Table Manner Tips

Dining etiquette rules are made to be broken, or so it would appear, judging by a straw poll of London's fine dining establishments, both traditional and avant-garde. Enter any modern restaurant, nowadays, even those renowned for their top-drawer formality, and you're just as likely to be confronted with a minimalist table setting, without a hint of cutlery in sight. Gone too, are the ornate table arrangements and the painstaking presentation.

And, if gurus of trendy table laying such as Gary Rhodes have anything to do with it, the times, they are a-changing. Table settings, according to Gary, should be kept as simple and uncluttered as possible. Apparently it's all about creating a relaxed ambience and a sense of informality that has modern punter-appeal, where the requisite eating weapons are delivered only when the food is being served. "Supply the rest of the cutlery with each course as it comes", he continues. Above all, create an ambience of welcoming informality.

Today, the whole business of what passes for table manners has taken on a far more relaxed stance; the rule of simplicity and informality reigns supreme, in the domain of modern dining etiquette. Understatement and monochrome minimalism is key - or is it?

For, despite the British eagerness to embrace all that is new when it comes to dining etiquette, most of us, if we're honest, rather enjoy a whiff of formality to accompany our dining experience. After all, there's nothing wrong with just a touch of starchy presentation, once in a while. And, a number of the city's poshest restaurants are taking the matter very seriously - very seriously indeed. These elegant eateries are sticking to their guns. They know there will always be a demand for preserving the rights and rituals of formal dining. They believe in clinging tenaciously to the familiar array of quality cutlery, laid out on crisp damask napery, with place settings positioned precisely one inch (one inch, note - reactionaries can't be doing with metric) from the edge of the table. And what an impressive sight it is, I suppose - a tradition worth cherishing for high days and holidays, or for those occasions when we really want to impress!

To put it bluntly, we Brits enjoy a bit of flummery. Now, this is a point that has not escaped the eagle eye of one U.S commentator regarding the expectations of the British dining public. In an article designed primarily as a survival guide for American business people visiting Britain, entitled "Helpful Etiquette Hints" the author volunteers the following useful advice:

"Table manners: Londoners will judge you by your dining etiquette. Show your good breeding by not reaching across the table, talking with your mouth full, or waving forks and knives around while driving a point home".

Yet another North American "etiquette expert" on the subject of "executive dining skills" and how to conduct oneself in British restaurants, issues the following ominous warning:

"...good dining skills are essential in today's competitive business arena. In fact, people equate poor dining manners with poor business practices".

Hmmm...so here we have it. Oh to see ourselves as others see us; and so much for the tidal wave of informality that is supposedly intruding upon the modern day dining experience. So, where does that leave the City's guardians of traditional dining mores? Quite literally, with a tabula rasa is the simple answer. "You pays your money, and you takes your choice".

Posted in: Manner,Table