●Tableware
Otaltablewaremainlysistsofthedishes,glassware,andcutleries(knives,forks,spoons,andsooatablefadiure,variety,aemsmaydifferfrommealtomeal。Thearraofapletesetofallthethingsthathtuseiscalledaplag。Usuallyiure,thatmeansthattheforks,breadplate,spreader,andheleftside,whileknives,spoons,drinks,andsaucersarehtside,althoughtheleft-rightorderisreversedinasmallnumberoftries。Utensilsareplacedaboutoneintheedgeofthetableandputinastraightrow。Utensilsoplaceareusedfirst。Theglassesareputaboutaninthekheyareusedinthefollowiewine,redwiwiergoblet。
■KnivesandForks
Knifeandforkarethemajortablewareialworld。Tablekypisharpnessonly,whichisdesigonlypreparedaheyareusuallymadeofstaieelandmaybewell-decorated,oftenhavinghandlesofbone,woodor(lessonlynow)ivory。Aforkisatoolingahahseveralnarrowtines(usuallytwo,threeorfour)ohefork,asadiningutensil,hasbeentypicallyusedi,whereasiAsiachopstickshavebeenmorewidespread。Tablesareedwithtwoormoreforksaeobeusedfordifferentcourses。
Knifeaeialsociallifetakestwoprimaryforms。ThestyleemployedmostlyiedStatesofAmerica,whiescalledthezigzagmethodorAmeristyle,isdifferentfromtheEuropeaimesknowiyle)whichisveryiialiheOtalworldingEuropeandBritishohtries。Soyouchooseappropriateohefollowingtwostylesdependiionwhereyouare。
&yle:Holdkhrighthahlefthand。Afterafewbite-sizedpiecesoffoodareprepared,putknifeoewithbladesfa。Eatfoodbyshiftingfhthand(unlessyouareleft-handed)。Alefthand,armorelbowoableisill-mannered。
talEuropeaforthekforthefork。Eatfoodwithforkstillihand。Thediffereyoudon’tshifthahforkihand,withthetinesgdownward。Bothtoolsareheldinyourhandswiththetihroughoutthewholediningprocess。Ifyouhaveadrink,youdonotjustplaifedown,youputbothtoolsdowable:crosstheforkovertheknife。
■Spoons
Aspooainingasmallshallowbowl,ovalorround,attheendofahaheyareusuallymadefrommetal(typicallyflatsilverorsilverlatedorsolid),wood,orplastic。
Asatypeofcutlery(sometimescalledflatwareiedStates),especiallyaspartofaplag,aspoooeatmostanyfood,butisgreatforsofterandsmootherfoodssuchaspudding,soupsaalsobegoodtoeatsmallersizedfoodslike,rideggs。
Spoonalsobeusedfwhileoreover,youhavetouseaspoonforsauces,puddingsandcakemixes。Putitemsinabowl,potorpanandholdthespoonbythehaingthelargerendintofood。Stirincircularmotionsuureissmooth。
Spreatfsauces,butterandicake。Again,holdspooninyourhahelargerendfagtowardsfoodaioofood。
■Napkins
Anapkiangularclothorpaperusedatthetabletowipethemouthwhiledining。ItisusuallysmallaheUnitedKingdomtwoterms,servietteandnapkihused。Insomeplaces,“serviettes”refertothosemadeofpaperkins”aremadeofcloth。
Normally,thenapkinisfoldedaheleftsideoftheplag,outsidetheoutmostfork。Inanambitiousrestauraingoracaterer’shall,itmaybefoldediisticshapesaheemptyplate。Anapkinmayalsobetiedtogetherihcutlery)byanapkinriively,papernapkiinsideanapkinholder。
&ablemannersrequireyoutoknowhowtouseadinnernapkin。Thoughquiteilooking,anapkinisapaniedbyasetofsimplerules。Ifyou’refamiliarwiththeetiquetteofhowtouseadinnernapkin,you’llnotonlyavoiddiablefauxpasbutyou’llbequietlynoodmanners。Youfollowtheusefultipsbelow:
◇Putyourdinnernapkinonyourlapjustafteryourhosthasdoakeupyournapkinbyadletitfallopen。
◇Dabyentlywiththenapkinbefadrink。Thisavoidscrumbsfallingintlass。
◇Positionyournapkiofyourplateifyouleavethetableaurn。Pushyour。
◇outhwiththenapkinifyoubelch。Quietlysay“excuseme”buttonoonespecially。
&henapkihedilooselyoablenearyourplate。