Ms Joyce Kingsly, EPT, ISIC, RET, CEO & Founder
Creating “A” class corporate
Ms Joyce share her tips for fine dinning and to get confidence while dining western style.
Laying out the table for Fine Dining
1. Follow the ‘BMW’ rule
Bread to be placed on the left side of the table, the main Meal in the middle and Water on the right.
2. The napkin is fancifully folded and place on the main meal plate.
3. Spoons and knives are placed on the right side and forks are placed on the left.
4. An easy way to remember the cutlery layout is as follows:-
left is spelt with 4 alphabets and so is fork and so you place it on the left. Right is spelt with 5 alphabets and so are spoon and knife and so it is placed on the right.
5. A cube of butter and the bun are placed on the bread plate on your left.
6. On your right comes the white wine, red wine, champagne glasses and the water goblet.
7. The glasses are arranged by height from the tallest to the shortest in a semi-circle on the right with tallest at the back.
8. Dessert spoon and fork are special and are placed in the middle above the main plate.
9. Cutleries are placed according to the order of items served.
‘Eat your way in’ as in the cutlery that is placed on the extreme outside is the very first item that is served.
e.g If the soup is the very first on the menu, then the outer most spoon placed is the soup spoon.
10. As coffee/tea are the last item served, the cup and saucer are brought in after the main plate is cleared.
Handling your napkin at Fine Dining
1. Open up the nicely folded napkin and place it on your lap throughout the meal.
2. When you need to excuse yourself, the napkin should be placed on the handle or on the top of the chair till you return. This indicates that you will be back shortly.
3. When using the napkin to wipe your mouth, only the inner portion of the napkin should be used.
4. The portion exposed that your fellow Diners could see, should be clean and free from stains.
5. The napkin should be on one’s lap throughout when dining and not on the table.
6. The napkin could be used to cover your acts of unpicking anything stuck within your teeth
or use it to wipe your mouth gently and elegantly in a fine dining environment.
7. When main plate is cleared, the napkin could be laid on the table when coffee /tea is served but
many do not like to practise this as then the napkin is unavailable for use after that.
8. Be cautious not to allow the napkin slide to the ground after some time.
9. When dinner is over, pick up the napkin, gently grab it and place it on the table before leaving.
This indicates that you are finished and leaving home.
10.Please note that a used napkin need not be nicely folded back before you leave.
It could be left on the table as it is.