There are many tableware on the western table, so you should use specific tableware for everything you eat. China people regard western food as an indispensable part of learning western culture. When enjoying the elegant dining atmosphere of western food, you should behave appropriately and have a "ceremony" when eating.
Napkin cloth western-style napkins are generally made of cloth. Napkin cloth is square and flat, and its color is simple and elegant. Always put it on your legs, on your chest when you are polite, or on the table when you are relaxed. The corner of the napkin is facing your chest, pressing the plate.
Napkin cloth can be used to wipe your mouth or hands. It should be folded diagonally into a triangle or parallel into a rectangle. All stains should be wiped inside, and the appearance should always be neat. When you leave your seat, even if you leave temporarily, you should take off the napkin cloth, fold it into a square or triangle at will, and put it on the table edge or corner, preferably on your own seat.
Knife, fork and spoon used in western food have their own uses and cannot be replaced or mixed.
Knife: It is used to cut food. Don't stir the food with a knife, send it to your mouth. Remember: knife in your right hand. If there are three kinds of knives with different specifications at the same time when eating, the correct usage is: the one with small serrations is used to cut meat for food; Medium size is used to cut large vegetables into small pieces; There is also a kind of knife with a round tip and some upturned knives at the top, which are used to cut buns, and then use it to pick some jam and cream to spread on them.
Fork: Hold the fork in your left hand, and fork the food to your mouth lightly. Pick up the right amount of food and put it in your mouth at one time. When you pick up food with your mouth, your teeth only touch the food. Don't bite the fork, and don't let the knife and fork make a sound on your teeth or plate.
Spoons: on formal occasions, there are many kinds of spoons, the small ones are used to hold coffee and desserts; Buttered and cake-sharing apartments; Larger, used for drinking soup or holding small food; The biggest one is used to divide soup, which is very common in buffets.
Tableware placement: Tableware is placed from outside to inside in the order of serving. Some dishes will remove some knives and forks after use.
Pay attention to the direction and position of the knife and fork. The knife and fork are placed on the saucer in a figure of eight, with the blade inward and the fork tip downward, indicating that you will continue to eat; Put the knife and fork on the saucer in parallel, with the knife edge facing outwards and the fork tip facing upwards, indicating that you don't eat. The spoon is placed horizontally in the soup plate with the center of the spoon facing upwards, which also means that the soup tableware can be taken away.
Elegant dining: when drinking thick soup, take the spoon horizontally and gently scoop it from outside to inside. Don't dig the spoon to the end. The outside of the spoon touches the soup. Touch the spoon with your lips when drinking, and don't pick up the soup basin to drink. When the soup is almost finished, put your left hand on your chest and gently lift the inside of the soup basin, concentrate the soup on one side of the bottom of the basin and scoop it out with your right hand. When eating pizza or other cakes, cut a piece with a knife just enough to eat in one bite and send it to your mouth with a fork.
When eating bread, one hand holds the bread, and the other hand tears off a small piece and puts it in your mouth. Don't bite the whole bread. When eating western food, you should dress neatly, sit upright, keep your back straight and stretch your neck. The most important thing is to keep your hands clean and your nails neatly trimmed.
To taste western food culture, I suggest you have time to visit Maxim's Restaurant in Chongwenmen. The western restaurant there was decorated according to the unique French romantic style at the end of 19, with gorgeous and elegant decoration, a small band playing classical songs in the orchestra pit and waiters wearing evening dresses. This is the tradition of Chersi's restaurant, where customers feast their eyes first (restaurant layout), then their ears (soft music) and finally their mouths (delicious French food). Scholars who study western food, after long-term discussion and induction, think that the most important thing to eat western food is to pay attention to six "M's".
Six m's for western food.
The first one is "menu"
When you enter the western restaurant, the waiter will show you to your seat first. When you sit down, the menu will be presented first. The menu is regarded as the facade of the restaurant and the boss has always attached great importance to it. The cover of the menu is made of the best cloth, and some even make all kinds of beautiful patterns with soft sheepskin. It seems inappropriate to call it a menu here, but it should be called a "menu".
I have a unique knack for ordering good dishes. No matter how I eat in western restaurants at home and abroad, the dishes I order are often delicious and cheap, and are often praised by my colleagues. My way is to open the menu and see which dish is named after the hotel. I often take it. I know that chefs don't joke about their own names, so the dishes they make great efforts are sure to be delicious. Please get to the point.
Speaking of ordering food, reading the menu reminds me of an incident that happened in Maxim's restaurant nearly 20 years ago. Four young "ten thousand households" farmers walked into this luxurious restaurant. They have money and want to try a famous French dish. The restaurant manager and waiter were overjoyed, warmly welcomed them to their seats, politely showed their recipes and respectfully asked them to order. Unexpectedly, one of them pushed the menu aside and said disdainfully, "What do you want? You see, what is expensive, we have plenty of money! " Four farmers spent nearly 2000 yuan to eat a famous French dish, but they made a fool of themselves from time to time. They didn't know how to use a knife and fork, so their napkins finally turned into handkerchiefs. ...
Later, the French general manager talked to me about this matter, and I was very moved: "From these four young people, I was very excited to see that China farmers were really rich. But it is hard for us to understand that China friends eat western food without looking at the menu. In France, even President Charles de Gaulle and President Destin have to look at the menu to order western food. There is no problem of having money but not money, because looking at the menu and ordering food has become an indispensable procedure for eating western food and a way of life. "
The second is "music"
Luxury and advanced western restaurants should have bands and play some soft music, and ordinary small western restaurants should also play some wonderful music. However, the most important thing here is the "audibility" of music, that is, the sound should reach the level of "listening but not listening", that is, if you concentrate on talking with your friends, you can hear it, if you want to rest and relax, and you should master this temperature.
The third is "mood" (atmosphere)
Western food pays attention to elegant environment and harmonious atmosphere. There must be music, white tablecloths and flowers, and all tableware must be clean. At dinner, the lights should be dim and there should be red candles on the table to create a romantic, charming and elegant atmosphere.
The fourth is "meeting"
In other words, you should choose who to eat western food with, and it must be friends, relatives and like-minded people. Eating western food is mainly to connect feelings, and rarely talk about business at the western food table. Therefore, in western restaurants, there are few red-faced scenes.
The fifth is "demeanor" (customs)
Also known as "eating" and "eating", in short, we should follow western customs and don't do anything abrupt, especially when holding a knife and fork. If we dance, we will "lose our manners". When using a knife and fork, you should hold the knife in your right hand and the fork in your left hand. Cut the food into small pieces with a knife and fork and send it to your mouth. Generally speaking, Europeans do not change hands when using knives and forks, and always use the fork of their left hand to put food into their mouths. Americans put the knife down after cutting, and put the food into their mouths with a fork in their right hand. But at any time, the knife must not be sent to the entrance. At western banquets, the host will arrange for men and women to sit next to each other, and western gentlemen who pay attention to "ladies first" will show hospitality to ladies.
The sixth is "rice" (food)
An American food friend of mine once said, "Japanese people eat with their eyes, and the form of cooking is beautiful." When they eat our western food, they use their noses, so our noses are very big; " Only you great China people know how to eat with your tongue. "Our Chinese food takes" taste "as the core, and western food takes nutrition as the core. As for taste, it can't compare with Chinese food.