Proper Dinner Settings

“The Proper Place Setting”

I remember when I was younger how we would always use the good Silver for special occasions. I started thinking today about how there is so much involved in a proper table setting that it is sometimes not easy to remember where they all go!  So If you would like to set your table “properly” for your next special occasion meal, than be sure to follow these steps.

                                                   

You will need:

• Salad forks
• Dinner Forks
• Dessert Forks
• Dinner/Service Plate
• Knives
• Teaspoons
•  Soup spoons
• Bread plates with butter knives
•  Wine glasses
•  Coffee Cup
•   Water glasses

Note:  You should think of setting all the items in two rows.

Step One: Start by placing down the service plate. Once you have this on the table, everything else will be placed in proximity around it.

Step Two: Place the bread plate down with the butter knife. It should be located at the top left corner of the dinner plate (Approximately 11 o’clock). The coffee cup is placed to the right of the dinner plate at 1 o’clock. The water glass is at the top left of the coffee cup at 1 o’clock. Set up left to right in a top row (white wine, red wine, water glass.) The teaspoon for coffee and dessert fork are placed directly above the dinner plate. The fork is placed closest to the plate, underneath the spoon. The head of the fork faces the right, and the head of the spoon faces the left.

Note: The water glass will be filled with main course.

Step Three: Next, we complete the bottom row. It is set from left to right starting with the salad fork. The dinner fork comes next and on the other side finally the soup spoon.

Note: You can have as many forks and knives as you wish. It all depends on the amount of courses you will be served. Remember when you go to use your utensils work from the outside-in. (Just like Julia Roberts was taught in “Pretty Woman”.)

                If you complete those three steps then you will have the perfect table setting.

                As a last Note: the tip of the day is as follows:

                                If you cannot tell which bread plate and dinner settings are yours then pull out this little trick. Hold your hands up and connect your index fingers to your thumbs, Notice how your left hand makes the letter “b” and your left hand makes the letter “d”. Therefore you will know that the bread plate is on the left, and your dinner utensils  are on the right. Or simply say “BMW” (bread plate, main plate water glass) and look from left to right.