Had a very enriching and practical course on etiquette that comprised of a crash course on Contemporary Dining Etiquette (theory + practical)! Our trainer is Ms Agnes Koh from Etiquette & Image International.
Contemporary means European. The American differs slightly and the trainer explained that we ought to follow the contemporary style since we were once under British rule and some things stay. But within contemporary, there are also deviations for e.g. the italian would dip their bread into vinegar.
Not very much an expert at it yet but I think I should remember some basics to contemporary dining. Here's how the dining table set up should look like:
Generally, bread on the left and drinks on the right. You use your cutlery from outside in. The glasses are arranged in a square with the water goblet at 4 o'clock to facilitate your frequent use of it.
Oh yeah, we even got to choose our main course prior. It is a 4-course dinner and you could choose from sirloin steak, cod fillet or chicken breast.
Special room with tables lined up side by side just for the training. Super longggggg set up complete with chandelier and candles it reminds me of castle and royal blood. There are also rules as to who should sit where, for e.g. apparently the guests and their spouses' are seated on opposite ends of the table.
Ha, so the gentlemen are expected to always offer their help to the ladies - when they move in and out of their chairs, check if they're comfortable etc.
You always enter the chair from the left and exit from the right.
And here comes the food!
Bread is always served first. You pick the bread from the basket with your fingers. Pinch only bite-sized pieces and apply butter onto it with the butter knife. Munch.
1st course: Appetizer
Ok, so we're not supposed to eat anything from inside the head and tail, just the body. It was my first time trying to de-shell a prawn using a fork and knife and it turned out to be super easy and not clumsy at all.
(Oh, and I played cheat, I ate the meat inside the head and the tail =P)
2nd course: Soup
This is lobster bisque btw. For soup, most of you should know that your spoon should scoop from the inside and outwards. There is a historical origination to it and it's too lengthy to share here, but it's actually quite sensible and we bought it (assuming it's true haha).
3rd course: Sirloin steak
Not too many guidelines to this but the general - always cut and eat bite-sized portions so you won't be caught in an awkward situation of talking with your mouth filled.
4th course: Dessert (Tiramisu)
Hold your fork like a pencil and slice the dessert using the longer edge.
We finished dinner with coffee and tea and Agnes advised it's always polite to say yes when they offer you any. Feel free to add creamer or sugar (brown is recommended, for original taste) and stir with your teaspoon using a figure of 8 method. Atas as it may sound/look but we later discovered it is actually not effective. Haha. I think the kopitiam clink!clink!clink! method is the best. CHEAPER BETTER FASTER, lol!
Some other pointers to note:
- no sharing of food with one another :( (we played cheat, but well, just to try the other main course)
- you only wipe your mouth by dabbing your left and right corners with your napkin. with your right hand
- you clear any misc food/non-food with your napkin. with your left hand.
- your arms should only go onto the table as far up as your wrists
- pass pepper and salt as an entity and always to your right
- you should eat with hand-to-mouth and not head-to-table
And this is the 101 to the art of hosting and dining! Hope you liked my sharing haha. We definitely enjoyed the course very much because of the knowledge and insights gained. The skills are very much practical and worthy to have. We also picked up pointers on how to dress and how to conduct ourselves at a social event. Thumbs up!
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