Serving cutlery (spoons, forks, knives). Serving cutlery (45 photos): how to serve it correctly, how to arrange items intended for serving dishes, arrangement of glasses How to properly place cutlery on the table

The main thing here is to figure out which cutlery is intended for what and in what order they should be placed according to the rules of etiquette. This must be done without fail, because getting confused and putting a regular one instead of a fish utensil is completely undignified!

Where does table setting begin?

Serving begins with the choice of cutlery. And their choice depends on what dishes you plan to put on the table.

Even if you plan to change dishes ten times, you shouldn’t be afraid, and even more so, you shouldn’t try to cram all the available appliances in the house at once, since they simply change during the course of the play.

We ate lunch - we put away the dinnerware and take out the dessert set. Or fish, or fruit, or tea. It doesn’t matter, the main thing is to understand the point: to choose the right cutlery for each stage of the feast and arrange them according to the rules.

Once you have decided, you can cover the table with a beautiful tablecloth, under which it is advisable to put some kind of fabric so that the dishes do not knock when you put them on the table.
Immediately place additional serving utensils on the tablecloth, which are chosen depending on the type of dish. You will find an approximate list of them below.

And after that you need to put the main appliances on the table. But for this it would not hurt to know exactly which of them serve what. Read the next block and you will be up to date; we have described everything in as much detail as possible.

All types of cutlery: what are they for?

Spoons

	Tablespoon	Served with soup, has an oblong shape
	Broth spoon	About the size of a dining room, but round in shape
	Dessert spoon	Served for desserts that do not require cutting, that is, not cakes and pies, but mousses, puddings, etc.
	Teaspoon	For tea, everyone understands it
	coffee spoon	For coffee
	Ice cream spoon	This spoon is small, like a coffee spoon, but with a long handle.
	salad spoon	They put it in a salad bowl so that everyone can put a portion on their plate.
	Caviar spoon	A small spatula, often shell-shaped
	Pate spoon	Designed for transferring pate onto a plate
	Scoop spoon for sugar bowl	No comments
	Spoon - scoop for sauces	They put them in gravy boats

Forks

	table fork	For any main courses except fish
	Dessert fork	For cakes and other hard desserts
	Fish fork	For fish
	Spaghetti fork	The fifth tooth allows you to conveniently hook long pasta
	Sprat fork	A fork with four prongs and a bridge is placed in a common saucer so that guests can put sprats on their plate
	Crab and seafood fork	A two-pronged fork that is useful for eating oysters, crayfish, crabs and snails
	Lobster fork	Fork with two small tines and long handle, served for lobsters and lobsters
	Oyster and mussel fork	Its left clove is wider than the other two and with its help it is convenient to separate meat from shells
	Herring fork	A small fork with two teeth that are curved to the sides. Used to serve herring rather than food
	Salad fork	Placed in a common salad bowl
	Cocotte fork	Three-pronged fork for mushroom julienne
	Lemon fork	For transferring the sliced ​​lemon
	Olive fork	A very convenient fork, shaped like a spoon with a hole.
	Fruit fork	With three prongs, served with fresh, sliced ​​fruit. Can be replaced with a regular four-prong dessert fork

Knives

	Table knife	For main courses, except fish
	Snack knife	For any type of snack
	Meat knife	Knife with serrations. Placed in a common dish on which a large piece of meat is served (whole pig, chicken, ghoul), so that everyone can cut off the right piece for themselves
	Fish knife	It cannot be confused with anything, it has a curly shape - a spatula
	Cheese knife	Has two teeth curved upward, used for slicing cheese
	Butter knife	A small knife with a round blade that is placed in a common oil dish
	Fruit knife	Served if there are unpeeled fruits on the table (apples, oranges, etc.)

Forceps

	Ice tongs	Placed in a common ice bucket
	Pastry tongs	Place on a plate with sliced ​​cake or cookies
	Asparagus tongs	Asparagus tongs. They are very convenient to grab asparagus
	Salad tongs	Located in a common salad bowl
	Spaghetti tongs	Needed if a shared dish of spaghetti is placed on the table
	Lobster tongs	Served with a special fork, separately for each guest. Used to break claws

Plates

	Table plate (deep and shallow)	This is for lunch, two are served at once if a change of dishes is provided. Deep is placed on top
	Snack plate (deep and shallow)	Placed next to the dining room
	Dessert plate (deep and shallow)	Served separately when the dessert table is served
	Pie plate	Placed next to the dining room, bread and buns are placed in it
	Fish plate	It has an oval shape. She is served a table only if each guest is served a whole fish.
	Chill plate	For mushroom julienne
	Menagerie plate	Rarely used in classic table settings. Basically, they are placed where the buffet is served, so that you can get several different dishes at once.
	Salad bowl	Happens different sizes, from large to small. Placed on a common table
	Herring girl	Oval plate for slicing herring
	Egg plate	Plate with ears for serving fried eggs
	Saucer	Served with tea or coffee cups
	Socket	Container for jam, honey, condensed milk. Served separately to each person
	Kremanka	It serves mousses, ice cream and jellies.

Glasses and glasses

	Champagne glass	There are two types and you can choose any of them
	Red wine glass	Always a little wider than for white
	White wine glass	Thinner and lower than for red wine
	Port wine glass	Small glass
	Liquor glass	A narrow small glass, more like a shot glass
	Cognac glass	It can be convex or with concave edges - this is for a regular skate. But for cognac upper class served glasses with curved edges and smaller sizes
	Martini glass	A triangular glass, probably familiar to everyone in the world
	Whiskey glass	Regular round and low glass
	Shot glass or glass for vodka	There are completely different ones, mostly 50 grams each.

Cocktail glasses

Cups

	Tea cup	Served with saucer and spoon
	Coffee cup for espresso	The well-known “thimble”
	Coffee cup for cappuccino	Tall transparent cup with handle
	Iced coffee cup	Trapezoid cup

Additional serving utensils

	Dish	For main courses that do not need to be served hot
	Rams	Dishes with round lids, for hot main courses
	Tureen	Must be placed on the table if there is a second course
	Champagne bucket	Must be filled with ice
	Ice bucket	Served if guests drink whiskey or cocktails. There should be ice picks on the edge
	Fruit vase	For unpeeled fruits
	Teapot	For brewing tea
	Coffee pot	For brewing coffee
	Jug	For water, juices, compotes
	Decanter	For vodka, wine
	Placemats	Placed next to the plate, and cutlery laid out on them
	Napkin rings	A cloth napkin is threaded through them
	Napkin holder	Placed in the middle of the table
	Oil can	General, placed in the middle
	Caviar	Usually comes in the shape of a shell, complete with a caviar spoon
	Poshatnitsa	Stand for soft-boiled eggs
	Salt shaker	Comes with a special spoon
	Sugar bowl	Comes with a sugar spatula
	Gravy boats	Comes with special sauce spoons
	Milkman	It is set differently for each guest if coffee or tea with milk is served. But, if the table is set with a service in which there is only one milk jug, then shared use is allowed
	Krennitsa	For horseradish, mustard and others hot sauces. Comes with a special spoon

Table setting: sample diagrams and photos

Now that you have figured out what kind of utensils you need, look at the diagrams for arranging it all on the table.

This is how the breakfast table is set:

Dinner serving is the most difficult, look and remember the order:

And this is how the table is set for serving dessert:

Here is a typical table setting with fish dishes:

In conclusion, I would like to say: etiquette is a delicate matter. And we, after all, are not countess to follow all these rules.

If you don’t have any device, don’t fool yourself and don’t be upset!

Most likely, guests are also not aware of how everything should really be, because not even all restaurants maintain the correct arrangement and do not have all the cutlery available.

At least once in their life, every person has encountered such a thing as setting a table. Be it preparing a home feast or going to an expensive restaurant, where several plates on the tables are complemented by more than one cutlery. There really aren't many rules you need to know to proper serving table.

Before you start arrange cutlery on the table according to the rules of etiquette, it is worth considering the dishes that will be served. Usually glasses, glasses, cups, plates, forks, knives, and spoons are placed on the table. You need to start with plates, which you will then cover with other cutlery. Everything you need first should be closest to you to make it easier to take. And even if the owner has planned a ten-course menu, this does not mean that the guest needs to put a whole mountain of plates and build a fence of forks. Classic table setting is considered to be an arrangement of no more than three cutlery.

Schemes on how to lay out cutlery

Video instructions on how to properly lay out the devices

Rules for laying out cutlery on the table

It will be important to maintain the distance between devices. It should be about a centimeter from each device and from the edge of the table. This is more of an aesthetic rule to achieve an even distribution of all the cutlery on the table. Therefore, there is no need to run around the table with a ruler and measure the exact distance.

Forks should be placed to the left of the plate. They are placed with the curve down. Classic serving consists of three forks. The main one is the first one from the plate, then there is a fork for fish, and the final fork is for salads. The knives are laid out on the right. Their blades are directed towards the plate, and the number of knives is also three. The first knife is the largest - for dinner, the second - for fish and the smaller - for snacks. After the last knife, spoons are placed on the right. If the menu calls for serving first courses, then a large spoon is placed between the fish knife and the appetizer knife. If there is no fish, then between a large knife and a snack bar.

The arrangement of the plates is as follows: first the plate for the first course is placed, and on top of it is for the appetizer. If butter is served on the table, then on the left there should be a plate with bread and a butter knife. Dessert utensils are placed at the top of the plate. The knife goes first, the fork comes second, and the spoon is placed furthest from the plate. All glasses are arranged in height from left to right. The champagne glass is placed first on the left, regardless of height.

The ability to set the table beautifully and correctly is prerequisite for a real housewife. Guests will always appreciate competent table setting, and family and friends will be grateful for the attention and exquisite beauty. And today we will talk about how to properly serve cutlery for a gala dinner, a large breakfast and a tea meal. For greater clarity, the cutlery setting is shown in the photo.

Table setting rules

Our main task today learn how to correctly place cutlery when setting the table. And the basic rules of table setting will help us with this. In addition, they are all part of etiquette:

• Serving begins with the selection of tablecloths. For special occasions would be better suited a white or plain tablecloth, for a tea table - a colored one. If used for a celebration rectangular table, then from its long side the tablecloth can hang 15 - 25 cm. From the end the tablecloth can hang longer. If the table is oval or round, the tablecloth can hang from all sides in the same range of numbers - from 15 to 25 cm.
• The main plate is placed exactly in the center of the intended location.
• All knives and spoons are on the right side of the plate. All forks are always on the left side of the plate.
• The knives are positioned so that the blade “looks” at the plate. The tines of forks always point upward. The convex part of the spoon touches the surface of the table.
• The bread (pie) plate is placed at the top left of the main plate, since the bread is taken with the left hand.
• Dessert utensils (spoon, fork) are laid out in the upper part of the main plate. The handle of the spoon points to the right, the handle of the fork points to the left.
• Glasses are placed on the upper right side of the main plate and arranged according to height, from largest and tallest to smallest. A water glass (always large in volume) is placed first (closer to the center), then a champagne glass, a red wine glass, a white wine glass, and a glass.
• The cloth napkin is placed in the center of the main plate, or in the center of the bread (pie) plate.

Placement of cutlery for the main menu

Often, this type of cutlery setting begins the main part of the celebration, where the menu will consist of a first course, meat and fish dishes, and appetizers. In the picture we showed how the main utensils should be laid - a tablespoon, a fork and a knife. If the first course is puree soup, then a special spoon is placed on top of the main plate with the handle facing to the right. The tablespoon is removed.

Arrangement of tablespoons, knife, fork and spoon for puree soup

If the menu means fish dishes, then the fish pair is laid out in the same sequence, on the right of the main plate, the fork on the left. The fish knife has a wide blade in the form of a spatula, the fish fork has a special notch in the middle of the teeth.

The snack pair, consisting of a fork and a knife, is placed according to the same principle: the knife is on the right, the fork is on the left. Please note that the main knife goes closer to the plate, then the fish knife, then the appetizer knife. The forks are arranged in the same sequence. Closer to the edge of the plate there is a main fork, a fish fork, and a snack fork next to it. The tablespoon is placed between the fish knife and the snack bar.

A sandwich knife (for butter, pates) is placed on a bread plate. A dessert pair and a teaspoon are placed at the top. Moreover, the handles of the spoons point to the right, and those of the forks to the left, so that it would be convenient to take them - the spoons with the right hand, the fork with the left hand.

Serving for a large breakfast with hot dishes

Let's look at the situation with fried eggs and toast, although there may be porridge instead, which will require a different plate shape and an additional tablespoon. placed in the center of the intended location. A bread (pie) plate is placed at the top left; its size is usually 18 cm in diameter. A tea (coffee) pair is placed at the top on the right side. Please note that a teaspoon is placed on the edge of the saucer, a sandwich knife on a pie plate.

Serving for dessert and tea

Often a friendly or business meeting at the table ends with tea. This is especially true for holidays and warm, family evenings. Setting cutlery for the “tea” table is simple. Individual utensils are arranged in a specific order. The dessert plate often has a diameter of 23 cm and is placed in the center of the intended location. A cake fork, which has a characteristic thick tooth, is placed on the plate.

Or at a dinner party, it can be difficult for an inexperienced person to figure out how to properly use all these countless cutlery. It doesn’t take long to get confused, remembering the purposes of several dozen forks and spoons. You won’t be able to learn the rules for using cutlery right away. The ability to eat aesthetically while maintaining a casual view - whole art.
It will take time to study table etiquette rules, cutlery, their types, and purpose. People who have been taught since childhood definitely have advantages, but the rest of us should also start to understand this art.
Information: why and what all the cutlery is for will help you feel more confident in any society, easily make useful connections, and enjoy the most exquisite food beautifully.
Styles table etiquette there are two - continental(for Europe) and American. Each of them involves significant differences in behavior at the table. IN European style In etiquette, every movement of the hands and the position of the objects left on the plate are important. According to one theory, it has remained unchanged since the 17th century. Other researchers argue that the Napoleonic era greatly simplified etiquette in favor of convenience.

Traditional cutlery

Each item that lies on the table has its own purpose. There are several sets that are usually used in a formal setting:

• Large dining set: contains the familiar spoon, knife, and fork that everyone uses to eat most dishes.
• Snack set: The items in it are somewhat smaller than regular canteens.
• Dessert set: It is small in size, but the objects are similar to ordinary ones.
• Garnish forks: There are two of them, one has 4 teeth.
• sauce spoon.
• Meat set: consists of 2 forks different sizes with 2 teeth and a knife.
• Steak knife.
• Salad spoons and salad tongs.
• Fish set.

Serving cutlery

It is the job of the waiters or the hosts to properly set the table for guests. The cutlery on the table is arranged in strict accordance with the order in which the dishes are served - this makes it easier to navigate which fork should be used and what to eat. You need to place a napkin under each item. Which side the spoon and fork are on depends on whether the guest is right-handed or left-handed.
It is needed not only for aesthetics, its purpose is also the convenience of eating. In accordance with the cutlery, lying in a certain order, the rules should be clear: how and why to use them, why they are there. This way guests can understand where the fork or fish knife is and which fork they use to eat the salad. During a meal, the mood of those around you and the atmosphere are very important. The location of eating utensils according to etiquette has been determined for centuries, serves a good helper look aesthetically pleasing and dignified.

How to properly hold a knife and fork according to etiquette

In which hand you should hold a knife and fork depends on the style of etiquette. According to American- You can eat food that has been pre-cut into pieces with your right hand. The fork is first in the left hand, then the knife is put on the plate, and it can be transferred to the right. This method is convenient for anyone who is not used to delicacies during meals. You can take a knife only when necessary. It should be placed on the edge of the dish.


The European style more strictly determines which hand to hold a knife and which to hold a fork. Cutlery items are not released from hands during meals. The fork should always be held in the left hand.
If the food does not require cutting, hold the fork correctly - in right hand and use it as a spatula to break off a piece of chopped steak or scoop up a portion of a side dish. This method does not require any special skills. You can simply eat soft food with a fork or.
The upper third of the handle of cutlery should be clasped with the entire palm in order to eat with it more confidently, without the risk of dropping it.

There are 3 ways to hold a fork:

You can cut meat with a knife only towards you to avoid accidents. It is unacceptable to make extraneous sounds by touching the edges or bottom of dishes with cutlery.

Cutlery language

The knife and fork placed on the plate can tell the waiter a lot. Gestures with two cutlery will help confident communication with the service staff during the meal. After eating, you should place your knife and fork parallel so that the dirty plate is taken away.
If you want to praise the cook, you need to place the items parallel to the edge of the table towards the left on your plate. You can place the fork and knife far from each other, which serves as a signal that the guest is full, good taste food.
Signs of poor quality service with cutlery can be submitted in three ways:

• Cross them, holding the knife between the teeth (you didn’t like the food);
• Objects are arranged with their handles up at an angle to each other (the attitude is unfriendly);
• Objects lie parallel towards the edge of the table (administrator call).

There is also a flirtatious signal. Lightly cross the items. There is a knife on top. This indicates a great mood after a wonderful dinner.
To change dishes faster, items must be crossed perpendicularly. This is a signal that the guest is in a hurry.
A sign of a pause so that the plate is not taken away will be objects crossed or located on the edge of the plate.

Dessert table utensils

There are separate serving items for desserts and coffee. The European tea ceremony is not as complicated as the Chinese one, but no less cutlery must be used.

Tongs, sugar spoon.

Cake spatula.

Cheese knife.

Spatula, baking tongs.

Coffee spoon.

Fruit set.


Spoon for compote. It is customary for her to eat boiled fruits along with syrup.

Sour cream spoon. She's as big as a ladle.

Dessert set.

Special cutlery

Some cutlery is only served with certain dishes.

Lobster fork and lobster tongs. The shell is split with tongs. A small two-pronged fork is used to remove meat from the claws.

Devices for black caviar. Using a special spatula, the caviar can be safely transferred to a plate or sandwich.


Tongs and a small snail fork. They use them to remove tender meat from the shell.




Knife and fork for oysters.

Restaurant etiquette is a delicate art that deserves careful study. Not only workers and frequent visitors to the service industry should be familiar with some basic rules and the peculiarities of this area in order to avoid possible awkward situations when doing the serving yourself. It is necessary to learn in advance about the methods of serving cutlery and other important details that are of great importance in table etiquette.

Peculiarities

There are a number of consistent nuances when decorating a table:

• The serving process begins with the selection of the necessary utensils. The number of forks, spoons and knives depends directly on the number of guests and the dishes served, but it is important to remember that mixing and taking out the entire collection of cutlery available in the arsenal is inappropriate.
• You should select the right cutlery, also taking into account the formality of the reception, the expected guests and the size of the table.
• There are three types of sets: basic, snack and dessert. Every home definitely has a basic set. Any of the sets necessarily includes a spoon, fork and knife, but the sizes of the cutlery will vary greatly.
• Serving may vary depending on the theme of the reception, the food served and the size of the event.

How to pre-serve?

When setting the table, you should also know that there are different options: basic, formal and informal serving. Each type should be considered in more detail:

• Basic serving includes the mandatory presence of a “base”. The basic set assumes the presence of a plate, fork, spoon, knife, glass of water and napkins. If the first courses are not planned to be served for the entire meal, a spoon can easily be excluded from this list.
• The informal serving style is suitable for lunch with friends or a themed brunch. IN in this case is added large number snack plates, therefore, cutlery, glasses or other types of vessels for drinks.
• The formal serving option assumes formal events as an occasion: celebrating memorable events, holidays, lunches with colleagues or meals during negotiations.

In this case, cutlery is most often changed and served more than once during the evening, which includes separate serving options for dessert dishes and tea drinking.

The biggest difficulties arise when distributing devices. Here it is worth remembering the basic rule : the sequence of arrangement of devices reflects the order of their use, therefore, with outside From the plate, the first thing for the guest will be cutlery for appetizers or any other dish served first. Cutlery is always distributed around the main course plate. If you remember this one rule, you can already avoid many awkward situations when setting the table for dinner or any other meal yourself.

To show your deeper knowledge, it is enough to understand which side to put various devices on. And here I have my own conventions. For example, knives, even if there are several of them, are always placed according to right side from the plate. Their blades always face the plate.

If the meal includes a first course, then the soup spoon is placed between the knives for the main course and appetizer.

Forks are placed on the left side of the plate. In addition, the serving side indicates which hand should be used to take the device. This simple rule also makes it easier for guests to understand the intricacies of restaurant etiquette.

It is important not only to in the right order arrange forks and spoons for dinner, but also maintain certain distances between them. Thus, the distance between each individual device should be at least half a centimeter, and the ends of the handles of the devices should be at a distance of 1.5-2 centimeters from the edge of the table being served.

How should cutlery be placed during a meal?

This question is the second most popular within basic concepts restaurant etiquette. The position of cutlery during a meal is a separate requirement for service personnel or the host. Very often you can find cutlery being served exclusively with a dish and then changing it. So, it is very common to wrap cutlery in napkins. The guest or client, having unfolded the cutlery, should also be aware of their further movement on the table during and after the meal and the meaning of these movements.

For example, to avoid a dish being removed prematurely, you can signal that you are temporarily interrupting the meal or are still continuing the process by placing the cutlery on the plate. In this case, the sides of the arrangement remain the same: on the left is a fork or spoon, on the right is a knife.

How to put it after eating?

To indicate that you are ready to serve the next dish, simply cross the cutlery directly on the plate, turning the knife to the left and the fork to the right. If the meal is already finished, you need to place the cutlery parallel to each other diagonally across the plate.

In the European style, you can observe that in this case the tines of the fork will be turned towards the plate, and in American plug Place with the teeth facing up.

Beautiful layout examples

One way or another, there is currently an opinion that only in restaurant establishments observe all the subtleties of serving. In fact, this knowledge can be applied to all kinds of family celebrations and other important holidays. There are several common examples:

• Serving a romantic dinner for two assumes an intimate atmosphere, dim lighting and, of course, the presence of suitable glasses. Additional accessories in the decoration will add a special touch of intimacy. You can start by choosing color range, based on the preferences of your significant other, and then you can add significant details: put your favorite flowers, ribbons, memorable souvenirs, general photo. Music and lit candles will be an integral accompaniment. different forms and sizes.

• An important celebration in a close family circle implies respect for traditions and classic style serving. Special significance there is a generational difference, therefore both the serving style and general design The tables should be as generally accepted as possible, not too bright, but solemn in their classics. Restraint combined with solemnity can be expressed in beautifully selected expensive dishes (crystal items are appropriate), cutlery, snow-white napkins and the presence of accents, for example, gold and silver.

• Often a ceremonial meal is associated with the celebration of some event.. This is where themed table settings come to the rescue. The New Year's or Christmas table is complemented with coniferous products and Christmas tree accessories; sometimes the table setting is decorated with a combination of burgundy, red and green colors.

• For the autumn holidays tables are set with the addition of gems, small seasonal vegetables, acting as accessories. The compositions are complemented with suitable colors.