Do not put your elbows on the table, do not talk while eating … We remember this from childhood. And what else do we know important from table etiquette, but do not attach importance to it?
We have collected typical mistakes that prevent us from coming across as a really well-bred person.
When meeting in a cafe or having dinner at home, put your phone away! Everyone knows this, however, they constantly ignore this rule. Even if you put it next to you on the table, it is bad form. By doing this, you show how important a smartphone plays in your life and how uninteresting you are to live communication with the person who is next to you. Especially when you allow yourself to look at your Instagram feed or reply to messages at any moment, it is very frustrating.
Wipe off lipstick with a tissue paper before eating. It is indecent to leave marks on appliances or glasses, no matter how spectacular the color is.
But if you decide to kiss a friend or girlfriend on the cheek, and your lips are painted with bright lipstick, feel free to kiss! Just warn about it or offer a napkin later.
This is delicious food, and you are afraid that it will cool down. Take your time, you should not start eating earlier than others, wait until the one who cooked and laid all this for you sits down at the table. According to the rules of decency, you can start eating only after the hostess has filled her plate.
Enjoy your dinner in peace and quiet. Enjoy the process, taste the taste of the dishes, and then you can already have a little chat. And only speak non-neutral and pleasant topics. For example, about the weather, art, films, travel.
It is not necessary to reach out with a glass to everyone sitting at the table. It is permissible to just raise the glass, look around the audience, smile, and then take a sip. At the same time, clinking glasses with juice is not accepted. If you are not drinking alcohol, fill your glass with water.
Bread is always broken by hand. Never cut it with a knife! You should also not bite off a large piece. It will be correct to do this: pinch off a small piece from the whole bread with your fingers, eat it. And then keep breaking off as needed.
This is strictly prohibited! The rules of etiquette allow you to do this only for a short while between serving dishes. In between meals, during a conversation, you can put your hands on your knees. Alternatively – a freer position – with your left hand lightly rest on the edge of the table, and put your right hand on your knees.
Do not add salt to the dish before you taste it. You can do this mechanically, but by doing so, you will greatly offend the hostess or the cook. By doing this, you show that you don’t trust their taste. And this is not reasonable: what if the food turns out, on the contrary, too salty for you?
Eat spaghetti properly with a fork and tablespoon. You need to put a few pasta on a fork, then scroll in a spoon and only, after they are tucked into a small nest, send it into your mouth.
When the soup is finished, the plate is tilted away from you and does not lean towards the plate. Remember that the spoon should go to the mouth, not the mouth to the spoon. And there will be less chances to pour over the rest of the broth.
By the way
There are dishes that are supposed to be eaten only with your hands. And it’s not just bread, pizza, pastries and sandwiches. Mussels, shrimp with tails, artichokes, hard-boiled eggs and even sushi are advised to be eaten without the aid of cutlery.
And khinkali, for example, is not just advised to eat with your hands, but strongly recommended. They are taken by their tails and eaten with their tail down – so the broth will not flow out, and the owner will not be offended: in Georgian cuisine, they are very sensitive to this dish. The ponytail is then left on the plate. It is believed that the more you eat, the more respect is given to the chef.