dining etiquette

1. HRhelpdesk.in
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© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

2. HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette
Dining Etiquette
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

3. HRhelpdesk.in Don’t Ever
 Blow your nose
 Pick your teeth
 Belch
 Tuck your napkin into your shirt
 Eat food that dropped on your shirt
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

4. HRhelpdesk.in Getting Started
 As soon as you are seated, remove the napkin from your place setting, unfold it and
put it on your lap, at very formal restaurants, waiter does this for dinners.
 Large dinner napkin should be folded in half after opening and before placing it on
your lap
 The napkin should remain on your lap throughout the entire meal
 If you have to leave the table for sometime place the napkin on your chair.
 If your napkin falls down from your lap during a formal meal, do not retrieve it. Ask for
a fresh one.
 After finishing the meal, gather the napkin and put the napkin on the table to the right
of your dinner plate, never fold it back.
 Don’t wipe your dirty greasy hands on the napkin. Wait for the finger bowl
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

5. HRhelpdesk.in Getting Started
 If you must cough or sneeze, hold your napkin against the mouth and turn your head
away from the table.
 The table and the table cloth should be kept clean. Do not put any bones or morsels
on it.
 In a formal setting take care that the flat ware , table cloth , napkins and glass ware
match.
 White candles are right for formal occasion
 A pair of salt and pepper shakers should be placed on the table.
 Glasses are lined up in order of use, working from inside outwards.
 Table decorations should not be in any ones way or block the view.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

6. HRhelpdesk.in Cutlery
 Cutlery is always placed with the forks to the left of the service plate and knives and
spoons to the right. Knives are laid with the cutting edge towards the center of the
plate and forks with tines up.
 Cutlery is arranged in the order in which it will be used, beginning at the outside and
working towards the plate- course by course.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

7. HRhelpdesk.in Understanding the Setting
 Should you be attending a formal dinner or banquet with pre-set place settings, it is
possible to gain clues about what may be served by "reading" the place setting.
 Start by drawing an imaginary line through the center of the serving plate (the plate
will be placed in the center of your dining space).
 To the right of this imaginary line all of the following will be placed; glassware, cup
and saucer, knives, and spoons, as well as a seafood fork if the meal includes
seafood.
 It is important to place the glassware or cup back in the same position after its use in
order to maintain the visual presence of the table.
 To the left of this imaginary line all of the following will be placed; bread and butter
plate (including small butter knife placed horizontally across the top of the plate),
salad plate, napkin, and forks.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

8. HRhelpdesk.in Spoons
 Spoons are used for soup, fruit cocktails, coffee, some desserts and some times for
side dishes which are very liquid.
 A good rule is never to eat with a spoon those foods which can be eaten with a fork.
 A few things which cannot be eaten with a spoon or fork are eaten with the fingers.
Eg; Radish, pickle, potato chips.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

9. HRhelpdesk.in Seating
 For a large family gathering try to seat same age groups together, or maybe the
elders at one end and the youngsters at the other.
 If there is a single table, then the host and hostess sit at the opposite ends, or in the
center of the table facing each other.
 The guest of honor (male) sits to the right of the hostess, and the VIP lady sits on the
right of the host. Second ranking male sits at the left of the hostess and so on.
 No two women or two men should be seated side by side.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

10. HRhelpdesk.in Elbows
 Bad body language
 Occupies too much space
 Blocks the view of people sitting next to u
 Only keep forearms on table
 Hug your elbows to the ribs
 Keeping elbows on the table before food is ok.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

11. HRhelpdesk.in Mannerism
 Do not touch your serving plate to see if it is warm.
 Keep your hands on your lap until the host/hostess begins to eat.
 Do not play with cutlery glasses etc.
 Don’t grab your knife and fork as if they will run away or sit with their tips pointed
toward the sky like a dagger.
 If you like a piece of your cutlery etc do not turn it upside down to check the make.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

12. HRhelpdesk.in Knife
 The knife is used to cut your food and to butter the bread if the butter knife is not
provided.
 When you are not using your knife for cutting ,place it at the upper edge of your plate
with the cutting edge toward the center of your plate.
 Do not use it for putting any food in your mouth.
 Do not place it at the tip of your plate and the handle on the table cloth
 A helpful rule while laying cutlery is to place knives so that they can be picked up and
used as is, without any adjustment. This, of course, would require that the sharp edge
will face inward toward the plate.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

13. HRhelpdesk.in Fork
 Food is placed in the mouth with a fork.
 Eat all the food on the large plate with the fork, never with knife or spoon.
 Never pile up a mound of food on the back of the fork with your knife.
 Tender food may be cut with the side of the fork.
 If no salad fork is provided, salad may be eaten with the large dinner fork.
 The fork may be held in either right or left hand.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

14. HRhelpdesk.in Bread
 Tear your bread into small pieces and butter each piece individually before you eat it.
The only exception is hot rolls which can be buttered by cutting open the abdomen so
that the butter melts inside.
 Bread is always placed on BNB plate at the left side of the service plate.
 Do not hold the whole slice of bread in your hand and butter it in mid air.
 Bread can also be served in a basket.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

15. HRhelpdesk.in Soup
 While eating soup, dip the spoon away from you towards the center of the table and
eat out of the side of the spoon and not from the front
 Never blow on your soup.
 Try to drink without making any noise. Tilt the spoon so that the spoon enters your
mouth without sounding like a sucking pump.
 When thin clear soup which is normally served in cups, it is alright to drink it like tea,
or you can also use the spoon
 If the cup has handles on both side, its alright to lift it with both hands.
 Scoop a little at a time so that it does not dribble.
 When little soup is left, tilt the bowl gently away from you and scoop. Remember to tilt
only three times and not more.
 When finished, leave spoon on the side of the plate and not in the bowl.
 Don’t put the whole soup spoon in your mouth, drink from the side.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

16. HRhelpdesk.in Self Service
 Don’t use your own knife, folk or spoon in a serving dish.
 If there is no serving implement ask for it.
 Serve with your right hand. Use the serving spoon to take what you want,dipping
away from you and brushing at edge of bowl to avoid dripping .
 Food should always be passed to the right.
 Place different items on your plate in different sections neatly. Do not make a mess.
 If you are confronted with a difficult food, there is no harm asking for help.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

17. HRhelpdesk.in Layout
 Your plate is in the center.
 Knives and spoons on your right.
 Napkins and forks on the left.
 Liquids on the right.
 Solids on the left.
 A small tip
 Remember the first two letters of the word “drink”
 (Dr) stands for “drink right”, so the bread plate goes on the other side.
 Serve from the right and clear from the left.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

18. HRhelpdesk.in Eating
 Cut one bite at a time and not a whole pile of bites.
 There are two styles of cutting meat:-
 If you are eating in “ American style”, you may put your knife down, switch your fork
from left to right hand and eat your bite with it.
 If you are eating “continental style”, you may cut the piece of meat and eat it without
setting your knife on the plate and changing hands of the fork.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

19. HRhelpdesk.in Etiquette
 If you are a guest at someone’s house don’t sit unless the host sits first.
 Never do anything until the host does first
 Do not mash down any of your vegetables like a field to be planted.
 Chapatti's are always served in baskets.
 Underlines are used for decoration and dimension.
 Two forks should not see each other.
 Eat rice with fork.
 Do not burp on the table…if u do say esuse me and do not make it a big deal
 Place different items on your plate in different sections neatly. Do not make a mess.
 Cake is eaten with a fork. Do not try to shove the entire pastry in your mouth in one or
two bites.
 Corn must be eaten with the fingers. Put butter and salt on one or two rows of corn
while still on the plate. Finish rows and butter again to eat turning the whole corn.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette

20. HRhelpdesk.in Networking
 Talk to the people next to you, but don’t shout across the table
 Don’t be the only talker..Give others a chance to talk too.
 On entering the dining hall, pull out the chair for the lady to your right, and seat her
before taking your seat.
 Do not wipe the cutlery with your napkin, its like insulting your host’s sanitation.
© HRhelpdesk.in Dining Etiquette