Formal

A – Napkin

B – Charger with dinner plate on top

C – Soup bowl on dinner plate

D – Bread & butter plate with butter knife

E – Water Glass

F – White wine glass – if serving

G – Red Wine glass – if serving

H – Fish Fork

I – Dinner Fork

J – Salad Fork

K – Dinner Knife

L – Fish Knife

M – Soup spoon

N – Dessert spoon and cake fork

Note – that it often is recommended that the salad fork (J) is placed to the left of the dinner fork (I). However, in this formal setting the dinner fork is placed to be used before the salad fork because it is suggested that the guest awaits the main meal before helping him/herself to the salad.

See: Proper table settings

Here is another that includes informal settings

What goes where on the table and which glasses go with what drinks

Real easy to remember, the etiquette experts tell us. The general rule with utensils is to start from the outside of your place setting, and work your way toward the service plate (the main meal plate): soup spoon first, then fish knife and fork, then service knife and fork. Proper arranging dining room sets with chairs at the end of the table for the host and hostess is another aspect.

Foods you can get by hand:

1. Bread: break slices of bread, rolls and muffins in half or into small pieces by hand before buttering.

2. Bacon: if there’s fat on it, eat it with a knife and fork. If it is crisp, crumble it with a fork and eat with your fingers.

3. Finger meals: follow the cue of your host. If finger meals are offered on a platter, place them on your plate before putting them into your mouth.

4. Foods meant to be eaten by hand: corn on the cob, spareribs, lobster, clams and oysters on the half shell, chicken wings and bones (in informal situations), sandwiches, certain fruits, olives, celery, dry cakes and cookies.

Removing inedible items from your mouth:

1. Olive pits: drop delicately into your palm before putting them onto your plate.

2. Chicken bone: use your fork to return it to the plate.

3. Fish bones: remove with your fingers.

4. Bigger pieces: bigger bones or food you don’t appreciate you should surreptitiously spit into your napkin, so that you can keep it out of sight.

Which glasses go with what drinks

Wine connoisseurs agree that each type of wine needs a particular type of glass to bring out the distinctive bouquet. Using a narrow glass for a rich Burgundy, for example, won’t allow enough room to swirl it around in, and it’s the swirl that brings out its bouquet. The glass also needs to taper properly toward the top so that it captures the bouquet yet allows for sipping. In general, the stem of a glass should be long enough to keep hands from touching the bowl, which can affect the wine’s temperature, and therefor its bouquet.

Water | Brandy | White wine | Pinor Noir/Burgundy | Sparkling wine | Red wine

a. Water: full body glass with short stem. Hold the glass by the stem to preserve its chill.

b. Brandy: brandy snifter. Roll the snifter between both hands and then cup it in one hand – warming the glass brings out the bouquet in brandy.

c. White wine: slightly smaller glass with wider bowl to capture the bouquet. Hold the glass by the stem to preserve its chill.

d. Burgundy Reds and Pinot Noirs: a wide bowl to bring out their complexity. The glass is slightly taller than the white wine glass.

e. Champagne: a narrow fluted glass, which reduces the wine’s surface area and keep the bubbles from dissipating.

f. Red wine: the bigger of the wine glasses. Hold the glass at the bottom of the bowl where it meets the stem.

I just thought we needed a little culture before the formal dinners of the holiday season – jughandle