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Here at Little Blue Deer, we are all about manners! ย Living in south Florida, I cannot even begin to tell you the stuff I see every day, so it’s made me even more conservative in my ways. ย We all know the basics: ย don’t chew with your mouth open, don’t reach over someone to pass something, but I thought I would share a few other, less well-known guidelines that will help you out at a formal event or business dinner.
- ย Speak to the guest on your left first, then the guest on your right when seated at a dinner party. ย Sometimes this is done in tandem with courses as well, eg. during first course speak to guest on left, then shift to guest on right during second course. ย And no matter how unpleasant a guest may be, if you are seated next to them, you just have to talk to them! ย Ignoring someone or dominating the conversation is a no-go!
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- Pass both the salt and pepper at the same time, even if a guest has only asked for one item. ย Never leave the salt or pepper alone.
- Tear off a piece of bread, then butter only that piece.ย This is the bread on your bread plate, btw, lol, don’t tear a piece off when the bread basket is passed! ย Do not butter your whole slice of bread or roll at a time. ย When the butter is passed, simply slice a piece of butter and place it on the edge of your plate, and use that pat to butter each bite. ย Eat one bite at a time (duh!), then repeat the process.
- When you leave the table during dinner, place your napkin on your seat. ย When you are finished eating (and everyone else is too!), loosely fold your napkin and place it to the left of your plate. ย Another piece of napkin etiquette: ย Wait to place the napkin in your lap until the hostess is seated, if there is one. ย If there is no hostess, wait till several people are seated to place your napkin in your lap. ย I generally wait for the oldest female guest to be seated before placing my napkin in my lap (or really before seating myself).
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- When you are done eating, place your knife and fork side by side on your plate. ย They can lay either vertically (knife to right, just like at a table setting, blade facing in, fork tines up) or horizontally (at 10 and 4 o’clock, knife on top, blade facing in, fork tines facing up). ย For the love of God don’t cross the silverware or place it back on the table!
I hope I don’t sound like an old biddy, but trust me, these things are important. ย As I mentioned, most people know the basics and can get by at a dinner party, but it’s the smaller, less obvious things that, trust me, people notice. ย My pet peeve is the bread buttering, it makes me nuts! ย Isn’t it an awesome feeling to know that you can anywhere and will fit right in? ย My in-laws are very old Savannah (and trust me, Savannah is a place where you don’t want to mess around when it comes to etiquette). ย So I totally made it a point to brush up on my table manners and events were just a lot more pleasant because I wasn’t stressing about fitting in or doing something wrong. ย Don’t worry, everyone will still love you if you only pass the salt, but it’s nice to know some of the lesser-known basics. ย Now, go forth and have fun!!
Did I miss something? ย Drop me a line below and let me know!
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