Bon Ton a la table - how to behave at the table
SAVOIR-VIVRE
The term savoir-vivre comes from French and literally means "know how to live".
The concept of savoir-vivre we understand as good manners, social convention, knowledge of customs, rules of politeness, ability to behave in any situation.
So how the savoir-vivre looks like at the table?
Before we are going to visit someone,lets play the host role.
It’s not only the clothes that make a man, but also the table, so it is important to choose the appropriate tablecloth.
The tablecloth should be clean (no stains!) and perfectly ironed. It is important to properly select a size of the tablecloth - tablecloth should fall from each side at least 20 cm. Let us remember about equal arrangement of the tablecloth.
On the table, napkins should be included. They should be selected under the colour of the tablecloth. In Poland, paper napkins are often used, however, much more elegant are material napkins. One can put them in fancy shapes: shell, fan, butterfly, which is an additional table decoration.
Fan
Shell
Triple cone
It should be also noted that the correct positioning of cutlery is very important. The principle is simple - put them at use order from outside to inside. Thus, the outside will be a starter cutlery, closer to the plate - cutlery, which we will use while eating the main course. On the left side, we put the fork, on the right the spoon and the knife. The knife should always be directed toward the edge of the plate.
Spoon and fork for dessert we put over the plate – while remembering to keep the fork handle on the left side, and the spoon handle on the right side. The spoon is located over the fork.
Cutlery should be placed 1 cm from the plate and the edge of the table. This should also be the distance between them.
At the top of the left side, a plate on the bread with butter knife should be put while remembering to keep the fork handle on the right side. On the right side, put glasses for beverages. Water glass should be put over the first knife from the plate, and going diagonally 45 degrees to the left we put glass of white wine and red wine.
In situations where we have to deal not only with wine, but also with vodka or whiskey, put a glass for vodka on the right side of the glass for water, and a glass for whiskey on the right side of the knife lying on the outside.
The table setting for: starters, soups, main course and dessert with a glass for water and the small side place with a butter knife.
The table setting for: starters, main course and dessert with a glass for water and wine.
We can set a napkin on the side plate.
The table setting for: typical breakfast. Put single cutlery with a coffee cup and side plate for bread. The napkin is laid flat on the table.
Remember the aesthetics of the table. All the elements, such as table cloth, napkins, flowers or tableware should blend well in terms of colour. Crockery and cutlery should constitute one set. They cannot be chipped.
It is important to decorations, such as a vase or candleholder, as they do not interrupt serving dishes nor do not constitute a communication barrier. Too tall vase set between two people sitting opposite each other prevent them from freely carrying on a conversation.
As the old waiter used to say in Henryk Worcell's novel “Enchanted Sections”: “I recommend myself to your memory Sir” , just as I encourage you to follow the next parts of" Bon Ton a la Table "
Gentleman