Chapter I Etiquette of Western Food Section I General Etiquette of Western Food There are often many differences in eating etiquette between different countries or cultures. What you think is polite, such as serving food for customers and persuading people to drink, may make Europeans feel very rude. Although there are many differences, there are still many rules that are common etiquette in most countries. There is a saying that if you don't know the etiquette of eating western food, you are not an authentic modern person. 1. Book a restaurant or accept an invitation to dinner to book a restaurant in advance. The more upscale the hotel, the more you need to make an appointment in advance. When making an appointment, you should not only specify the number and time, but also indicate whether you want a smoking area or a seat with a good view. If it is a birthday or other special day, you can tell the purpose and budget of the banquet. It is basic courtesy to arrive within the scheduled time. When accepting an invitation from others, you should reply as soon as possible. After receiving the invitation, you should reply as soon as possible. This is the minimum etiquette, especially for banquets with designated seats. If you are not informed in advance that you will be absent, it will be too late for the organizers to replenish the staff, resulting in vacancies, which is both impolite and wasteful. Nowadays, telephone reply is generally used, which is simple and quick. In the form of letters, it is better to gently explain the reasons for not attending. Second, dressing properly and neatly when eating is the common sense of Europeans and Americans. To go to high-end restaurants, men should wear neat tops and leather shoes; Ladies should wear suits and shoes with heels. If formal clothes are specified, men must wear ties. No matter how expensive casual clothes are, you can't wear them to the restaurant at will. In addition, the most important thing is to keep your hands clean and your nails neatly trimmed. During the meal, don't unbutton or undress in public. If the host invites the guest take off your coat, the male guest can take off his coat and put it on the back of the chair. Don't put his coat or belongings on the dining table. Third, after entering the western restaurant, you should be led by the waiter, and you should not be presumptuous. The most appropriate way to sit is to sit from the left. When the chair is pulled away, the body will stand up straight at a distance almost touching the table, and the leader will push the chair in, and when the leg bends and touches the chair behind, you can sit down. Don't put your elbows on the table, and don't cross your feet. Don't leave your seat in the middle of a meal. If you really need to leave, you should whisper hello to the guests around you. When eating, sit upright, keep your back straight and stretch your neck. The upper arm and back should lean against the back of the chair, and the abdomen should keep a fist distance from the table. It is best to avoid sitting with your feet crossed. Remember to eat with your head held high, and when you put the food in front of you into your mouth, you should eat it with your mouth, instead of bending down to eat it with your mouth. Fourth, napkins Western-style napkins are generally made of cloth, and the napkin cloth is square and flat, with elegant colors. Often put on your lap, you can also put it on your chest in ceremonial occasions, and you can also put it on the table in casual occasions. One corner of the napkin is facing your chest and pressed with dishes. Napkin cloth can be used to wipe your mouth or hands, diagonally overlapping into a triangle shape, or parallelly overlapping into a rectangular shape. When wiping, face down, and gently press a corner of the napkin several times. All stains should be wiped inside, and the appearance always looks neat. If the napkin is badly dirty, please ask the waiter to replace it. When you leave your seat, even if you leave temporarily, you should take off your napkin cloth and fold it into squares or triangles at will and put it on your seat. Suggest the end of the meal, you can put the napkin on the table. Be sure to pay attention to this aspect, otherwise you will put your napkin on the table when you go to the bathroom halfway, and the waiter may have taken away your unfinished food when you come back! In the process of using napkins, you must be careful not to make the following rude moves: 1. Don't put it on the collar or trousers like a bib. 2. Don't wipe the tableware and table with napkins, which will look down on the host's family. Don't wipe lipstick, snot or spit with napkin, don't wipe glasses and sweat with napkin, use your handkerchief instead. Don't drop the napkin cloth on the floor when you leave the table. 5. Don't stain or wrinkle the napkin cloth. 6. Don't put leftover food on the napkin cloth. 5. Don't stand up when eating, and ask others to pass the food that you can't get while sitting. Sometimes the host advises the guests to add food. If they have an appetite, it is not rude to add food. On the contrary, the host will be proud. You should also put some food you don't want to eat on the plate to show politeness. When attending a western-style buffet, don't pile food all over the plate at once. The food on the plate makes people seem to think that you are very greedy. Take less at a time, not enough to go again. 6. Greeting the waiter In a first-class restaurant, apart from eating, guests should let the waiter do things such as pouring wine, tidying up tableware, and picking up knives and forks that have fallen to the ground. The waiter will always pay attention to the needs of the guests. If you need service, you can look at him or raise your hand slightly, and the waiter will come right away. In foreign countries, when eating, the waiter will ask, "How is everything?" If there is no problem, you can use "Good" to express your satisfaction. If you are satisfied with the service and want to tip, you can pay by debit card, that is, write down the total amount including tip on the bill and then sign it. Finally, don't forget to thank you verbally. 7. Others should enjoy food and social fun when eating in restaurants. It will be strange to eat separately in silence. Therefore, when eating, you should talk to the guests around, not just a few acquaintances. If you don't know the guests around, you can introduce yourself first. Don't butt in when others are talking. The volume should be carefully kept at a level that the other party can hear, so as not to affect the adjacent table. Don't make any noise. Don't use cell phones in fancy restaurants. Make a long story short if necessary, otherwise you should leave outside for a while. Ladies should remember to make up their makeup in the dressing room, and don't comb their hair or make up their makeup at the dinner table. That's very impolite. Don't smoke until the meal is over, until coffee is served to indicate the end of the meal. If there are female guests around, you should ask politely, "Do you mind?" Don't pick up the plate when eating, even it's impolite to hold the plate in your hand when eating. Remember not to push the plate away after eating the food in front of you. Don't spit on the table. When you have to spit out bad food, don't spit it on the plate. It's best to spit it on a napkin and ask for a new tablecloth when others are not paying attention. Burping while eating is the biggest taboo. If this happens, you should apologize to the people around you immediately. Don't wolf down your meal. You shouldn't eat too much food in your mouth every time. When chewing food, remember to keep your mouth shut and don't talk. In most cultures, it is considered very vulgar to let the other person see your mouth full of food. When sneezing, turn your face, cover your mouth with a napkin and say "Excuse me". When going to a family dinner, guests are not allowed to eat any dish until the hostess picks up her spoon or fork. The hostess usually doesn't start until every guest gets the food. She won't ask you to eat first, as China is used to. When she picks up a spoon or fork, that means everyone can do the same. To a great extent, eating western food means eating emotional appeal: ordinary western restaurants are chic and elegant, even small restaurants have their own characteristics, either classical or modern, or avant-garde, eclectic. The green plants in the hall, artistic wall tiles and wall lamps make people feel trance-like in a foreign country, comfortable and warm, which makes people relaxed and intoxicated. High-end hotels have gorgeous marble fireplaces, glittering crystal lamps, silver candlesticks, beautiful flowers, colorful wine, lyrical saxophone, and people's elegant and charming manners, which is a touching oil painting in itself. In order for you to behave more skillfully when you first taste western food, it is worthwhile to spend some effort to familiarize yourself with these dining etiquette. —— Excerpted from other websites for reference only.