Transcript Dining Etiquette Who Knew a Fork Could Be So Important?

Gail Beausoleil
Director, Davenport University Career Services
Why is dining etiquette so important?
Employers assess your manners
Will you embarrass the company in front of
clients?
Bill Gates is sneaky . . .
TIP NUMBER 1:
It’s the DEAL not the MEAL
Know what to order
Consider price
Ask for recommendations from your host
Consider a food’s “disaster factor”
When do you talk about business?
If someone else arrives at your table . . .
Who pays?
TIP #2:
Follow the Leader
Within 10 seconds of sitting down, put napkin
on your lap
Breadbaskets:
Whoever has the basket in front takes charge
Offer to your right and left guest, then take a roll
and pass to the right
Take a dab of butter, place it on your bread plate
Tear your bread into small pieces and butter one
piece at a time—NOT the whole roll
Salad:
Salad fork is the one on the left
It’s ok to cut large pieces of vegetables
Soup:
Spoon soup away from you
Sip from the side of the spoon not the front
Never blow on your soup or slurp it
Never pick up your bowl to get the very last bit
Don’t dunk!
Your host orders an appetizer, soup, salad and
entrée. You are really not hungry—what should
you order?
Your host orders a glass of wine. You don’t
drink. What do you do?
Where do you put your hands when you are not
eating?
After cutting 3 or 4
small pieces, place
knife on upper
right edge of plate
Blade faces you
Put fork in right
hand and eat
Fork and knife
cross at the
center of your
plate
Fork tines are
DOWN
Blade faces you
Place fork and
knife near
center of your
plate
Knife blade
should face you
Napkin folded
on side of plate
To salt or not to salt . . .
Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup
There’s a UFO in my mouth
You’re wearing the latest style of sauce
You drop your napkin on the floor?
You can’t seem to wrangle the peas on your
fork?
You need to use the restroom?
B
A
C
D
E
F
G
What are
two major
tips about
dining
etiquette?
What do these fork and knife placements signify?
A
B
Try to finish your meal at about the same time
as your host/group
Doggie bag?
Treat your waitstaff with respect
Thank the host!
Jay, R. (2006). The Art of the Business Lunch
Pachter, B. (2006). When the Little Things Count
. . . and They Always Count. 601 Essential
Things That Everyone in Business Needs to Know
Bowman, J. (2007). Don't Take the Last Donut:
New Rules of Business Etiquette
www.mannersinternational.com
www.diningetiquette.org
Speedway
GreenStone Farm Credit Services
Farm Bureau Insurance
Demmer Corporation
Working Woman’s Cleaning Service
Diamondale Nursing Care Center
Capital Area Michigan Works!
Days Inn Hotel and Banquet Center of Lansing
Dart Bank
Enterprise Holdings
Superior Growers
PFS Investments, INC
Judge Whitbeck
State of Michigan
Davenport University’s
Lansing Campus Director, Danielle DeLonge
Admissions, David Tyler
Academic Advising, Jenny Thurber
Your hostess extraordinaire—Career Services
Coordinator, Tami Nykamp
And Executive Director of Career Services,
Shelley Lowe