 | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(December 2010) |
In the United States, [1] the silent service code is a way for a diner to communicate to waitstaff during a meal to indicate whether the diner is finished with their plate. This is intended to prevent situations where the server might remove a plate of food and utensils prematurely.
The code is almost always taught during business dining etiquette classes.[ citation needed ]
To indicate they have finished with their plate, a diner places their napkin to the left of their plate [ citation needed ] and places their utensils together at the "4-o'clock" position on their plate. [1] It is applicable to most types of table service: without waitstaff, the host or hosts may find it informative in judging when to clear away a course or the meal.
Utensils crossed on a plate signify that a diner is still eating.[ citation needed ] If a diner must leave during a course, placing their napkin on their chair indicates they are not finished.[ citation needed ]
Dinner usually refers to what is in many Western cultures the largest and most formal meal of the day. Historically, the largest meal used to be eaten around midday, and called dinner. Especially among the elite, it gradually migrated to later in the day over the 16th to 19th centuries. The word has different meanings depending on culture, and may mean a meal of any size eaten at any time of day. In particular, it is still sometimes used for a meal at noon or in the early afternoon on special occasions, such as a Christmas dinner. In hot climates, the main meal is more likely to be eaten in the evening, after the temperature has fallen.
Waiting staff (BrE), waiters / waitresses, or servers (AmE) are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending to customers by supplying them with food and drink as requested. Waiting staff follow rules and guidelines determined by the manager. Waiting staff carry out many different tasks, such as taking orders, food-running, polishing dishes and silverware, helping bus tables, entertaining patrons, restocking working stations with needed supplies, and handing out the bill.
Table setting or place setting refers to the way to set a table with tableware—such as eating utensils and for serving and eating. The arrangement for a single diner is called a place setting. It is also the layout in which the utensils and ornaments are positioned. The practice of dictating the precise arrangement of tableware has varied across cultures and historical periods.
Rodízio is an all-you-can-eat style of restaurant service in Brazilian restaurants.
A buffet can be either a sideboard or a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve themselves. A form of service à la française, buffets are offered at various places including hotels, restaurants, and many social events. Buffet restaurants normally offer all-you-can-eat food for a set price, but some measure prices by weight or by number of dishes. Buffets usually have some or mostly hot dishes, so the term cold buffet has been developed to describe formats lacking hot food. Hot or cold buffets usually involve dishware and utensils, but a finger buffet is an array of foods that are designed to be small and easily consumed only by hand, such as cupcakes, slices of pizza, foods on cocktail sticks, etc.
Various customary etiquette practices exist regarding the placement and use of eating utensils in social settings. These practices vary from culture to culture. Fork etiquette, for example, differs in Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia, and continues to change. In East Asian cultures, a variety of etiquette practices govern the use of chopsticks.
Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of objects varies according to culture, religion, number of diners, cuisine and occasion. For example, Middle Eastern, Indian or Polynesian food culture and cuisine sometimes limits tableware to serving dishes, using bread or leaves as individual plates, and not infrequently without use of cutlery. Special occasions are usually reflected in higher quality tableware.
Corn on the cob is a culinary term for a cooked ear of sweet corn (maize) eaten directly off the cob. The ear is picked while the endosperm is in the "milk stage" so that the kernels are still tender. Ears of corn are steamed, boiled, or grilled usually without their green husks, or roasted with them. The husk leaves are removed before serving.
A full-course dinner is a dinner consisting of multiple dishes, or courses. In its simplest form, it can consist of three or four courses; for example: a starter, a main course, and dessert.
The etiquette of Indian dining and socializing varies with the region in India.
Table manners are the rules of etiquette used while eating, which may also include the use of utensils. Different cultures observe different rules for table manners. Each family or group sets its own standards for how strictly these rules are to be followed.
The historical form of service à la russe is a manner of dining with courses brought to the table sequentially, and the food portioned on individual plates by the waiter. It contrasts with the older service à la française, based on several courses brought to the table simultaneously, in an impressive display of tureens and serving dishes, with diners plating food themselves.
Food is a 1992 Czech animated short film directed by Jan Švankmajer that uses claymation and pixilation. It examines the human relationship with food by showing breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Etiquette in Latin America varies by country and by region within a given country.
Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the US, while categorisation differs widely around the world.
A finger bowl is a bowl of water that dinner guests use for rinsing their fingers. In a formal meal, the finger bowl is brought to the table at the time of the dessert course of the meal, and guests set it aside for use after the last course, just before leaving the table. In less formal service, the finger bowl may be presented after any course that involves finger food and may even be presented after more than one such course in a single meal.
Customs and etiquette in Chinese dining are the traditional behaviors observed while eating in Greater China. Traditional Han customs have spread throughout East Asia to varying degrees, with some regions sharing a few aspects of formal dining, which has ranged from guest seating to paying the bill.
Kamayan, also known as kinamot or kinamut in Visayan languages, is the traditional Filipino method of eating with the bare hands. It is also used to describe the Filipino communal feast where food is served on banana leaves and eaten without utensils.
Table manners are the cultural customs and rules of etiquette used while dining. As in other areas of North American etiquette, the rules governing appropriate table manners have changed over time and may differ depending on the setting.
Japanese dining etiquette is a set of traditional perceptions governing specific expectations which outlines general standards of how one should behave and respond in various dining situations.
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