Global Etiquette
Table Settings
in U.S. and
Europe
By Maralyn D. Hill
In general, I will stay focused on
settings. But I may toss in some
manners along the way, like not
talking when your mouth is full. Let’s
get on to table settings.
In 1990, my husband Norm and I had
two college graduates from an
exclusive girls school join our
Thanksgiving dinner. They wanted to
help prepare. I had all the dishware
set out on the table, and said, “Go
ahead and set the table, that will be
a big help.”
About five minutes later, they came
into the kitchen and admitted they
did not know how to set the table.
“I’ll set the first place, and you can
use it as a guide.” What I said
worked and they felt proud. I could
not believe that four years at a
finishing school and this was
Three-Course
Place Setting
something they did not know.
You never know when you will be in
the position to go to a function
where you will have more silverware
than you know what to do with.
After all, most of our dinners at
home are not that fancy. But when
you do know what and how to
manage, it does make a difference in
how you are perceived, if you plan to
move up the corporate or social
ladders.
U.S.
Starting on the left, you would have
the salad fork, dinner fork, plate with
napkin on top, dinner knife, and salad
knife. Above the forks, you would
have a bread and butter plate with a
butter knife/spreader laid across the
top. Above center of plate, you have
the dessert fork with points facing
right, and above the fork the dessert
spoon with the bowl of spoon facing
left. The water glass would go above
the dinner knife and the wine glass
above the salad knife.
Europe
The difference in the set up is that
the dinner fork would come first and
the salad fork second, plate with
napkin, salad knife, and dinner knife.
The reason for the difference is that
in Europe, salad is frequently served
So we are going to go through
set-ups for a three and five course
meal in the United States and in
Europe, as well as make a couple of
side notes on the U.K. Believe it or
not, it is different and can help if
you understand ahead of time.
When you sit down at the table, the
amount of silverware at each place
setting indicates the number of
courses that will be served. There is
a general simple rule, start from the
outside and work your way toward
the center. You can’t go wrong.
However, it helps more, if you
understand which is which.
TABLE SETTING DESIGN BY CAROL CLINTON |
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHERRIE WILKOLASKI
T
able settings are something
that many of us grew up with
and many did not. They used
to be taught in schools and
summer camps, but it seems
they have been dropped from many.
They are so different around the
world, I simply cannot cover them all
in one column, so this month we will
focus on the U.S. and Europe.
Let’s start with a three-course place
setting, which is usually for salad,
main course and dessert.
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