{"id":356,"date":"2014-03-28T04:14:28","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T16:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.asyouwish.co.nz\/blog\/?p=356"},"modified":"2016-01-13T12:43:34","modified_gmt":"2016-01-12T23:43:34","slug":"table-setting-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/asyouwish.co.nz\/blog\/table-setting-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Table Setting – What you need to know."},"content":{"rendered":"

It has surprised me the number of times I’ve come across people working in the food service industry that don’t know how to properly set a table.\u00a0\u00a0However I guess that it shouldn’t be that surprising with more of us eating in front of the TV or in caf\u00e9s and restaurants that roll their cutlery in\u00a0a paper serviette – not that there is anything wrong with that.\u00a0 But when you’re faced\u00a0with a more formal or special occasion,\u00a0you may like to brush up on your table setting skills as it is a simple and low cost way to add\u00a0style to your event.<\/p>\n

To look at a fully set table it can be rather daunting.\u00a0 You are most definitely not alone\u00a0if\u00a0you find yourself\u00a0thinking “Really, how many glasses and forks do I\u00a0need?”\u00a0 The important things to remember are that a well set table shouldn’t have any unnecessary items, and that all you have to do is work your way from the outside in.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"casual-table-place-setting\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If it is your job to set the table a few things you need to remember are that the forks all go on the left of the dinner plate and the knives and spoons go on the right, with the glasses above them.\u00a0 The bottom edge of the cutlery and the lower rim of the plate should all line up so that they are approximately 3 cm in from the edge of the table. This way guests should be able to sit down without knocking\u00a0them.<\/p>\n

\"formal-place-setting\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For the more formal of occasions, usually when the menu is\u00a0pre-plated,\u00a0a bread plate and knife is added above the forks, and the dessert spoon and cake fork are placed above the dinner plate so that they can be moved into place either side of the plate space once the other courses are completed.\u00a0 Napkins can be either placed to the left or on the plate.\u00a0 The only other item to mention is the service plate, sometimes called a Charger.\u00a0 No food is served directly on this plate,\u00a0instead it\u00a0serves as an under plate for the plate holding the first course.\u00a0\u00a0The service plate will then be cleared either with those from the first course or will be exchanged for the plate holding the second course.<\/p>\n

Lastly, while there are the traditionally\u00a0accepted\u00a0ways of setting a table it is also quite common to tweak these to suit the specific needs of your occasion.<\/p>\n

If you want to learn more about table settings then I recommend the following articles:<\/p>\n