Ice Cream

1) What is the correct way to sit at the table?

a) “It tastes (really) fine” or “It’s delicious.”

2) Should you use fork or your knife for taking a slice of bread from the bread-plate?

b) Never eat the stones. Neither would it be a good idea to dispose of them by dropping them under the table, placing them in your pocket or in your neighbor’s wine-glass. Just take them from your mouth on your spoon and place them on your own saucer.

3) How should you get a slice of bread from the plate standing on the far end of the table?

c) Nowhere near the table. Reading at one’s meals is a bad habit; it’s bad for your digestion and impolite towards others sitting at the same table.

4) What is the correct way of using spoon, fork and knife?

d) Sit straight and close to the table. Don’t put your elbows on the table. Don’t cross your legs or spread them all over the place under the table.

5) How should you cut your meat?

e) Never lean across the table or over your neighbors to get something out of your reach. Just say: “Please pass me the bread.” Or: “Would you mind passing me the bread, please?”

6) What are the dishes for which knife shouldn’t be used?

f) Nothing. Keep your impressions to yourself and don’t embarrass your hostess.

7) What is the way to eat chicken?

g) Fish dishes are generally eaten without using knife. If one does, it’s considered a serious breach of good table manners. The same refers to rissoles, cereal and, in general, to anything that is soft enough to be comfortably eaten with spoon or fork.

8) What is one supposed to do with the stones while eating stewed fruit?

h) Neither. Your hand is quite correct for getting a slice of bread for yourself. After all, it is you who is going to eat it.

9) What should you do with the spoon after stirring your tea?

i) While eating, one should produce as little noise or sound as possible. It’s decadently bad manners to speak with your mouth full. Don’t put bread in your soup. Don’t pour a tea in your saucer. Don’t leave much on the plate: it’s impolite towards your hostess. If you have liked the dish, it doesn’t follow that you should polish the plate with your bread.

10) What should you do if your food is too hot?

j) Don’t hold your spoon in your fist, don’t tilt it so as to spill its contents. The fork should be held in your left hand, the knife in your left hand, the knife in your fight.

11) What should you say to refuse a second helping?

k) It’s wrong first to cut all the meat you have got on your plate in small pieces and then eat it. Cut off a slice at a time, eat it, then cut off another, holding your knife in the right hand and your fork in the left.

12) What should you say if you like the dish very much?

l) “No more, thank you.”

13) What should you say if you dislike the dish?

m) Cut off and eat as much as possible by using you knife and fork; the remaining part eat by holding the piece in your hand by the end of the bone.

14) What shouldn’t one do while eating?

n) Never cool your food by blowing at it. Just wait a bit, there is no hurry.

15) Where should one keep the newspaper or the book during a meal, on the table or on one’s lap?

o) Don’t leave your spoon in the glass while drinking. Put it on your saucer.