| Chic Techniques |
| Fine Dining »Chic Techniques |
| Chopsticks: |
Pick up one chopstick as you would a pencil, in the middle of the chopstick, holding it between the base of your thumb and your index finger, using your third and fourth fingers for support. This leaves your index finger free. Place the second chopstick parallel to the first, holding it firmly between the thumb and index finger. The first chopstick remains stationary, while the second one is used as a lever.
Rather than lowering head to plate, lift the small bowls of rice to just below your mouth for eating. Place the chopsticks across your bowl or plate between bites or at the end of the meal. Some Japanese restaurants provide a small ceramic piece on which to rest your chopsticks.
Don't be embarrassed to ask for help, and if you are more comfortable using a fork, ask for one. |
| Crepes, Blintzes & Tortillas: |
There are almost as many kinds of crêpes as there are Frenchmen in Aisne, for every ethnic group has its own form of the stuffed pancake.
A dessert crêpe (crêpe suzette or blini) is eaten with a fork and spoon. Cutting and eating are done with the spoon; stabilizing, with the fork.
The blintze, a thin pancake rolled around a cheese or fruit filling and either fried or baked, is eaten with a knife and fork. It is often accompanied by sour cream, a dollop of which can be placed on each piece. Never dip a piece of blintze into the sour cream.
The Chinese crêpe may be filled with a mixture of meat (pork is typical), sauce and lettuce. It is rolled and eaten from the hand.
Hot tortillas may be folded in quarters and buttered. Or you may hold one flat in your hand or on a plate, put some beans or other mixture in the center and roll it like a cigar. Eat from one end to the other. |
| Finger Bowls: |
Finger bowls are genuinely helpful after eating artichokes, shellfish, corn on the cob, asparagus or any other handheld food. And they're easier to use than you might think. Just dip the fingers of one hand and then the other into the bowl, and wipe them with a napkin. Never bring the water to your mouth.
After you've used a finger bowl presented on a dessert plate, pick up the dessert silver (if it is on the plate) and put it to either side of the plate, then lift the finger bowl and its doily and place it to the left of the plate. This requires two hands. |
| Fondue: |
For cheese fondue, spear a piece of bread on a fondue fork and dip it into the pot of hot cheese. Coat it and remove it from the cheese, but hold it over the pot for a few seconds to drip and cool — then eat. Try not to touch the fork with your lips or tongue, because it goes back in the pot.
For a meat fondue, plunge a speared piece of meat into the hot oil to cook. When it looks as if it's done to your requirements, the meat is removed to a plate and eaten with a regular fork while your next piece is cooking. Accompanying the meat fondue is usually a choice of sauces; put these sauces on your dinner plate with either a ladle or serving spoon. Then, with your knife, push some sauce onto the dinner fork you've used to spear the meat. |
| How To Drink It: |
Drinking coffee, tea and other hot drinks from a mug is common in informal settings. A saucer may be provided underneath for you to put your teaspoon on. Most often, though, there isn't one. If there are paper mats, the spoon may be placed facedown on one of them, or on the edge of a butter plate or dinner plate. Don't drink from a mug with a spoon in it — not least because you run the risk of poking yourself in the eye.
Tea bags should be placed against the edge of your saucer after the excess liquid has been squeezed out, either by pressing the bag against the side of your cup or mug with a spoon or by setting the bag in the spoon and wrapping the string around the bowl of the spoon and bag. If there isn't a saucer or plate, ask for one. Remove long-handled spoons from iced tea or coffee before drinking.
If coffee or tea slops into your saucer, ask for a new saucer. If this is inconvenient to do and paper napkins are available, use one to absorb the liquid on the saucer and let it sit there as a sponge. This is more advantageous than dripping across the table or yourself.
A glass of red wine is held at the base of the bowl. A glass of white wine is held by the stem — to preserve its chill.
A brandy snifter is warmed by rolling the bowl between both hands, and is then cupped in one hand. The warming brings out the bouquet.
If there are olives, onions or cherries in your drink, you may remove them with your fingers; it is easier to wait until all the liquid is drunk, when you can tip the glass back to allow the garnish to slip into your mouth.
Never put a glass down on an unprotected surface in someone's house. Ask for a coaster.
If you spill liquid, try not to create too much of a fuss. Simply ask the host or hostess where you can find a sponge to clean it up.
Never dunk anything into your drink.
Don't ever blow on a hot drink to cool it. Stir it quietly and/or wait until it cools. |
| Napkins: |
| A large dinner napkin is placed on the lap folded in half. If it is a luncheon-sized napkin, open it all the way. If you leave the table during a meal (or when you do so at its conclusion), never put your napkin on the chair. Always place it, loosely folded, to either the right or left of your plate. |
| Paper Wrappers: |
| If you've ever been torn between the ashtray and the floor, here's what you should really do with those little pieces of paper. Sugar wrappers can be tucked under your saucer or next to your plate, lying flat. Leave butter wrappers or jelly containers on your butter plate. |
| Pasta: |
Thick macaroni, lasagna or cannelloni can be cut with a fork if size requires it, and any remaining sauce can be sopped up with fork-speared bread.
Spaghetti is eaten with a fork. Pick up just a few strands and twirl them on a fork. You may need the aid of a large spoon to help with the winding, but never lift the spoon from the plate. You can also have a small piece of bread in readiness to buttress the fork if you want to avoid the frowned-upon spoon. Never cut spaghetti.
If your platter comes with sauce and grated cheese on top of the pasta, it can be tossed with a spoon and fork prior to eating. The remaining sauce can be picked up with small pieces of speared bread. |
| Pizza: |
| A pie-shaped wedge of pizza is held in your fingers with the sides curled up to avoid losing the filling. If the slice is large, you may eat it with a knife and fork. |
| Which Utensil To Use: |
The general rule (apart from the commandment that thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's knife) is to start from the outside and work your way toward the plate. The dessert fork and spoon are usually supplied as needed; sometimes, however, they are found at the top of the plate, parallel to the table edge.
There are two styles for cutting: the two-step European, or Continental, style and the four-step crossover American style. Both are acceptable.
In the two-step cutting method, the knife is held in the right hand (unless you are left-handed, in which case you may reverse these directions) and the fork in the left throughout the procedure. With the tines of the fork facing down, the food is cut and the fork brought to the mouth, tines down.
In the four-step method, the fork starts in the left hand, the knife in the right, and the main dish is cut. The knife is then placed flat on the plate, and the fork is switched to the free right hand and turned right side up in the process. It is brought to the mouth in the right hand.
When resting between bites, place the knife and fork, handles to the right, on the plate. Never rest them on the table. When you're finished, place the utensils side by side, across the middle of the plate, handles right, to secure their removal.
Food is always served from the left, and the silver service fork is placed to the left of the spoon, with both utensils angled in toward the food so that they can be easily picked up by the next person served. Also, start eating hot food when it is served — don't wait for everyone to begin. |
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