February 27, 2008

Dinner date tips

When it gets to the point where you’re going out for a dinner party or just a dinner date, it pays to know what to do if a little crisis happens; here are some tips that will get you through the tense little moments:

When dining with six or more, it’s polite to wait till roughly 50% of the table has their food before starting your meal.
You can and should use your knife to cut large pieces of lettuce or other ingredients in your salad.
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, and eat it.
While cutting meat, the correct way is to cut a piece and then switch your fork to your right hand to pick it up.
Wipe your mouth before taking a sip of your drink.
When leaving the table during the course of your meal, put your napkin on your chair, not the table.
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.
When you don’t want to swallow a piece of food in your mouth, move the piece to the front of your mouth and use your fork
To get the waiter’s attention, the most polite way is to make eye contact.
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.

Source [Ploomy]