It’s easy to look like a primitive hunter as you hack away at your food with knife and fork. But at dinner parties, at a restaurant or in formal occasions you’ll want to use these utensils in the classical manner. It’s not hard, though it may feel awkward at first.
Placing the cutlery in an ‘X’ means you did not like the meal, while placing them neatly side-by-side on the plate either means you are finished or you felt the food was excellent, depending on the orientation.
- To start with, the fork is on the left side of the plate and the knife is on the right side.
- Try laying the utensils down both together at an angle when finished, at 4 o’clock positioning. This is much more desired than upside down, laying off the plate, or on the sides, like a bridge. Only do this when finished with the meal, during the meal for a pause place the fork and knife in a X formation on the plate. this signals the waiter that you are not finished.
Finished with a Course:
- Place the knife and fork parallel with the handles in the four o’clock position on the right rim of the plate;
- The tips rest in the well of the plate in the ten o’clock position;
- The blade of your knife should face inward;
- The fork tines may be either up or down.
- This position signals to the server that you’re finished. It also decreases the chance that the utensils could fall to the floor when the plates are cleared.
Try it out
