1. Dress appropriately for eating
It is common sense for Europeans and Americans to dress appropriately when eating. When going to high-end restaurants, men should wear neat tops and leather shoes, and women should wear suits and high heels. If specified When wearing formal attire, men must also wear a tie.
2. How to sit
The most appropriate way to sit is from the left side. When the chair is pulled away, stand up straight at a distance that is almost touching the table. The leader will push the chair in, and you can sit down when your legs touch the chair behind you. When eating, your upper arms and back should lean against the back of the chair, and your abdomen should be about a fist away from the table. Sitting with your feet crossed is best avoided.
The order of serving of a complete Western-style meal is: appetizer, soup, side dish, main dish, salad, dessert, coffee and tea. You don’t have to order everything. It would be very rude to order too much and not finish it. Generally, appetizers, main dishes and desserts are more suitable choices. When ordering, you don’t start with the appetizers. Instead, you choose the main dish you want to eat first, and then pair it with a suitable appetizer and soup.
3. Before the meal
Western food is not like Chinese food. Everyone has a separate plate of food. From the first salad to the last dessert, you are not free to eat, but The waiter will serve everyone one by one. In English, the food is called "course" and the staple food is "main course". When you start eating, you must wait until everyone has food placed in front of them. If someone invites you to eat at home, Wait for the master to eat first. In order to show politeness, it is best for everyone to eat at the same time. Everyone eats salad together, the waiter takes it away after eating, and then eats the staple food together. Like this, we will introduce it in detail next~
Basic dining etiquette (The “Do Nots“) Don’t pack. Try not to eat with your hands. Do not smoke or drink alcohol (this type of Western meal is not a business entertainment, so alcohol will not be involved). Don't chew food while talking. (So ??indecent) Don’t open your mouth while chewing food. Don't start adding condiments without tasting the food. Unless there is an emergency, try not to leave the table. Don't pick your teeth in public places. Don’t reach for items and let others hand them to you. Instead of grabbing the goblet, use your thumb, index finger, and middle finger to pinch its stem. Try not to be picky about your food.
When communicating with the waiter, in many cases, the left side of the diner belongs to the direction of serving food, while the right side of the diner belongs to the direction of removing the plate. But this also depends on the amount of space on the left and right sides of the diner. Drinks must be served from the right hand side of the diner. If you need anything, let the waiter know. After eating, place the knife and fork horizontally and parallel to each other on the dinner plate. Or placed crosswise, with the handle on the right side. If you don't need a certain drink (such as coffee), say "No, thank you" concisely and clearly. When passing food, pass it in a counterclockwise direction. But if the person on your left needs something, just hand it to him directly. There is no need to go around and give it to him. The distinguished guest (to the right of the host) is the first to be served, followed by the host, and finally everyone else. Remember to thank your server.
4. The use of utensils The first point is that the owner’s placement is right! Don’t comment too much, even if it is really wrong, just use the tableware reasonably according to the owner’s placement.
The fork
is placed on the left side of the plate.
Salad fork: thicker.
When resting on the plate, place the fork downwards.
The spoon
is placed on the right side of the dinner plate, outside the knife.
Most of the time, the spoon comes with the soup. Its position is above the soup plate and below the soup bowl.
Similarly, the coffee spoon is served with the coffee, and the dessert spoon is served with the dessert.
Knives
Place them on the right side of the plate in order of use.
Knife side facing inward.
The steak knife is closer to the plate than the butter knife.
Glass
Tall glasses should be placed at the inside of the dining table, and water glasses should be placed on the right side of the dinner plate.
The coffee cup is placed to the right of other utensils, in line with the center of the dinner plate.
Others
The butter plate and knife are placed on the upper left.
Dessert is placed on the plate, that is, near the center of the table, and may be placed before the meal or served during dessert time.
If an unfortunate accident occurs
If silverware falls to the floor, notify the waiter immediately.
If food is spilled, use a cutlery to pick it up and place it in the corner of the plate.
5. How to use various things
Red wine glass: When drinking, you should hold the stem of the glass, not the body, to avoid the warmth of your hands from destroying the taste of the wine;
Water glass: It is best to wipe your mouth before drinking to avoid leaving oil stains on the cup;
Napkin: A large napkin can be folded in half into a triangle and placed on your lap. When wiping your mouth, you should use a napkin The position of the corner; when leaving the seat, the napkin can be folded and placed on the chair or table; after the meal, the napkin should be folded and placed on the right side of the plate;
Spoon: Avoid when drinking soup Make a sound. After drinking soup, the spoon should not be placed in the bowl, but should be picked up and placed on the soup saucer.
Meat: When cutting steak, you should cut it from the outside to the inside. Cut it into pieces and eat them one by one. Please do not cut it into pieces at once just for the sake of convenience; when cutting the meat pieces, they should be of moderate size and do not cut them too much. So big that there is a danger that the mouth cannot be closed. When chewing food, be sure to close your mouth to avoid making sounds, and do not put food in your mouth again before it is swallowed.
Fruits: Watery fruits should be eaten with a small spoon. Peaches and melons will be peeled and sliced ??in restaurants first and should be eaten with a small fork. Strawberries are mostly placed on small plates and can be eaten with a spoon or fork. In addition, when eating fruit, restaurants usually provide hand washing boxes with flower petals or lemons inside. For hand washing purposes.
Desserts: For general cakes and cakes, use a small fork to divide and eat them. If the hard ones are cut with a knife, use a small fork to divide them for eating. As for ice cream or pudding, use a small spoon. Feed. If you encounter small pieces of hard biscuits, you can use them directly.
Soup: When drinking soup, use a spoon instead of lifting the entire bowl to drink. When using a spoon to drink soup, the spoon should be scooped out from your side. Do not stir the hot soup or blow it with your mouth. cold. It is the most basic courtesy to avoid making any noise when drinking soup. When the soup is almost finished, you can hold the soup plate with your left thumb and index finger and tilt it outward to get the soup. After drinking the soup, the spoon should be placed on the saucer of the soup plate or cup.
Coffee and tea: When drinking coffee or tea, the restaurant will always provide a small spoon. Its purpose is to stir up the sugar and creamer, so try not to use the sugar and creamer jars. Use a spoon to stir your drink, and don't use a spoon to scoop up coffee to taste the sweetness, otherwise you're guaranteed to get the attention of the whole table. When drinking coffee or tea, you should hold the handle of the cup with your index finger and thumb and drink it. There is no need to lift the saucer. After drinking, the small spoon should be placed on the plate.