Dining Etiquette
Dining etiquette can make or break people’s perceptions of us. Have you ever felt uncomfortable eating a messy burger or saucy spaghetti while in the company of others? And if you’ve ever wondered what you should be doing with the napkin when leaving the table, you are not alone!
Dining is a delightful opportunity to host memorable conversations with loved ones, make new connections, turn strangers into friends, or even impress a client. That’s why the very last thing we should be doing is awkwardly figuring out table manners. They should come naturally.
Having a well-established knowledge of the rules and guidelines around dining etiquette will give you confidence, so that you no longer think about how or when to do something. Armed with this information, you can relax, enjoy your company and, of course, the delicious food.
Dining etiquette can make or break people’s perceptions of us. Have you ever felt uncomfortable eating a messy burger or saucy spaghetti while in the company of others? And if you’ve ever wondered what you should be doing with the napkin when leaving the table, you are not alone!
Dining is a delightful opportunity to host memorable conversations with loved ones, make new connections, turn strangers into friends, or even impress a client. That’s why the very last thing we should be doing is awkwardly figuring out table manners. They should come naturally.
Having a well-established knowledge of the rules and guidelines around dining etiquette will give you confidence, so that you no longer think about how or when to do something. Armed with this information, you can relax, enjoy your company and, of course, the delicious food.
Topics
Place setting
- Charger plates
- Cutlery
- Water, wine, champagne glasses
- Bread plate
- Salt and pepper shakers
- and more
Cutlery and glassware
- Correct way of holding cutlery
- Holding glass with vs without a stem
- Guidelines for left handed people
- Cutlery placement when pausing, finished
- and more
General table rules
- When to start eating
- Placement of personal items
- Mobile phones
- Elbows
- Conversational topics
- and more
Napkin etiquette
- Purpose
- Different sizes
- Placement during a meal, when leaving a table
- Correct way of using
- and more
Tricky food
- Spaghetti
- Burgers
- Prawns, mussels, oysters
- Asparagus
- Pizza
- and more
Shared foods
- Correct way of eating shared foods
- Shared finger food vs a shared dish
- Passing food to another
- and more
Restaurant vs private home
- Setting your dinner table
- Asking for additional things which are not at the table
- When you do not like the food
- Finishing food
- and more
Toasts
- Toast vs speech
- How to make a toast
- When you are toasted
- and more
Essential cultural differences
- Cutlery placement
- Zigzag eating style
- Adapting the etiquette of the place rather than the country
- and more
* Not all topics might be covered in one seminar/lecture/class/workshop.