Tap anything on the table. Every piece tells you what it is and when it’s yours.
Plates
Cutlery
Glasses
Linen
Customs
Outside in
Cutlery is laid in the order you will use it. Start at the outside and work toward the plate, one course at a time. Source
b and d
Make an OK sign with each hand: the left makes a b, the right makes a d. Bread on the left, drinks on the right. Source
Resting and finished
Pausing: knife and fork apart on the plate, like an upside-down V. Finished: side by side across the plate, handles at four o’clock. The server reads it. Source
Plate · Under the dinner plate
Charger
A decorative base plate. You never eat from it.
- When
- Already on the table when you sit down. It usually leaves with the main-course plate.
- How
- Leave it where it is. Each course arrives on its own plate, set on top of it, and is taken away.
- Why
- It frames your place and keeps the cloth clean between courses.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Plate · Center of your place
Dinner plate
The main-course plate. Everything else is arranged around it.
- When
- The main course. In many restaurants it arrives with the food instead of waiting on the table.
- How
- Food stays here. Bread goes on the small plate to your left, never on this one.
- Why
- Find the plate and you have found your place: forks to its left, knives and spoons to its right.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Linen · On the plate, or to its left
Napkin
Onto your lap as soon as you sit. At a hosted dinner, wait for the host.
- When
- The first thing you touch, and the last.
- How
- Fold it in half with the fold toward you. Dab, don’t wipe. Stepping away: loosely on your chair. Finished: loosely to the left of your plate.
- Why
- Where your napkin sits tells the server where you are in the meal without a word.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Cutlery · Outermost on the left
Salad fork
The smaller fork on the outside. It goes first.
- When
- The salad or starter, before the main course.
- How
- Work from the outside in: the fork furthest from your plate is always the next one. It leaves with the salad plate.
- Why
- Cutlery is laid in the order you will use it, so you never have to guess.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Cutlery · Left, next to the plate
Dinner fork
The larger fork, closest to the plate. For the main course.
- When
- The main course.
- How
- Left hand, tines down, while you cut. American style switches it to the right hand to eat; Continental keeps it in the left.
- Why
- It sits nearest the plate because it is the last fork on the left you will use.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Cutlery · Right, next to the plate
Dinner knife
Right of the plate, blade facing in.
- When
- The main course.
- How
- Cut one or two bites at a time. Between bites, rest it across the top of your plate, blade facing in. Never back on the cloth.
- Why
- The blade faces the plate so its edge never points at the person beside you.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Cutlery · Outermost on the right
Soup spoon
Outside the knife. Soup comes first, so it sits furthest out.
- When
- The soup course.
- How
- Spoon away from you and sip from the side. Finished: rest it on the plate beneath the bowl, or in a wide, shallow bowl.
- Why
- Same rule as the forks: outside in, in the order of the courses.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Cutlery · Above the plate, handle left
Dessert fork
Below the dessert spoon, handle pointing left.
- When
- Dessert.
- How
- When dessert arrives, bring it down to the left of your plate.
- Why
- Setting dessert above the plate keeps both sides clear for the courses before it.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Cutlery · Above the plate, handle right
Dessert spoon
Above your plate, handle pointing right. It waits there all meal.
- When
- Dessert.
- How
- When dessert arrives, bring it down to the right of your plate.
- Why
- Handles point to the hand that picks them up: spoon right, fork left.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Plate · Top left
Bread plate
Top left. Your bread plate is always on your left.
- When
- Whenever bread is served, from the start of the meal.
- How
- Take bread from the basket onto this plate. Tear off one bite at a time and butter only that bite.
- Why
- Make a b and a d with your fingers. b for bread, on the left. d for drink, on the right.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Cutlery · Across the bread plate
Butter knife
Lying across the bread plate, handle to the right, blade facing you.
- When
- With the bread.
- How
- Put a little butter on your bread plate first, then butter each torn piece from there, never from the shared dish.
- Why
- It stays on the bread plate so it never mixes with the main cutlery.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Glass · Above the knife
Water glass
Directly above your knife. The first glass on your right is yours.
- When
- Throughout the meal.
- How
- Drink from your own right-hand side. Hold a stemmed glass by the stem.
- Why
- Drinks on the right, bread on the left: the b and d rule again.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Glass · Right of the water glass
Red wine glass
The wider bowl, just right of the water glass.
- When
- Usually with the main course.
- How
- Hold it by the stem. A server pours; you don’t need to reach. Not drinking? A light hand over the rim says no, thank you.
- Why
- The wide bowl gives red wine room to open up.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides
Glass · Furthest right
White wine glass
The smaller bowl, furthest right. Often poured first.
- When
- Usually with the earlier courses.
- How
- Hold it by the stem so your hand doesn’t warm the wine.
- Why
- Glasses follow the cutlery rule: outside in, in the order they are used.
Source: Emily Post Institute, Table Setting Guides