. If you don't finish it, you need to "buy" what you haven't finished.
There are two types of buffets, the one that sits and enjoys some services is the most wonderful. It combines an elegant environment with a relaxed atmosphere. Such a party needs certain services, unless it is small enough for the hostess to cope with, and it also needs enough space to accommodate the dining table. The other is that there is no need for a dining table, no service or little service. Guests can entertain themselves and bring their own plates, silverware and napkins to a place where they feel most comfortable, and they can discuss problems at any time.
Buffet, in addition to solving the problems caused by extra services, also solves the problem that the hostess arranges tables. When guests freely choose the place, the order and suitability for satisfaction are not the responsibility of the host. Many kinds of dishes are often provided, so guests have enough choices, and the host doesn't have to worry about whether the menu meets their appetite.
2. Cocktail party
The cocktail party is lively and simple, which is convenient for people to talk. Drinks are the most important hospitality items, and some snacks, such as snacks, bread, sausages, etc., are prepared and placed on tables and coffee tables or served to guests by waiters with trays, so that guests can walk around at will. The holding time is usually from 5 pm to 7 pm. In recent years, cocktail parties are often held before and after various large-scale international events.
On this occasion, it is best to take a napkin in your hand so as to wipe your hands at any time. Hold the cup in your left hand, so that you are ready to extend your right hand to shake hands with others at any time. Don't forget to wipe your mouth and hands with paper towels after eating. Throw the used paper towels to the designated location.
3. Dinner party
Dinner is divided into grand dinner and informal dinner.
Western customs, grand dinners, that is, formal banquets, are basically arranged after 8 pm, and China usually starts from 6 pm to 7 pm. Holding this kind of banquet shows that the host attaches great importance to the theme of the banquet, or for a celebration. Generally, seats should be arranged for formal dinners, and the dress code should be indicated on the invitation. There are speeches or toasts, and sometimes dinner music is arranged, which is played live by a small band.
A casual dinner is a simple form of banquet. This kind of banquet atmosphere is cordial and friendly, suitable for friends and relatives, and some are held at home. Clothing, seats, tableware, layout, etc. need not be too particular, but they are still different from ordinary family dinners.
It is customary in the west to invite couples to attend dinner parties at the same time. If you are invited, read your invitation letter carefully, which will indicate whether you will be accompanied by a person, a husband or wife, or bring a partner. When replying to the invitation, you'd better tell the host their names.
4. Other precautions
One of the characteristics of western food is that there are many tableware: cups, plates, silverware and so on.
Tableware is carefully arranged according to the order of serving different dishes. Put a food plate (or soup plate) at the front of the seat, put a fork in your left hand and a knife in your right hand. The spoon is also placed on the right side of the food plate. Put a spoon, fork and coffee spoon for eating sweets above the food plate, and then put the glass slightly to the right. From the right: grape wine glass, champagne wine glass and beer glass (water glass). Napkins are stacked in beer cups (water cups) or on food plates. Put the bread plate on your left hand, and the butter knife on it is placed horizontally in the plate, with the blade side facing yourself. The number of knives and forks for dinner should be equal to the number of dishes. They should be arranged from the outside to the inside in the order of serving, with the edges inward. When eating, they should be arranged from the outside to the middle in order, followed by appetizers, fish and meat. In a more formal dinner party, napkins are made of cloth. Napkins in high-end restaurants are often beautifully folded, and some are tied with small ribbons. Be careful not to wipe your nose or face with a napkin.
Small bottles of salt and pepper can be placed in front of the middle of each set of tableware, between each set of tableware or even in the center of the dining table, so that one set of small bottles can be used.
After the tableware is all set, don't forget the decorations on the table, such as candle holders or making a small vase with your teapot, which can add a romantic atmosphere.
Don't put hot water in the glass when entertaining guests, which is neither scientific nor safe, because the glass is easy to burn. Therefore, hot water, hot tea, etc. should be put in porcelain cups, which are used to hold ice cubes or cold water.
The way of drinking tea in the west is different from that in China. The method of drinking tea in China is generally to put the tea directly in the cup and drink it with boiling water, while the tea is still in the cup. In the west, tea bags are used or tea leaves are soaked in a teapot first, and then the tea is poured out for drinking, leaving no tea leaves in the teacup.
When sitting, keep your body straight, don't put your elbows on the table, don't cross your legs, and keep a distance from the table to facilitate the use of tableware. Don't fiddle with the tableware set on the dining table. When the hostess picks up the napkin (if there is no hostess, look at the host), it means to start eating. Spread the napkin on your legs. If the napkin is large, fold it in half and put it on your legs to cover the legs above your knees.
At a formal dinner, after the female guests put away their napkins, the men put away their napkins. It is best to open the napkin with both hands and avoid shaking it back and forth. Don't pin napkins on the neckline, belt or shirt neckline. When eating, keep your head at a certain height, not too low and not move your head too much.
During the meal, if you leave your seat temporarily, you can put your napkin on the chair. Never put the napkin on the table, otherwise it means that you don't want to eat any more and ask the waiter to stop serving you.
Many hosts don't want guests to smoke at home. If you want to smoke, you can smoke in a designated place after dessert and with the permission of the host or hostess. Don't sit in the dining seat, let the guests around you enjoy the "fairyland" with you.
2. Western table manners
What must be noted at the dinner table is:
1.Western food ordering and serving order
There are four or five categories on the menu of western food, which are appetizers, soups, salads, seafood, meat, snacks and so on.
The main course should be decided first. If the main course is fish, the appetizer is meat, which is more varied in taste. In addition to eating a large amount, it is not necessary to prepare a whole meal from the single dish on the menu, as long as the appetizer and the main course are together, and a dessert is enough. You can skip the soup or the appetizer, which is also an ideal combination (but in Italian food, spaghetti is regarded as soup, so in principle, these two dishes are not ordered together).
The formal order of serving a full set of meals is:
1) the first dish. The first course of western food is the first course, also known as appetizer. The contents of appetizers are generally divided into cold starter and hot starter, and the common varieties are caviar, foie gras, smoked salmon, chicken tail cup, cream chicken crisp box, baked snail and so on. Because appetizers are appetizers, appetizers generally have a special flavor, with salty and sour tastes, and the quantity is small and the quality is high.
2) soup. Different from Chinese food, the second course of western food is soup. Western-style soups can be roughly divided into clear soups, cream soups, vegetable soups and cold soups. There are oxtail clear soup, various cream soups, seafood soups, American clam soups, Italian vegetable soups, Russian Luo Songtang soups and French baked onion soups. There are few varieties of cold soup, such as German cold soup and Russian cold soup.
3) Side dishes. Fish dishes are generally regarded as the third course of western food, also known as side dishes. Species include all kinds of freshwater and seawater fish, shellfish and molluscs. Usually aquatic dishes and eggs, bread and crispy box dishes are called side dishes. Because fish and other dishes are tender and easy to digest, they are placed in front of meat dishes and are called differently from the main course of meat dishes. Western-style fish dishes pay attention to the use of special sauces, including tartar sauce, Dutch sauce, hotel sauce, white cream sauce, archbishop sauce, American sauce and sailor fish sauce.
4) Main course. Meat and poultry dishes are the fourth course of western food, also known as the main course. The raw materials of meat dishes are taken from the meat of cows, sheep, pigs, cowboys and other parts, of which beef or steak is the most representative. Steak can be divided into sirloin steak (also called sirloin steak), filet steak, "T" bone steak, thin steak and so on. Its cooking methods are often roasted, fried, grilled and so on. The sauces used in meat dishes mainly include Spanish sauce, concentrated boiled sauce, mushroom sauce and Bainis sauce.
The raw materials of poultry dishes are taken from chickens, ducks and geese, and game such as rabbit meat and venison are usually classified as poultry dishes. Chicken is the most variety of poultry dishes, including pheasant, turkey and bamboo chicken, which can be boiled, fried, roasted and braised. The main sauces are yellow gravy, curry juice and cream juice.
5) Vegetable dishes. Vegetable dishes can be arranged after meat dishes or served at the same time with meat dishes, so they can be regarded as a dish or called a side dish. Vegetable dishes are called salads in western food. Salad served with the main course is called raw vegetable salad, which is usually made of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and asparagus. The main sauces of salad are vinegar oil juice, French juice, dried island juice, cheese salad juice and so on.
In addition to vegetables, there is another kind of salad made of fish, meat and eggs. Generally, this kind of salad does not add flavor juice and can be used as the first dish in the order of eating.
There are also some vegetables that are cooked, such as broccoli, boiled spinach and potato chips. Cooked vegetables are usually served on the plate together with the meat dishes of the main course, which is called side dishes.
6) dessert. The dessert of western food is eaten after the main course, which can be regarded as the sixth course. In a real sense, it includes all the food after the main course, such as pudding, pancakes, ice cream, cheese, fruit and so on. 7) coffee and tea. The last course of western food is to serve drinks, coffee or tea. Coffee is usually served with sugar and whipped cream. Tea usually contains fragrant peach slices and sugar.
2. Rank problem
Even if the guests have status, status and age higher than the guest of honor, please sit next to the host when arranging the seating. The host sits in the main seat, the right hand is the wife of the first important guest, the left hand is the wife of the second important guest, and the hostess sits opposite the host. On both sides of her are the most important first and second male guests. Now, if it is not a very formal lunch or dinner, it is not important to sit between a man and a woman.
3. Use of knives and forks
When using a knife and fork, take the knife and fork from the outside to the inside, hold the fork in your left hand and hold the knife in your right hand; When cutting things, hold the fork in your left hand and hold the food, and cut it into small pieces with your right hand and send it to your mouth with a fork. When using a knife, the blade should not face outwards. When you need to have a rest in the middle of a meal, you can put down your knife and fork and put it in the center of the plate in a figure of eight, indicating that you have not finished eating and will continue to eat. After eating a dish, put the knife and fork side by side on the plate, indicating that you have finished eating, and you can take the dish or plate away. If you are talking, you can hold a knife and fork, don't put it down, but don't wave it. When you don't use a knife, you can hold a fork in your right hand, but when you need to gesture, you should put down your knife and fork, never wave it in the air, don't wipe your mouth with a napkin in one hand, and don't hold a glass in one hand and a fork in the other. Never put one end of the knife and fork on the plate and the other end on the table at any time.
4. Precautions at the dinner table. Don't put makeup on the dining table, wipe your nose with a napkin. Burping at meals is a big no-no. When taking food, you can ask others to pass the food you can't get. Don't stand up. Don't send too much food to your mouth at a time, and don't talk while chewing. Don't wolf down your food. You should also put some food you don't want to eat on the plate to show politeness. You shouldn't leave your seat in the middle of a meal. If you really need to leave, you should whisper hello to the guests around you. When drinking and toasting, even if you don't drink, you should touch the mouth of the cup on your lips to show your respect. When someone pours wine for you, if you don't need it, you can simply say "no, thank you!" " Or cover the glass slightly with your hand to show your refusal. During the meal, don't unbutton or undress in public. If the host invites the guest take off your coat, the male guest can take off his coat and put it on the back of the chair, but he can't put his coat or things with him on the dining table.
3. How to eat western food
The specific way to eat western food is very different from Chinese food.
1.When eating bread and butter, it is usually buns and buns.
Help yourself to bread and butter, then break the bread into small pieces with your hands, wipe one piece and eat one.
Eat sandwiches, small sandwiches and toast with your hands, and cut the bigger ones before eating. A hot sandwich with gravy needs a knife and fork.
Step 2 eat meat
Westerners eat meat (referring to lamb chops, steak, pork chops, etc.) in large chunks. When eating, cut the meat into small pieces with a knife and fork, just the size of a bite. Eat a piece, cut a piece, don't cut it all at once, and never put the whole piece of meat to your mouth with a fork, while biting, chewing and swallowing.
When eating beef (steak), because you can decide the degree of raw and cooked according to your own preference, the waiter or host will ask you the degree of raw and cooked when making a reservation.
When eating meat with bones, such as chicken, don't "do it" directly. Fix the whole piece of meat with a fork (you can put the fork up and press the meat with the back of the fork), then insert a knife along the bone, cut the meat and eat it while cutting. If the bone is small, you can put it in your mouth with a fork, separate the meat from the bone in your mouth, cover your mouth with a napkin, spit it on the fork and put it on a plate. However, meat that needs direct "hands-on" is often served with hand washing water. Always wipe your hands and mouth with napkins.
Don't turn the fish over when eating it. After eating the upper layer, remove the fish bones with a knife and fork before eating the lower layer.
Step 3 eat salad
In western food, salads often appear in such occasions: as a side dish of the main course, such as vegetable salad, which is common; As a spacer, such as between the main course and dessert; As the first course, such as chicken salad.
Use a salad fork if the salad is served in a large plate. If you put it with the main course, you should use the main course fork to eat it.
If salad is a side dish, it is usually eaten with cheese, fried corn flakes, etc. First take a slice or two of bread and put it on your salad plate, then take two or three pieces of cornflakes. Cheese and salad should be eaten with a fork, while cornflakes can be eaten with your hands.
If the main salad is accompanied with salad dressing, you can pour the salad dressing on a part of the salad first, and then add the sauce after eating this part. Until it is added to the lettuce leaves at the bottom of the bowl, so it is easy to pour the juice.
The habit of eating salad should be: cut a large piece of lettuce leaves into small pieces with a fork. If it is not good, you can use a knife and fork. Cut one piece at a time, and then cut it after eating.
Step 4 eat soup
5. Oysters and clams
When eating oysters and clams, hold the shell with your left hand, take out the oyster meat with your right hand, and dip it in seasoning and eat it with the oyster fork. The mixture of shrimp and crab can also be dipped in seasoning alone and eaten with oyster fork.
6. spaghetti
When eating spaghetti, roll up the noodles slowly with a fork, and it is most convenient to roll four or five pieces at a time. You can also eat it with a spoon and fork. The spoon can help the fork control the slippery noodles. You can't suck it directly with your mouth, or it will easily spill juice everywhere.
7. fruit
In many countries, fruit is served as dessert or with dessert. Usually many fruits are mixed together to make a fruit salad or a fruit platter. The key to eating fruit is how to remove the stone. You can't bite the whole thing. If you have a knife and fork, you should use it carefully, cut it into four pieces with a knife, peel it and eat it with a fork. Be careful not to spill the juice. When there is no knife or fork, you can gently take the stone out of your mouth with your two fingers and put it on the edge of the fruit bowl. It is very rude to spit the stone out of your mouth.
8. Western fast food and snacks
Hamburgers and hot dogs are eaten with your hands, but be sure to pad them with napkins and let the sauce flow onto the napkins, not onto your hands or clothes. Just in case, you can pad it with a napkin in one hand and prepare one or two napkins in the other.
Pizza can hold the cake in hand and turn the outside into the inside to prevent the stuffing from falling out. But you can't see pizza on the table of a general dinner party.
Corn tortillas are a common food to eat with your hands. You can dip it in a mixed sauce such as sweet beans or tomato sauce and eat it.
Fried food and potato chips can be eaten with your hands or with a fork. If you are outdoors, of course, you can eat with your hands.
Ladies should also pay attention that when eating, they should put less into their mouths every time. Chewing, making noise and damaging lipstick. If you get your fingers dirty when eating ordinary dishes, you can ask the waiter to bring hand washing water.
IV. Handling of five special situations
1.What should I do if I meet my host and feel grateful?
Some hosts will give thanks and pray before eating, or sit or stand, and guests should be like the host. Don't eat or drink anything before thanksgiving prayer, and keep your head down quietly. Until the prayer is over, put the napkin on your lap and start eating.
2. When a tooth is plugged or a foreign body enters.
If your teeth are stuffed with vegetable leaves or sand-like things, don't pick them with toothpicks on the dining table, you can have a drink of water. If not, go to the bathroom, so that you can rinse your mouth vigorously or use a toothpick.
If you encounter bad food or foreign objects, you must be careful not to cause unhappiness to the people who eat together, but you don't have to eat the bad things reluctantly. You can cover your mouth with a napkin, spit on it quickly, and ask the waiter to change a new napkin. If there are stones and other foreign objects in the food, you can take them out with your thumb and forefinger and put them on the side of the plate.
Even if there is a bug prancing out of your salad (this is the best time to exercise your courage and grace), you should calmly ask for a replacement, just wink at the host or waiter, and don't make a scene, amityville horror, so that everyone knows that they are afraid to eat it.
3. What should I do after eating garlic or onion?
Eating garlic or onions at dinner, whether at home, in the office or at a party, will not be very popular. We introduce several solutions:
One is to use mouthwash;
The second is chewing gum;
The third is to wipe the inside of the mouth and tongue with a slice of lemon;
The fourth is to chew a few pieces of tea or coffee beans.
What should I do if I spill something on the dining table?
If you spill something on the dining table and spill a lot, the host should ask the waiter to clean up your dirty place. In case it can't be cleaned up, he will spread you a new napkin to cover the dirty things, and then serve the next dish. If you are at home, just clean it with cleaning supplies.
If your seat gets a lot of stains, ask the host for another napkin to cover the dirty place, and apologize to the host and other guests. If you or your family break anything of the owner, you should arrange to put the broken things together, clean them up or repair them and send them back at the owner's convenience.
5. What if the knife and fork fall to the ground?
When eating, the knife and fork accidentally fell to the ground. If you bend down to pick it up, it will not only be unsightly, but also affect people around you and get your hands dirty. You can signal the waiter to handle it and you can change the new tableware.
5. How to leave gracefully?
The time to leave the reception after dinner is determined by common sense. If the reception is not held on weekends, it means that the time to leave should be between 11: 00 pm and midnight. If it is on the weekend, it can be later. It should not be too early or too late to leave.
It is polite to thank the hostess in person before leaving at all kinds of cocktail parties (except the biggest one). When thanking, you can leave after explaining what you have to say. Don't keep talking, so that the other person can neither do his own thing nor greet others. If you have to leave early for some reason, don't be too conspicuous when thanking, so as not to let other guests think that they should leave too.
If you are the guest of honor, you should say goodbye to the host before other guests. Generally speaking, the host and guest should leave the camera between 20 and 40 minutes after the snack is finished. Generally, guests should not leave before the guest of honor, otherwise it is disrespectful to the host and guest of honor. If you really need to go first, you should also explain the situation sincerely.
Guests attending cocktail parties should get up and leave at the time specified in the invitation. If you receive an oral invitation (the time may not be specified), you should think that the reception will last for two hours. If a guest stays, and the hostess has another dinner appointment, she should explain it tactfully. She can say in a friendly way, "I have to break up with you because I have to ..."
In addition, after attending a cocktail party or an informal dinner or cocktail party, it is very appropriate to write a letter or make a phone call to express your gratitude. If you want to meet again soon, you can also thank them in person.