About western table manners

In western-style dining, people pay attention to satiety on the one hand, and enjoy the taste and atmosphere of dining on the other. In order to be more skilled when eating western food for the first time, it is very necessary to be familiar with western etiquette.

I. Dining place and matters needing attention

When invited to breakfast, lunch, dinner, buffet, cocktail party or tea party, there are usually only two kinds, one is formal and the other is informal. If you go to a high-end restaurant, men should wear neat tops and leather shoes, and women should wear suits and shoes with heels. If formal clothes are required, men must wear ties.

The following are some of the most representative occasions and precautions:

1. buffet

Buffet (also a common one in reception) can be breakfast, Chinese food, dinner or even refreshments. There are cold dishes and hot dishes, which are placed on the food table with tableware for guests to use. It is usually held indoors or in the yard or garden to entertain different numbers of guests. If the venue is too small or there is no service staff to entertain more guests, buffet is the best choice.

At the beginning of the buffet, you should wait in line to get the food. Before you take the food, help yourself to a plate. Adhere to the principle of "eat less and run more", don't eat too much at a time, you can eat more times. After eating, put the tableware in the designated place. It is not allowed to "get more than one bargained for". If you eat a buffet in a restaurant, it is usually priced according to the number of people eating. Some also stipulate the length of the meal, requiring you to finish it. If you don't finish it, you need to "buy" what you didn't finish.

There are two kinds of buffets, and the one that sits and enjoys some services is the best. It combines an elegant environment with a relaxed atmosphere. Such a party needs certain services, unless it is small enough for the hostess to handle, and it also needs enough space to accommodate the dining table. The other is that there is no need for a table, no need for service or little service. Guests can entertain themselves, bring their own plates, silverware and napkins to the place where they feel most comfortable, and discuss problems at any time.

Buffet, in addition to solving the problems caused by extra services, also solves the problem that the hostess arranges the table. When guests are free to choose a place, order and satisfaction are not the responsibility of the host. Often provide a variety of dishes, guests have enough choices, and the host does not have to worry about whether the menu meets his appetite.

2. Cocktail party

The reception is lively and simple, which is convenient for people to talk. Drinks are the most important hospitality items, and there are some snacks, such as snacks, bread, sausages and so on. , are ready to put on the table and coffee table or served to the guests by the waiter with a tray, so that the guests can walk around at will. The holding time is usually from 5 pm to 7 pm. In recent years, cocktail parties are often held before and after various large-scale international activities.

On this occasion, it is best to hold a napkin in your hand so as to wipe your hands at any time. Hold the cup in your left hand, so that you are ready to extend your right hand to shake hands with others at any time. Don't forget to wipe your mouth and hands with a tissue after dinner. Throw the used paper towels to the designated place.

3. Banquet

Dinner is divided into grand dinner and informal dinner.

Western customs, grand dinners, that is, formal banquets, are basically arranged after 8 pm, and China usually starts from 6 pm to 7 pm. Holding this kind of banquet shows that the host attaches great importance to the theme of the banquet, or for a celebration. Seats are usually arranged for formal dinners, and the dress code should be indicated on the invitation. There are speeches or toasts, and sometimes dinner music is arranged, which is played live by a small band.

A light meal is a simple form of banquet. This kind of banquet atmosphere is cordial and friendly, suitable for relatives and friends, and some are held at home. Clothing, seats, tableware, layout, etc. Don't be too particular, but it's still different from ordinary family dinners.

In the west, it is a habit to invite couples to dinner at the same time. If you are invited, please read your invitation letter carefully. The invitation letter will indicate that you will be accompanied by a person, husband or wife, or bring a partner. You'd better tell the host their names when replying to the invitation.

4. Other preventive measures

One of the characteristics of western food is that there are many tableware: cups, plates, silverware and so on.

Tableware is carefully arranged according to the order of serving different dishes. Put a food plate (or soup plate) in front of the seat, a fork in your left hand and a knife in your right hand. The spoon is also placed on the right side of the food plate. Put the dessert spoon, fork and coffee spoon above the food plate, and then put the glass slightly to the right. From right: wine glass, champagne glass, beer glass (water glass). Napkins are stacked in beer cups (water cups) or food plates. Put the bread plate on your left hand, and the butter knife on it is placed horizontally in the plate with the blade facing yourself. When eating, the number of knives and forks should be equal to the number of dishes. The order of serving is from outside to inside, the blade is inward, and the order of eating is from outside to inside, followed by appetizer, fish and meat.

At more formal dinners, napkins are made of cloth. Napkins in high-end restaurants are often beautifully folded, and some are tied with small ribbons. Be careful not to wipe your nose or face with a napkin.

Small bottles of salt and pepper can be placed in front of the middle of each set of tableware, between each set of tableware and even in the center of the table, so that a set of small bottles can be used.

After all the tableware is set, don't forget the decorations on the table, such as candlesticks or making a small vase with your teapot, which can add a romantic atmosphere.

Don't put hot water in the cup when entertaining guests, which is neither scientific nor safe, because the cup is easy to burn. Therefore, hot water, hot tea, etc. It should be put in a porcelain cup, which is used to hold ice or cold water.

Westerners drink tea in a different way from China. China people usually drink tea by putting the tea directly in a cup and drinking it with boiled water, while the tea is still in the cup. In the west, tea bags are used or tea leaves are soaked in a teapot first, and then the tea is poured out for drinking, leaving no tea leaves in the teacup.

When sitting, keep your body straight, don't put your elbows on the table, don't cross your legs, and keep a certain distance from the table to facilitate the use of tableware. Don't fiddle with the tableware on the dining table. When the hostess picks up the napkin (if there is no hostess, look at the host), it means eating. Spread the napkin on your leg. If the napkin is large, fold it in half and put it on your leg to cover your leg above the knee.

At a formal dinner party, after the female guests put away their napkins, the men should also put away their napkins. It is best to open the napkin with both hands to avoid shaking it back and forth. Do not pin napkins on the neckline, belt or shirt neckline. When eating, you should keep your head at a certain height, not too low or too moving.

If you leave your seat temporarily during the meal, you can put your napkin on the chair. Never put napkins on the table, otherwise it means that you don't want to eat any more and ask the waiter to stop serving you.

Many hosts don't want their guests to smoke at home. If you want to smoke, you can smoke in the designated place after dessert with the permission of the host or hostess. Don't sit in the dining seat, let the guests around you enjoy the "fairyland" with you.

2. Western table manners

What must be noted at the dinner table is:

1. western food ordering and serving order

There are four or five categories on the menu of western food, namely appetizer, soup, salad, seafood, meat, snacks and so on.

The main course should be decided first. If the main course is fish and the appetizer is meat, the taste is more diverse. In addition to eating a large amount, it is not necessary to prepare a whole meal from a single dish on the menu, as long as the appetizer and the main course are together, a dessert is enough. You don't need soup or appetizers, which is also an ideal combination (but in Italian food, spaghetti is regarded as soup, so in principle, these two dishes are not ordered together).

The formal order of providing a full set of meals is:

1) headboard. The first course of western food is the first course, also called appetizer. The contents of appetizers are generally divided into cold dishes and hot dishes. The common varieties are caviar, foie gras, smoked salmon, cocktail glass, creamy chicken crisp box, roasted snail and so on. Because appetizers are appetizers, appetizers generally have a special flavor, salty and sour, with small quantity and high quality.

2) soup. Different from Chinese food, the second course of western food is soup. Western-style soup can be roughly divided into clear soup, cream soup, vegetable soup and cold soup. There are oxtail clear soup, various cream soups, seafood soup, American clam soup, Italian vegetable soup, Russian Luo Songtang soup and French roasted onion soup. There are few varieties of cold soup, such as German cold soup and Russian cold soup.

3) Side dishes. Fish dishes are generally considered as the third course of western food, also called side dishes. Species include all kinds of freshwater and marine fish, shellfish and molluscs. Aquatic vegetables and eggs, bread and crispy box vegetables are usually called side dishes. Because fish and other dishes are tender and easy to digest, they are placed in front of meat dishes, which is different from the main course of meat dishes. Western-style fish dishes pay attention to the use of special sauces, including tartar sauce, Dutch sauce, hotel sauce, white cream sauce, archbishop sauce, American sauce, sailor fish sauce and so on.

4) Main course. Meat and poultry dishes are the fourth course of western food, also known as the main course. The raw materials of meat dishes are taken from the meat of cattle, sheep, pigs and cowboys, among which beef or steak is the most representative. Steaks can be divided into sirloin steak (also called sirloin steak), filet mignon, "T" bone steak and thin steak. Its cooking methods are often roasting, frying, roasting and so on. Sauces used for meat dishes mainly include Spanish sauce, concentrated boiled sauce, mushroom sauce and Bainisi sauce.

The raw materials of poultry dishes are taken from chickens, ducks and geese, and game such as rabbit meat and venison is usually classified as poultry dishes. Chicken is the most variety of poultry dishes, including pheasant, turkey and bamboo chicken, which can be cooked, fried, roasted and stewed. The main sauces are yellow gravy, curry juice and cream juice.

5) vegetarian dishes. Vegetarian dishes can be arranged after or at the same time as meat dishes, so they can be regarded as a dish or a side dish. Vegetables are called salads in western food. The salad served with the main course is called raw vegetable salad, which is usually made of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and asparagus. The main sauces of salad are vinegar oil juice, French juice, dried island juice, cheese salad juice and so on.

Besides vegetables, there is another salad made of fish, meat and eggs. This kind of salad is usually without sauce and can be used as the first dish in the eating order.

Some vegetables are cooked, such as broccoli, boiled spinach and potato chips. Cooked vegetables are usually served on the plate with the meat dishes of the main course, which is called side dishes.

6) dessert. The dessert of western food is eaten after the main course, which can be regarded as the sixth course. It really includes all the food after the main course, such as pudding, pancakes, ice cream, cheese, fruit and so on.

7) Coffee and tea. The last course of western food is to provide drinks, coffee or tea. Coffee usually contains sugar and whipped cream. Tea usually contains fragrant peach slices and sugar.

2. Grade problem

Even if the guest's status, status and age are higher than that of the host, please sit next to the host when arranging the seating. The host sits in the main seat, the wife of the first important guest is in the right hand, the wife of the second important guest is in the left hand, and the hostess sits opposite the host. She is flanked by the most important first and second male guests.

There are many differences in dining habits between the east and the west, especially in formal western-style banquets, which have many rules. If you know nothing about this, generosity is inevitable.

Qian Gechuan, a famous scholar, once cited two examples.

One was at a banquet held by Hitler. An China envoy wiped his knife and fork with a napkin according to the habit of eating western food at home, but it was extremely impolite, as if blaming the knife and fork for being unclean. As soon as Hitler saw it, he immediately ordered the waiter to change the tableware for all the guests, which embarrassed the diplomatic envoys in China.

Secondly, Li Hongzhang went to Germany to make a fool of himself. Li Hongzhang went to dinner at the invitation of Bismarck. Because he didn't know western etiquette, he washed his hands with a bowl of water after eating the fruit. Bismarck didn't know the reality of China at that time. In order not to embarrass Li Hongzhang, he also gulped down the washing water. Seeing this situation, other civil and military officials had to laugh. Today, there are more and more frequent exchanges between people in the East and the West, so it is necessary to know table manners.

When attending a western banquet, you should pay attention to the following items:

The length didn't start eating until all the guests served and the hostess signaled. Guests are not allowed to eat any food until the hostess picks up the spoon or fork. This is an American habit, which is different from some European countries.

2. Napkins should be spread on your knees. If the napkin is large, it should be folded in half on the leg; If it's small, you can open it all. Although napkins can also be hung around the neck or tied to the chest, they are not generous and it is best not to do so. You can wipe off the oil stains on your mouth or fingers with a corner of a napkin, but you must never wipe the tableware with a napkin.

Sit up straight when eating, don't lean forward too much, and don't cross your arms on the table to avoid colliding with the guests next to you.

When using a knife and fork, you should use a knife with your right hand and a fork with your left hand. When using only a fork, you can hold it with your right hand. When using a knife, don't put the blade outward. Don't put food into your mouth with a knife. When cutting meat, avoid the knife making noise on the porcelain plate. When you eat noodles, you can roll them up with a fork. Don't pick them. When you put down your knife and fork halfway, you should put them on the plate in a figure of eight. If you put the knife and fork together, it means the meal is over.

You should hold the bread in your hand and then put it on the edge of a small dish or a large plate. Never fork bread with a fork. Use a butter knife to cut butter, not a personal knife. Take out the butter and put it in a small dish next to it. Don't rub it directly on the bread. Don't cut bread with a knife, and don't butter the whole bread. But to tear off a small piece at a time, eat one piece at a time and spread one piece at a time.

6. You can only eat salad with a fork. Hold the fork with your right hand, with the fork tip facing up. If there are bread and biscuits on the salad, you can hold a small piece of bread or biscuits with your left hand to help push the salad onto the fork.

7. When eating fish, you can hold the bread in your left hand and the knife in your right hand to push the thorn away. Don't spit the bones or fishbones of the population directly into the plate, but grab them with a fork and gently put them on the plate, or take them out with your hands as little as possible without paying attention, and put them on the edge of the plate, not on the table or underground. The stone should also be spit in the palm of your hand first, and then put into the plate.

8. When drinking water, you should swallow the food in your mouth first. Don't rinse your food with water. When drinking water from a glass, you should pay attention to wipe off the oil stains on your mouth first to avoid soiling the glass.

9. Don't carry plates while eating. When you drink soup, you can tilt the plate and eat it with a spoon. Don't put the spoon in the cup when drinking tea or coffee.

10. Don't make any noise when eating, especially when eating soup. You should shut up when you chew.

1 1. Don't blow your nose or burp while eating. If you sneeze or cough, you should apologize to the people around you.

12. Don't pick your teeth at the dinner table. If something gets stuck between your teeth, take it out and cover your mouth with a napkin, preferably when no one else is present.

13. It is impolite to keep silent while eating. You should talk to people around you. But don't talk while chewing food. Even if someone is talking to you, you should swallow your food before you answer. You can talk without putting down your knife and fork, but don't hold it in the air.

14. At the dining table, all food should be eaten with a knife and fork. Only celery, radish, olives, fruits, dry snacks, dried fruits, sweets, potato chips, corn, frog legs and bread can be eaten with your hands.

15. When the waiter serves the food for the guests in turn, go to your left and it's your turn to take the food. If the waiter is standing on your right, don't take it. It's your turn to take the food. When picking vegetables, you'd better take a little of everything, which will make the hostess happy. If you really don't like a dish, you can also say, "No thanks."

16. When the hostess wants to add food to you. You can pass her the plate with a knife and fork on it or give it to the waiter. You can't ask for more food if she doesn't ask you. It's impolite to do that.

17. Some foods on the table, such as bread, butter, jam, pickles, dried fruits, sweets, etc. It is not allowed to eat until the hostess suggests it. When everyone takes turns to pick up food, the male guest should let the female guest next to him take it first, or ask her if she wants you to take some for her. When eating, you should not take food in front of others. If you need something, you should pass it on behind others' backs.

18. After dinner, the guests have to wait for the hostess to get up from her seat and then leave together. It is impolite to leave at dinner or before the party is over. After standing up, the male guest should help the female guest put the chair back. Put the napkin on the table, don't fold it as it is, unless the host asks you to stay for the next meal.

To make the banquet full of pleasant and harmonious atmosphere from beginning to end, not only the guests should behave appropriately and politely, but also the attitude of the host and hostess is very important.

After the banquet begins, the host and hostess have the responsibility to keep the conversation lively and interesting, so as not to let every guest be left out in the cold. If someone says something inappropriate, the host should try to change the subject skillfully at once.

When eating, the host has to wait for the guests to finish one dish before changing to the next. The host shouldn't eat too fast. If most people have finished eating and a few people haven't finished eating, we should slow down so as not to make the guests feel uneasy.

During the dinner, the host should try his best to make every guest feel comfortable. If a guest drops his knife and fork on the floor. He should be replaced politely at once. If a guest accidentally breaks a plate or bowl, the hostess should calmly clean up and comfort the guest, and never show the color of leaving without saying goodbye.

Finally, the host must never calculate the cost of entertaining guests in front of them.