What are the etiquette about Western food?

What etiquette do you usually pay attention to when eating Western food? Here we only talk about formal dinners. We usually eat with friends and family. Even if you use chopsticks, you are just a person. preferences. Below I have compiled for you what are the etiquettes of Western food, I hope it can help you!

What are the etiquettes of Western food

Entering and sitting down

Entering After passing by the reception desk, you can find your name on the seating chart and sit accordingly. But what if there is no seating chart? Can I sit wherever I want?

The usual way of sitting in Western food follows three principles:

1. One man and one woman Spaced apart

2. Partners sit separately

3. The female VIP sits on the right hand side of the male host, and the male VIP sits on the right hand side of the hostess

Picture Downton Abbey, you can see that the three points I mentioned are strictly followed

If you are still not sure where you should sit, smart friends can wait until everyone is almost seated before going Find a seat to avoid the embarrassment of accidentally sitting in a VIP seat.

You need to lay out a napkin before you sit down and start. The napkin is usually placed on the plate. Open the napkin, fold it diagonally into a triangle, or fold it into a rectangular shape with the crease side facing you, and spread it on your lap.

The picture below is a demonstration of several errors:

1. Napkin scarf

You are not an infant. Some ingredients that are easy to stain clothes will be taken care of by the restaurant. The one equipped with a scarf is as shown below. Otherwise, do not stuff the napkin in the collar.

2. Put the napkin on the plate

Use the plate to press one corner of the napkin, and let the rest of the napkin hang down naturally. Sorry, I can’t find a picture of this napkin placement.

This method often occurs at Chinese banquets, and is very dangerous. It is easy to take the napkin with you when you stand up, and the plate will be knocked over by the way.

Eating

After sitting down and laying out the napkins, it’s time to start eating.

1. Wine

The profoundness of wine culture cannot be written in a short space here. Let’s talk about wine glasses.

In Western food, 3-4 cups are usually placed on the right hand side of the table at a 45-degree angle.

The one closest to your right hand in the lower right corner is the sparkling wine glass. The tall and thin cup shape allows everyone to watch the bubbles rising.

The second cup slightly further away is for drinking white wine. It is different from the sparkling wine cup and has a common shape.

The third cup further away is a red wine glass. Its shape is similar to a white wine glass. Of course, the specific shape is not absolute and depends on the owner's hobbies. What is mentioned here is the general situation, but it is slightly taller. .

The cup farthest from your right hand is the water cup, which is also the tallest and largest. Drinking water and gargling your mouth when changing wine or dishes can help you better appreciate the taste of the food and wine.

2. Bread

Bread is sometimes placed on the small plate in the left hand, and sometimes it is placed in a large frame and you need to choose it yourself. If the basket is too far away from you, don't stand up and bend down to reach it. Just ask someone close to the bread to pass it to you. The same goes for the salt and pepper bottles. Break the bread with your hands until you can finish it in one bite, then use the butter knife on the bread plate to scrape a little butter and spread it on top.

3. Appetizer

The appetizer is sometimes a salad. Large pieces of vegetables are not beautiful when packed in one bite and need to be cut and chopped. I will explain in detail how to cut things on the Western table when I talk about main dishes and meat later.

By the way, you must feel annoyed when you see so many forks and spoons on the table. How to use them? Left fork and right knife, I won’t go into details. The forks and spoons placed on the left and right are usually used from outside to inside. The forks and spoons placed above the plate are for eating desserts and are used last. Since the order of the inside and outside of the forks has been adjusted by the host according to the order of serving, if you use one pair per dish in order, you will not go wrong.

Sometimes when we want to talk or go to the toilet, we need to put the tableware down a little. How should we put it down? As shown on the left in the picture below, put it in a figure 8, so the waiter will know not to put it away.

When the waiter needs to collect the bowl after finishing the dish, place it as shown on the right side of the picture below, with the handles of the knife and fork facing the 5 o'clock direction.

The French and British etiquette are different here. The French prefer to put the tableware upside down during the meal, as shown in the picture above, so that everyone can appreciate the pattern on the back of the silverware.

4. Soup

Whether it is Western or Chinese food, you must pay attention to one thing: never lower your head to reach for the soup on the table. Lift the spoon to the same height as your mouth without lowering your head, and pour the soup in.

How to ladle soup? The English ladle ladle is from the inside out, while the French ladle ladle is from the outside to the inside. As shown in the picture below, the British style is on the left and the French style is on the right:

What should you do if there is only one bottom of the soup left? The etiquette in Britain and France is different again. In Britain, the inside of the bowl is lifted up and the bowl faces Tilt the outside so that the soup gathers on the outside of the bowl, then use a spoon to scoop it up. The opposite of the French method is to lift the outside of the soup bowl so that the soup collects on the inside of the bowl, and then scrape it with a spoon. But no matter what, it is absolutely forbidden to pick up a soup bowl without a handle and drink it with your mouth.

Special mention about the tricky puff pastry soup. If you don’t want to eat the outer layer of puff pastry, just use a spoon to poke a hole in the puff pastry and scoop out the soup underneath. But if you want to eat puff pastry, you can use a knife to scrape it off along the edge of the bowl, put the puff pastry on a plate, and break it into small pieces with your hands like bread.

5. Main course

Seafood: Forks usually have four teeth, while seafood forks have three teeth and are slightly tilted upward. The fish is crumbly, so if you can't lift it with a special fork, use a spoon to help. If the fish has bones, don't turn it over after eating, remove the bones, and then eat the rest. When eating oysters, lobsters, snails, etc., you will have your own special tools, just use them in order.

Meat: This involves cutting. Usually we put the fork on the meat and cut the meat gently with the knife close to the fork.

This can prevent the food from moving. Generally speaking, start from the left side of the meat and cut to the right until the size of the meat is suitable for one bite.

European and American ways of cutting things are different.

The American etiquette on the left is to first cut a whole piece of meat into small pieces, change the cutlery with the left and right hands on top of the plate, put down the knife, hold the fork in the right hand, and eat the plate of minced meat. .

The one on the right is more traditional and European style. Cut one piece and eat one piece, still using the fork on the left and the knife on the right. If the beef has bones, it needs to be cut along the bones.

If you eat chicken, there are small bones that need to be spit out. Do not spit them directly on the table. Open the napkin, cover your mouth with your hand, put the fork to your mouth, and spit the bones onto the fork. Then place the bones on the fork on the side of the plate.

Pasta: Swap the forks and spoons in your left and right hands on the table. Use a fork to fork some noodles, then twist them against the inside of the spoon to roll up the noodles and eat.

6. Dessert

For dessert, use the fork and spoon above the plate. The fork is used to fork fruits, and the spoon is used to eat soft food such as pudding. Sometimes when the fruit is too big to be swallowed in one bite, you can also use a spoon instead of a knife to help cut it before eating.

7.cheese board

Use the knife that comes with the cheese board to cut the cheese, put it on the biscuit that comes with it, and eat it directly with your hands.

After the meal:

If you enjoyed your meal, don’t forget to thank the host. The most polite thing to do is to send a thank you note.

Notes:

In addition to the above, there are some precautions that everyone may know. I will briefly talk about them:

1. Hands Placement:

When talking and waiting for food, your hands should be placed on your legs, as shown below:

Do not put your elbows on the dining table. It is even worse to support your head. The following This is a wrong demonstration:

When cutting food, your elbows and wrists should not touch the table and remain in the air:

An incorrect demonstration, your wrists are lowered:

2. Sitting posture, Lady Mary’s in the picture above is great.

3. After the meal, fold the dirty napkin inwards and place it on the original plate.

4. When a girl puts on lipstick and lip gloss, it is easy to print it on the glass. This is unavoidable, but please look for the lip print and drink from this place during the meal. Well, don't make the cup full of your lipstick.

5. When holding a knife and fork, you are not allowed to hold a wine glass, and you are not allowed to point the knife and fork at others.

6. Use a napkin to wipe your mouth. When wiping your mouth, roll the corner of the napkin around your index finger and gently wipe the corners of your mouth. If it's a serious stain, don't wipe it with a napkin on the table and go to the bathroom.

7. Call mute

8. Don’t talk while covering food.

9. Don’t sip or make any noise when drinking soup.

10. Boys should help pull out the chairs when girls sit down.

Of course, a lot of the above knowledge is just British dining etiquette. Each country will have different customs under different circumstances. Welcome to add to it