Imagine a fine dining experience at one of the best restaurants in Colombo such as the chic Rare at Residence. There is a unique set of practices to adopt at such formal dining occasions whether it is a business dinner or a high end social event. One of the basic rules is remembering your simple good manners, always be polite and gracious. The more technical details are not that difficult to remember. However, proper it may be to pull a chair for a lady at a social dinner, at a professional gathering this would be a rude gesture. If the number of utensils laid out on the table staggers you, simply remember that you can start with the utensils laid out on the outside and work your way in, as the meal progresses.

 

Usually, the fork that is the largest in terms of size is the entrée fork while the salad fork tends to be relatively smaller. The utensils that they place above your plate are made up of the desert fork and spoon. It is customary to hold the knife and fork with handles in the palm, with your forefinger on top and your thumb underneath.

If you want to rest your utensils during your meal while you take a sip of your water or wine, always put your knife on the top area of plate and place the fork across the middle part of the plate. After you finish one course, keep the fork below the knife diagonally across the plate; this indicates that you’ve finished. When breaking bread, avoid using a knife. Etiquette requires you to break your bread with your hands. The bread and butter plate rests on the left while meal rests in the middle. Never use a napkin to wipe your mouth. Last but not least, always be courteous to the waiting staff, even if you don’t like the food and the service. It is rude to complain and criticize.

Catalina Forbes is a travel writer who bases her content on many thrilling escapades experienced across the world. Google+