Western Table Manners 吴雯雯 36 号 吴雯雯 36 号

Seating arrangements European and American countries are mostly rectangul ar table, the man of the house sitting on one end of th e table, the hostess sat the other side, the seating usually try to avoid two men or two ladies sit together.

Tableware Western tableware mainly compris es a knife, fork, spoon, plate, cup The knife was divided into edible k nife, sword fish meat, butter knife, fruit knife,fork is divided into edi ble fork.harpoon,lobster fork,uti lity knife and fork specification is generally greater than the use of a knife and fork. Tablespoon teaspo on, spoon divides. Cup type are more, tea cup, coffee cup and saucer, for porcelain,glas s, glass for glass products.

Table setting placement （餐具的摆放位置） In formal settings, all the silverware, cups,saucers and the like are plac e on the table, so it is often difficult to know which fork to use when or which water glass is yours. As a general rule to thumb, silverware is line d up in the order in which a person will use them, going from the outside, in. For instance, the fork and knife used for the salad are placed in the outermost of the sitting, farthest from your plate （ with the exception of the spoon ）.Dessert silverware,if not brought out with the dessert,are placed at the top of your entree plate. Glassw are, cup and saucer are placed to your right, white the napkin, bread pla te and butter spreader to your left. 在正式的情况下，所有的银餐具，玻璃餐具，杯碟等等都是被摆放在桌子上 的，所以经常都很难弄清楚什么时候该用什么叉子或哪个水杯是你的，一般 情况下，银餐具时按使用的顺序从外到内摆放的。例如：吃沙拉时用的叉子 和刀是放在餐具的最外边，离你的盘子最远（除调羹外），用餐后甜点的银 餐具如果不是和你的甜点以前拿来的那就是在你的餐具盘的上面。玻璃杯， 杯、碟在你的右边，餐巾，面包盘和涂黄油用的小刀在你的左边。

餐具的使用 （ the use of the tableware ） Rules on flatware （扁平的餐具，指刀，叉，匙等 ） Start from the outside and work your way in toward the plates as the meal progresses. Usually, the big fork is for the entree ; the big spoon for the soup. 餐具的使用根据上菜的顺序由外向里使用。通常，最大的叉 子是用来使用通常，最大的叉子是用来食用主菜的，最大的 汤勺是用来喝汤的 “ bd ” 守则：吃在你的左手边，喝在你的右手边 Eat on your left, drink in your right 摆餐具也照此守则 Use the knife by your left hand, use the fork By your right hand.

The order of dishes in the west 1 、 Starter （开胃菜） 2 、 soup （汤） 3 、 main course （主菜） 4 、 Desert （甜品） 4 、 drink （咖啡，茶等饮品） Dinner start with a small dish, which is often called an a starter. After the starter you will get a bowl of soup.The next dish is the main course, it usually is a beefst eak. A vegetable salad will be served. Then a delicious dessert will appear at the table. At last is a cup of tea or coffee.

starter

Soup

Main course

dessert

drink

Some manners in the west open the napkin and put it on your lap before eating you should use the fork with your left hand and the knife with your right hand. the soup course dinner usually begins with soup. The largest spoon at your place is the soup spoon. It will be beside your plate at the right side hand. （喝汤时要用到盘子右边最大的勺子） if there is a fish course, it will probably follow the soup. There may be a special fork for the fish, or it may be similar to the meat fork. Often it is smaller. （吃鱼的餐叉通常要用到最小的）

The proper way to butter a piece of bread is to rip off a piece that ‘ s about one or two bites in size, butter it, an d eat it. Repeat. Never bite straight into a roll, and ref rain from cutting it in half and buttering. while cutting meat the correct way is to cut a piece and then switch your fork to your right hand to pick it up. Th is method is considered the “ American" way. Not switchi ng your fork and using your left is called the “ Continental " way, and is done most often in European countries. Thi s way is gaining acceptance and I wouldn't be surprised if one day soon it's considered acceptable in fine dining. Al so, cut meat a piece at a time. Cutting the entire meat u p into pieces or cutting more than one at a time is tacky.

Wipe your mouth before taking a sip of your drink. It's unsightly to see food particles or grease on the rim of your glass. Also, it's considered rude to take a sip of your drink with your mouth full. Plus, backwash is gross! When leaving the table during the course of your meal, put your napkin on your chair, not the table. No one wants to see your stained napkin. And at the completion of the meal, place it on the left of your plate, or if your plate has been cleared. in the center. When in a situation where you have to pass food or condiments to others at the table, pass it to your right, or counter clockwise. Never do a "boarding house reach" across the table.

When you don't want to swallow a piece of food in your mouth (e.g. a bone or a piece of fat), move the piece to the front of your mouth and use your fork (or spoon if that's what you were using) to retrieve it from your mouth and into the side of your plate. The only time its okay to use your fingers is when it's a fish bone. To get the waiter's attention, the most polite way is to make eye contact. However chances are they are busy and/or are ignoring you. It's acceptable to raise your hand to head level, just don't go overboard by raising it way above your head and wave it about.

When you're done with your meal, the proper placement of the silverware is to lay them parallel to each other and across the plate with the handles facing the right. To clarify, the ends would be facing 10 0'clock and four. Note: Not all waiters will know this and they still may ask you if it's okay to clear your plate. At least you appear classy. 当你吃好了的时候，要把餐具放平行，柄朝右摆好放在自己的 盘子里然后撤盘。需要清楚的是，结束时刀叉是朝十点钟和四 点钟的方向摆放。注意：不是所有的侍者都知道这一点，至少 在上等餐馆里他们仍然会问你是否可以撤盘了，但至少你自己 要显得高贵和有教养。

Thank you !