Whether you are calling over a few close friends this weekend for a dinner or throwing a formal dinner party at your place, there are some table etiquettes you should keep in mind. A clearly set dinner table can make your guests feel special and help the dinner go smoothly. You can even clean up the plates after the party with ease. Here are some of the steps to setup a dinner table for your guests –
Placemats – Set a placement to protect your table surface from food particles and drops. It also improves the overall experience for the diners. Keep the edge of the placemat around an inch away from the table’s edge. A placemat should match the plates and look beautiful.
Keep the napkin and plates organized – You may add a salad or soup as appetizer, a dessert, and an entrée to the dinner table. First of all, you should put the main entrée plate on the central bottom corner of the placemat. Next up, you can place a soup bowl or salad plate above the entrée plate. The appetizer plate and entrée plate should be placed well with a napkin in between. You can also keep it rolled on the appetizer plate.
Silverware – Place the forks on the left side and spoon and knife on the right side of the plate. If required, salad fork must be placed by the left side of the dinner fork and spoon to knife’s right side. Dessert utensils can be placed above the plate.
Drinkware – Water glass must be kept on the placemat above the knife. If you also have wine on the menu, place the glass off the placemat to the left of the water glass. You can add more glasses in triangular form behind the first glass.
Desserts and coffee – Finally, place the dessert plates aside beforehand. Once your guests are over, remove the dirty plates, and offer them the desserts and coffee. Remove the glasses after use at the end of the course with relevant silverware and plates. You can arrange the glasses in the triangular form if there is no space in the table for lining the glasses.