Banquet Dining In American Business
Is it always inappropriate to put my elbows on the table in a business dining setting?
After dinner in American business, if your table is cleared and there's coffee around on the table, most Americans do put their elbows on the table, but not before the meal is over. That is not appropriate.
What are etiquette standards for using my napkin in a business dining setting?
You don't just sit down and pull your napkin and put it on your lap within a business setting as this is not good etiquette. You wait till every one at the table has been seated, then you remove your forks, it's on the left, and then you place the napkin below the table line and shake it out so that the fold of the napkin is facing your knees And when you use your napkin, you blotch your mouth if you are right handed on the right side, and on the left if you are left handed. So that when you get up and put your napkin in your chair, to go to the wash room, no one sees the food stains. And you do the same thing at the end of the meal when you put your napkin back onto the table, so that no one sees the food stains. So the ideal is to hold the napkin and put it under your lap with your knees out. There's no slapping like a bath towel and beware that some waiters at conferences are very creative. They do wild things, they do all kinds of things, but always know that your napkin is to your left usually. And if any body at the table ends up without a napkin, which just happened to me yesterday at a conference as someone didn't have their napkin, the idea is just say, okay, we're short of napkins, is there an extra napkin at the table, especially at a table of 8 or 10, which most conferences have. Don't make a big deal out of it, just grab your napkin, but on the part of the restaurant, it will be on your left.
What is the proper way to eat salad, bread and butter at a business conference meal?
There is a proper way to eat salad and bread and butter at a conference meal. Now, when you first sit down, you're going to have your salad in front of you. A waiter generally comes and will drizzle dressing over your salad for you, either in a gravy boat, or with a spoon, and you can tell him how much you'd like. Then there's usually a basket of bread on the table. Remember to always pass things to the right as when you're at any kind of a round table, or family dining, you pass to the right. So, if there's bread on the table, and there's a basket of bread on my left and on my right, Where am I going to ask them to hand me the bread? I'm going to look to my left, so they can pass it to the right, so that I can continue to pass it around the table. I'll then take the basket of bread and put the bread on a bread plate which sits to the left of your dinner fork, and at a banquet or restaurant or fine dining, there is a bread knife as well. It's small and it has a little knife nick at the top which differentiates it from other table knives, and it lays on your plate as if it were pointing at ten o'clock and two o'clock. Bread is made to be broken with your hands. You have your bread, you break it with your hands, and you eat it a bite at a time. You don't cut it. Then butter is going to passed two ways at a conference or a restaurant, either in little aluminium cold foils in a cool tray with ice in it, or, it'll be soft butter in a tub. Either way, if you get the aluminium foil wrappers, you unwrap it, lay it on your bread, take your butter knife, take a little bit of butter off of it, spread one bite at a time, put your bread knife back at the head of your plate at 10 and two, and then take a bite of your bread and eat it with your salad. Indeed any time you're dining, you always want to remember to go from utensils from the outside in. So, your salad fork is smaller than your dinner fork and you can see the difference in the length of the tines. The larger fork is the dinner fork and the shorter fork is your salad fork. You can pick up a utensil with one or two hands. You can pick it up, you can lean across your body and pick up your salad fork, and hold it like a pencil, like your going to write a letter if that's how you eat. Or, your salad fork can be picked up with two hands. You can pick it up with your left hand and put it in your right. Either is appropriate, and then you eat small bites of salad. However if you're going to eat a little cherry tomato, you've got to be careful, because it could go scooting across the table. So, you can use your dinner knife to test the tomato to see that its ripe, so that it doesn't explode, because it's happened to everybody as little cherry tomatoes are very exciting. You can place them on the edge of your knife while you're eating your salad. Now, when the waiter comes back to your plate when you're finished, hell invite you to keep your knife, and hell put it back on your plate. So when you've finished eating your salad, you have one of two choices: you can either leave it in your dish, if this were a clock, it would be eleven o'clock and four o'clock, or you may also put it on the side of your plate to signify to the waiter that you've finished with your food.
What is the proper way to drink water or wine at a business banquet?
What is the proper way to drink water or wine at a business banquet? Well water will always be to the right of your water and wine glasses, and usually at the head of the knife - that's how you know where they are. So your water glass is to the far right, and it will generally have water in it at a banquet. However not all restaurants serve water unless you ask for it, in a fine restaurant they may want to ask if you want bottled water because it's another profit for them. Otherwise they will wait and not give you anything but wine. So if you would like water with your business meal be sure to ask for it. Then comes your white wine glass which sits next to your water glass, and then your red wine glass. They look different because with red wine it needs a lot larger mouth to breathe than your white wine glass does. Anytime you are drinking wine, white or red, always hold it by the stem because if you hold it by the bowl it changes the temperature of the wine and affects the flavour, both in red wine and white wine. Therefore the proper way to drink wine at a business banquet is to hold it by the stem.
What is the proper way to cut and eat meat or vegetables at a business banquet?
The proper way to cut and eat meat or vegetables at a business banquet is to pick up your fork, turn the tines over, hold the piece of meat or vegetable, pick up your knife, and put your finger on the top. The bottom of the fork goes in the palm of your hand and you cut. You can cut two pieces if you like. Then you put your knife at the top of the plate like we did with our butter knife, at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock, and then the tricky part comes. Turn the fork over with your left hand and put it in your right and then you take one bite of food. Don't stack your food with and potatoes and peas and other things, you just want a piece of meat or some potato or some carrots or whatever is on your plate. When you are resting during your meal, you rest your fork down and lay the edge of the fork on the edge of the plate. It tells the waiter and signifies to the waiter that you are resting. Then when you want to eat again, you pick up your knife and have a few more bites. When it is time to cut another piece of meat, you change hands, turn the tines down, then palm in your hand, your fingers here, you pick up your knife, cut the meat or the vegetable again, cut two pieces if you would like, put your knife back at the top, turn your hand over and change hands. Now, that seems like a lot of work, for proper dining at a business banquet. In fact, European dining is easier but it is customary in this country to cut your meat this way.
How does the main part of the meal end at a business banquet?
You pace your meal so that you're pacing with everybody at the table. In other words, you don't eat too quickly. Pace your food very slowly so that you'd finish with them. When you're finished and people start finishing their meal, you'll take your plate, your knife, and your fork, and you'd lay it down at eleven and four which indicate to the waiter you're finished. And then they'd come and take your plate at the end of the business banquet
What is 'iced tea' etiquette?
Iced tea etiquette is very simple. In a fine restaurant or at a banquet, they will serve you your iced tea with a longer spoon. The size of the bowl of the teaspoon is the same as the teaspoon next to your coffee, however this has a longer handle and the reason it has a longer handle is so that it can reach the bottom of your iced tea glass. It's OK to ask for iced tea at a business banquet. It's always alright to ask for any service in a fine restaurant, but wait until the waiter has served your entree before you ask him for personal service. So, here's how to put sweet-n-low or sugar in your coffee. You take the top off, you open it, you pour the sweet-n-low or the sugar substitute, what ever it is that you use, the Equal, the Splenda, and then you close it. And then you lay it back on your plate as a piece of garbage. Then, you pick up your iced tea spoon and instead of doing this, we do this and stir it at the bottom so that it doesn't make noise. Now, in this case, there is a doily at the bottom of the glass which fine restaurants do, simply for the purpose of absorbing the iced tea from your spoon so it doesn't wet your glass and make the bottom of your glass wet and then you can enjoy your iced tea. However, if there's not a doily and they don't bring you a little plate and you've got an iced tea spoon, you used your teaspoon, this is actually the only time one utensil cradles the other during a meal, to keep the table cloth from getting wet, and then you can enjoy your iced tea.
How should dessert be eaten at a business banquet?
Say you are eating cake and ice cream for dessert at a business banquet, I like to use that as an example because its both a liquid and a solid. I can eat my ice cream with the spoon if Id like to, and I can rest it in the bowl. I can also eat my cake like this if Id like to, or I can eat a little ice cream and a little cake on either utensil, the fork or the spoon. You can either use both or none. A spoon is usually used with ice creams and puddings and soups and things that are soft, or more gelatinous. Your fork is used with the apple pie, not necessarily the ice cream. And when you're finished, you can either put this on the side if it's a plate, or you can leave it in a bowl. There are two schools of thought on that, but either one is safe as far as I'm concerned. I've had great philosophical debate at midnight over that with other etiquette experts and we all have a different opinion, but I say in American business, we're casual so you can do either.
What are the basic rules of conduct at a table at a business banquet?
The basic rules of conduct at a table at a business banquet is very simple. When you pass salt and pepper, if someone asks for them, you pass them together. Remember to break bread with your hand. Keep your hands under your table and ensure there is no leaning when you're dining at a business banquet. There's only one hand on the table unless you're breaking bread or you're cutting meat or you're needed for some reason to pass the food. But it's very simple if you'll just practice and teach yourself these simple skills you'll feel comfortable in all circumstances when dining at a business banquet.
