Mother’s Day is coming. What better way to impress your mother on her day than to brush up on your table manners for the next Sunday brunch. Table manners are the rules of etiquette used while eating, which may also include the use of utensils. Different cultures observe different rules for table manners. Each family or group sets its own standards for how strictly these rules are to be followed. Some of these customs have evolved over centuries to make the practice of eating with others pleasant and sociable. With so many table manners to keep track, keep these basic, but oh-so-important, table manners in mind as you eat:
1) Chew with your mouth closed.
2) Keep your phone off the table and set to silent or vibrate. Wait to check calls and texts until you are finished with the meal and away from the table.
3) Hold utensils correctly. Do not use your fork or spoon like a shovel, or stab your food with your knife.
4) Do not groom or attend to hygiene at the table.
5) Remember to use your napkin.
6) Wait until you are done chewing to sip or swallow a drink.
7) Pace yourself with fellow diners. Cut and eat only one piece of food at a time.
8) Avoid slouching and do not place your elbows on the table while eating (though it is okay to prop your elbows on the table while conversing after dinner and the table is cleared).
9) Instead of reaching across the table for something, ask for it to be passed to you.
10) Wait until everyone else has been served before starting to eat.
Two important priceless tips you can use to survive any meal includes the rule of “outside-in” and “B and D” rule. Deciding which knife, fork, or spoon to use is made easier by the outside-in rule – use the utensils on the outside first and work your way inward. So, if you are served a salad first, use the fork set to the far left of your plate. Your water glass is the one above the knife in your place setting and your bread plate is to the left. To remember which bread plate belongs to you and if the glass in front of you belongs to you or your neighbor, use “b” and “d”. Touch the index finger on your right hand to your right thumb. Touch the index finger on your left hand to your left thumb. The “b” formed by your left hand is for “bread” (your bread plate is always at the left of your place setting). The “d” formed by your right hand is for “drink” (your drinking glasses are always at the right of your place setting).
The Continental Style prevails at all meals, formal and informal across the globe. Learn this contemporary style of dining to impress your mother, because it is a natural, non-disruptive way to eat.
• Hold your fork in your left hand, tines downward.
• Hold your knife in your right hand, an inch or two above the plate.
• Extend your index finger along the top of the blade.
• Use your fork to spear and lift food to your mouth.
When you pause to take a sip of your beverage or to speak with someone, rest your knife and fork on your plate near the center, slightly angled in an inverted V and with the tips of the knife and fork pointing toward each other. When each course is finished place the knife and fork parallel with the handles in the four o'clock position on the right rim of the plate.
Whether you are dining at a restaurant or hosting your mother for a casual meal at your house remember to serve her as the guest of honor first. Remember during service of a formal dinner, the food is brought to each diner at the table; the server presents the platter or bowl on the diner's left. At a formal affair, plates are removed by a professional staff to the right. At a more informal meal serving dishes are passed. Pass to the right (if the item is not being passed to a specific person). One diner either holds the dish as the next diner takes some food, or he hands it to the person, who then serves herself. If bread is passed, place the bread and butter on your butter plate - yours is on your left - then break off a bite sized piece of bread, put a little butter on it, and eat it. Always pass the salt and pepper together.
Do not forget good napkin manners as the last element to impress your Mother. Napkins should be picked up, unfolded, and placed on the lap, but not above the table level. A large dinner napkin is folded in half, with the fold facing the body. Do not wipe your mouth with the napkin; instead, blot it. If you need to leave the table place your napkin on your chair. When you finished with your meal the napkin goes on the left of your plate refolded.
Your mother was the first to feed you; dine with you; smile as you tried new foods; wipe your mouth; and, teach you to use your silverware. She loves you no matter what your manners and would be proud if you dusted off your manners in her honor.