Wedding season is in full force, as you may already know. Instagram stories and facebook posts fill up your feed. You may even had to dust up your old suit/dress. This is just one of the several types of fancy dinners that exist in your life, be it for some job interviews, dates or fancy restaurants. We know that these fancy dinners can be very confusing, with all their crockery, cutlery and whatnot. Therefore, we can help you navigate through this minefield with utmost elegancy!
How does the table look?
When I had my first fancy dinner, I remember looking at this with complete confusion, so you’re not alone buddy. Most fancy dinners follow this structure, with minor alterations like the napkin on the plate or the dessert cutlery being given at the end to name some.
You should find your forks on your left and your spoons and knives to your right. Dessert cutlery should always be on top. Anything for bread should be on your top left and glasses should be on your top right, with the water being the closest and the champagne being the farthest. Coffee/tea cup can either be on your left or given during dessert time.
Navigating the minefield
The concept is very simple, you work your way from the outside inward. This means that bread goes first, then the cutlery for the soup, then the salad, then the fish, then the dinner. For the glasses, the same goes, meaning that you take champagne first, then white wine (goes with fish), then red (goes with whatever the dish is), then water, moving with each course.
Where does the napkin go?
The napkin should ideally be placed on your lap, to avoid liquids staining your dress. It can also be used to dab your mouth or clean your hands. To leave the table, you can place it on the right of the plate. When finished, you can put it on the left of the plate or on the plate.
Two places the napkin never goes is in a glass or around your neck, as a bib, we’re not children.
One small, subtle detail
Something that is highly overlooked is the way you leave the cutlery on your plate after finishing your meal. Did you know that there is an actual “language” of leaving cutlery on the table?
These are a way of leaving your cutlery, communicating to the waiter. Fork and knife placed in a cross fashion denote the next plate. Fork and knife facing north denote finished. If they are pointing east in the same fashion, you are complementing the chef. If the fork and knife are crossed together, this indicates that you did not like the dish. Placing these, pointing at each other but not crossed, this indicates a pause before the next dish.
Now, you are “partly” ready for your next wedding (One of a thousand things ticked off, woohoo!). If you want to set up a fancy dinner at home or simply own a cutlery set, check out our 44 silver cutlery set here. (See how elegant that was?)