Tap anything on the table. Every piece tells you what it is and when it’s yours.
Plates
Cutlery
Glasses
Customs
Face down
At a French table, forks are laid tines down and spoons bowl down, rounded back up. It is the old way of showing off the crest engraved on the back. Source
Wrists on the table
Keep both hands in view, wrists resting on the edge of the table, never in your lap. Elbows stay off. Source
Fork stays left
Eat Continental style: fork in the left hand, tines down, knife in the right, and no switching hands between bites. Source
No knife rests
A formal French table has no knife rests. Fresh cutlery is laid for each course, so used pieces go out with the plate. Source
Twenty past four
Finished: knife and fork side by side at twenty past four, blade in. Pausing: fork left, knife right, not crossed, since crossed cutlery can read as a complaint. Source
Plate · Under the dinner plate
Charger
The presentation plate. It stays put while each course comes and goes on top.
- When
- From the moment you sit down until the cheese. It is taken away just before the cheese course.
- How
- Never eat from it and don't move it. The plate for each course is set on top of it, then cleared.
- Why
- It keeps something in front of you between courses and protects the cloth from spills and heat.
Source: Ensemble à table, L’assiette de présentation
Plate · Center, on the charger
Dinner plate
The flat plate for the main course. Everything else is placed around it.
- When
- The meat course. Plates for the earlier courses are set on top of it or swapped in.
- How
- Leave it where it is. Staff set and clear the course plates around it.
- Why
- Find the plate and you have found your place: forks left, knives right, glasses in a row above.
Source: Les recettes de cuisine d’Annie, Mettre la table et le couvert
Linen · On the plate
Napkin
Cloth, folded on your plate. Don’t unfold it until the hostess has unfolded hers.
- When
- The first thing you touch, and the last.
- How
- Half-open on your lap, fold toward you. Dab your lips before you drink. At the end, leave it loosely beside your plate.
- Why
- Left crumpled, not refolded, it tells everyone you have finished.
Source: Apprendre les bonnes manières, Arts de la table : 5 secrets sur les serviettes
Cutlery · Outermost on the left
Fish fork
Shorter, rounder tines. The fish comes before the meat, so it sits outside.
- When
- The fish course.
- How
- Left hand, with the fish knife in your right. Hold the fish steady while the knife lifts the flesh away.
- Why
- The fork's short, curved tines grip flaky fish better than a regular fork.
Source: Ensemble à table, Couverts à poisson, crustacés, escargots
Cutlery · Left, next to the plate
Dinner fork
The large fork, nearest the plate. Laid tines down, the French way.
- When
- The meat course.
- How
- Hold it in your left hand throughout, with the knife in your right.
- Why
- Old French silver had the family crest engraved on the back, so it was laid face down to show it off.
Source: Harmonie Intérieure, Comment dresser une table à la française
Cutlery · Right, next to the plate
Dinner knife
Right of the plate, blade turned in toward it.
- When
- The meat course.
- How
- Right hand the whole meal. Cut one bite at a time; don’t cut the whole piece up in advance.
- Why
- The blade faces your own plate, so the edge is never turned toward your neighbor.
Source: Apprendre les bonnes manières, Fourchette et couteau à gauche ou à droite
Cutlery · Right, outside the dinner knife
Fish knife
Wide and blunt. It lifts fish off the bone rather than cutting it.
- When
- The fish course.
- How
- Slide it under the flesh and ease pieces away from the skin and bones, then push them onto your fork.
- Why
- Cooked fish flakes apart easily, so it needs lifting and guiding, not a sharp edge.
Source: Ensemble à table, Couverts à poisson, crustacés, escargots
Cutlery · Outermost on the right
Oyster fork
The small fork on the right, the one exception to forks-on-the-left.
- When
- Oysters or other shellfish, served early in the meal.
- How
- Use it to free each oyster from its shell before you eat it.
- Why
- French guides flag it as the only fork laid on the right side of the plate.
Source: Apprendre les bonnes manières, Fourchette et couteau à gauche ou à droite
Cutlery · Above the plate, handle left
Dessert fork
Above the plate, handle to the left. In France it does most of the dessert work.
- When
- Dessert.
- How
- Bring it down to the left of your plate when dessert arrives. Some hosts bring dessert cutlery with the dessert instead.
- Why
- Classic French service uses the fork for dessert; strict settings lay no dessert spoon at all.
Source: Je retiens, Placer les couverts à la française
Cutlery · Above the plate, handle right
Dessert spoon
Above the plate and the fork, handle pointing right.
- When
- Dessert, when it is too soft for a fork: a mousse or a crème.
- How
- Bring it down to the right of your plate when dessert is served.
- Why
- Like all French cutlery, it is laid with its rounded back facing up.
Source: La Carafe, Art de la table à la française
Plate · Top left, above the forks
Bread plate
A small plate, top left. At a grand dinner it keeps bread off the cloth.
- When
- Throughout the meal. Bread goes with the food, cheese included.
- How
- Tear off one bite at a time with your fingers. Don’t cut it with a knife.
- Why
- At a French home bread often sits on the cloth; the plate is a formal touch.
Source: Savoir vivre à la française, L’art de la table en 5 points clés
Glass · Top row, furthest left
Water glass
The biggest glass, first in the row. French glasses run big to small, left to right.
- When
- Throughout the meal.
- How
- It stays all meal. Water is the one glass you can reach for any time.
- Why
- Glasses are lined up from largest to smallest, so the water glass leads the row.
Source: Savoir vivre à la française, L’art de la table en 5 points clés
Glass · Right of the water glass
Red wine glass
The second-largest glass, for the red that comes with the meat.
- When
- The meat course, and often the cheese.
- How
- Let the host or staff pour. If there's a toast, look each person in the eye.
- Why
- Red gets the larger of the two wine glasses; white gets the smaller one.
Source: Les recettes de cuisine d’Annie, Mettre la table et le couvert
Glass · End of the row, lower right
White wine glass
The smallest wine glass, for white with the oysters and fish.
- When
- The oysters and the fish.
- How
- Let the host or staff pour. It is the last glass in the row.
- Why
- The row runs largest to smallest, and the white wine glass is the smallest.
Source: Les recettes de cuisine d’Annie, Mettre la table et le couvert
Glass · Set back, behind the wine glasses
Champagne flute
Tall and narrow, set just behind the others. For champagne.
- When
- Whenever champagne is poured, often for a toast.
- How
- Hold it by the stem. For a toast, look each person in the eye.
- Why
- It is set back, behind the glasses on the right, so it doesn’t crowd the row.
Source: Les recettes de cuisine d’Annie, Mettre la table et le couvert