Every semester Student Activities and the Syracuse University Career Center hosts an etiquette dinner for students. It is completely free and you get a three course meal out of it. Whether you’re going for the free food or to learn a little something about etiquette, I suggest attending one of the dinners before you graduate and enter the professional world.
What is etiquette? Nowadays, it seems like being polite is when one puts their phone away for a meal. And who knew you are supposed to wait for the first course to come before reaching for the bread? I consider myself a polite person but there comes a time in life when you should actually learn proper etiquette. Here are some tips I learned while attending an etiquette dinner … and my thoughts on them.
First off, it was explained that there are two guiding principles while dining: follow the leader and it’s about relationships; it’s not about the food. While I completely agree that above all else, relationships are what’s important when sitting down for a meal, I can’t deny that food has a lot to do with it.
The foundations of proper etiquette are: courtesy, respect, focus. The first two I think are common sense and the third one I am still unsure how to interpret. I guess depending on the situation, focus varies.
One thing that I learned about myself is that I naturally eat my food “Continental” style. There is another style of eating called “American” style. Want to know what style of eating you are? Check out this article, it will be a fun fact about yourself.
Another key to just general eating etiquette is knowing the proper place setting. An easy tip is to think of is the word “FORKS.” The fork is on the left, O for the plate, K for knives, and S for spoon. Beyond that tip here is an image of a proper place setting. I think just having a general idea about this stuff might prove helpful later in life and it has made me a little more attentive to my behavior at the table. But I still can’t help feeling it is about the food!
What is etiquette? Nowadays, it seems like being polite is when one puts their phone away for a meal. And who knew you are supposed to wait for the first course to come before reaching for the bread? I consider myself a polite person but there comes a time in life when you should actually learn proper etiquette. Here are some tips I learned while attending an etiquette dinner … and my thoughts on them.
First off, it was explained that there are two guiding principles while dining: follow the leader and it’s about relationships; it’s not about the food. While I completely agree that above all else, relationships are what’s important when sitting down for a meal, I can’t deny that food has a lot to do with it.
The foundations of proper etiquette are: courtesy, respect, focus. The first two I think are common sense and the third one I am still unsure how to interpret. I guess depending on the situation, focus varies.
One thing that I learned about myself is that I naturally eat my food “Continental” style. There is another style of eating called “American” style. Want to know what style of eating you are? Check out this article, it will be a fun fact about yourself.
Another key to just general eating etiquette is knowing the proper place setting. An easy tip is to think of is the word “FORKS.” The fork is on the left, O for the plate, K for knives, and S for spoon. Beyond that tip here is an image of a proper place setting. I think just having a general idea about this stuff might prove helpful later in life and it has made me a little more attentive to my behavior at the table. But I still can’t help feeling it is about the food!
One last thing that is important to take note of, especially for us Millennials entering the professional world/have a hard time putting our phones down, check out this article on phone etiquette while having a meal. I think we all can at times be guilty of getting distracted from a wonderful meal due to our phones. It is hard not to when so much is going on in this invisible world we call the internet.
Truthfully, the amount of etiquette conducted during meals is so situational. It almost seems outdated to know which fork should be used for which dish. Yet I think trying to follow proper etiquette is important. Etiquette is so embedded in history and the essence of fine dining. Regardless of the status of the meal, it is important to acknowledge the food you are eating and the people you are eating with.
Truthfully, the amount of etiquette conducted during meals is so situational. It almost seems outdated to know which fork should be used for which dish. Yet I think trying to follow proper etiquette is important. Etiquette is so embedded in history and the essence of fine dining. Regardless of the status of the meal, it is important to acknowledge the food you are eating and the people you are eating with.