Table manners are the rules of
etiquetteEtiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
used while
eatingEating is the ingestion of food to provide for all organisms their nutritional needs, particularly for energy and growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive: carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants, omnivores consume a mixture of both plant and animal matter,...
, which may also include the appropriate use of
utensilsCutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery can have the more specific meaning of knives and other cutting instruments. This is probably the...
. Different cultures observe different rules for table manners. Each family or group sets its own standards for how strictly these rules are to be enforced.
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Table manners are the rules of
etiquetteEtiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
used while
eatingEating is the ingestion of food to provide for all organisms their nutritional needs, particularly for energy and growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive: carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants, omnivores consume a mixture of both plant and animal matter,...
, which may also include the appropriate use of
utensilsCutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery can have the more specific meaning of knives and other cutting instruments. This is probably the...
. Different cultures observe different rules for table manners. Each family or group sets its own standards for how strictly these rules are to be enforced.
United Kingdom
- All food should be served and everyone seated before food is eaten by anyone, with the host taking the first bite. If a host instructs guests 'not to wait' this rule is vetoed.
- When eating soup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
, you should hold your spoon in your right hand and tip the bowl away from you, scooping the soup in movements away from yourself. The soup spoon should never be put into the mouth, and soup should be sipped from the side of the spoon, not the end.
- Wine glasses should be held by the stem in the case of white wines, and by cupping the bowl in the case of red wines. Wines should be served in the sequence "white before red, light before heavy, young before old", and it is impolite to ask for, or to offer, "more" wine.
- It is considered impolite to rest your elbows on the table at any point during the meal.
- A knife should never enter the mouth or be licked.
- Food should always be chewed with your mouth closed.
- It is impolite to reach over someone to pick up food or other items. Diners should always ask for items to be passed along the table to them. In the same vein, diners who are passing items along the table should not use it on the way, but pass it directly to the person who asked.
- Talking with food in your mouth is seen as very rude.
- Food should be tasted first before salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and pepperBlack pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
are added. Applying garnishes before the food is tasted is viewed as an insult to the cook, as it shows a lack of faith in their ability to prepare a meal.
North America
- A table cloth extending 10–15 inches past the edge of the table should be used for formal dinners, while placemats may be used for breakfast, luncheon, and informal suppers.
- Modern etiquette provides the smallest numbers and types of utensils necessary for dining. Only utensils which are to be used for the planned meal should be set. Even if needed, hosts should not have more than three utensils on either side of the plate before a meal. If extra utensils are needed, they may be brought to the table along with later courses.
- Candlesticks, even if not lit, should not be on the table while dining during daylight hours.
- Men's and unisex hats should never be worn at the table. Ladies' hats may be worn during the day if visiting others.
- Do not talk on your phone or "text" at the table, or otherwise do something distracting, such as read or listen to a personal music player. Unless you are alone, reading at the table is permitted only at breakfast. If an urgent matter arises, apologize, excuse yourself, and step away from the table so your conversation does not disturb the others.
- If food must be removed from the mouth for some reason, it should be done using the same method which was used to bring the food to the mouth, i.e. by hand, by fork, etc., with the exception of fish bones, which are removed from the mouth between the fingers.
- The fork may be used either in the "American" style (use the fork in your left hand while cutting; switch to right hand to pick up and eat a piece; this is common practice in the US) or the European "Continental" style (fork always in left hand). (See Fork etiquette
Eating utensil etiquette describes the correct etiquette with the use of eating utensils.-Chopstick etiquette:Forbidden is:*Placing the chopsticks straightup into a bowl of food; this refers to death in Eastern Asian cultures...
)
- Leave the napkin on the seat of your chair only if leaving temporarily. When you leave the table at the end of the meal, loosely place the used napkin on the table to the left of your plate.
See also
- Social graces
Social graces are skills used to interact politely in social situations. They include manners, etiquette , deportment and fashion. These skills were once taught to young women at a finishing school or charm school...
- Intercultural competence
Intercultural competence is the ability of successful communication with people of other cultures.A person who is interculturally competent captures and understands, in interaction with people from foreign cultures, their specific concepts in perception, thinking, feeling and acting...
- Montreal-Philippines cutlery controversy
The Montreal-Philippines cutlery controversy was an incident in 2006 in which a seven-year-old Canadian boy from a Filipino family was punished by his school in Roxboro, Montreal for using his cutlery according to traditional Filipino etiquette...
- Eating utensil etiquette
External links