Conference turris::cooks

    I always put the napkin under the fork. That is what I was taught in
    home ec. in high school.!!!
    
    -Sheila
    

    I put the napkin on the left of the plate and place knife, fork and
    spoon on top.
    
    I like to be different  ;*)
    

    or compromise, learn some cutesy folding technique (books in library or
    bookstore) and put the napkin on the plate, in the glass, or something.
    
    ed

    I guess I was always taught that it goes unde the fork.  Some of my
    cookbooks have table set ups in the back.  YOu could use that to "prove
    the point".
    
    

The napkin goes under the chin, tucked into the shirt.  
The fork and knife are inserted into the beef.
The teaspoon goes in the coffee cup, but only if there is dessert, otherwise it
 goes in the sugar bowl.
The butter knife, if used should be stuck in one end of the butter, in order to
 leave sufficient room for rolling the corn cobs.

    and, I think this was learned from Laurel and Hardy, the knife is used
    for eating peas.
    
    And then, in some parts of the world, there's a question of which hand
    is used for what, ...
    
    ed

    I eat my peas with honey
    I've done it all my life
    It makes the peas taste funny
    But it keeps them on the knife.  Anon

    That's interesting - I would have said the right hand side -
    ie the knife and spoon side.  And the glass goes just above
    the knife.
    
    Do the U.S. put their fork on the right or the left hand side?
    
    Interesting question.
    
    julia

    forks go on the left, then the knife closest to the plate and then the
    spoon after that, on the right.
    
    Table cloth goes into top of pants zipper!   (WHOOPS!)
    

The way my sainted mother taught me to remember this is to count the
number of letters in the words:

	fork and left --> both have four letters, therefore fork goes left
	knife, spoon, and right --> all have five letters, these go right

Remember this and your cutlery always cuts the mustard, so to speak.

Now, napkin has six letters.  Ummm.....suggestions anyone?

Scott

    
    The napkin goes centered on the service plate and is removed to the
    eater's lap when the soup course is served.  Or if the soup plates
    are already on the table, the napkin goes to the far left of the
    forks.
    
    

    and that's all before you start eating, in the UK and Australia
    [right handed] people seem to eat with their forks in the left
    hand and their knives in the right hand while in the US (and
    Canada?) we usually eat with forks in the right hand, swapping
    as needed to use the right hand for the knife.
    
    All very confusing.
    
    ed

    My Mom (we're Americans) taught me to put the napkin on the left,
    folded, outside the fork.  She said it only goes under the fork if
    you're eating al fresco and you don't want the paper napkin to blow
    away. :-)
    
    If I'm squeezing a lot of people at a small table, I might put the fork
    on the napkin to save space.  But I'd prefer to put the napkin on the
    plate, preferably with a fancy fold.
    
    Now, for everyday practice I put the paper napkin holder on the table
    and the rule is:  Grab your own. ;-)  Not classy at all, but practical
    for our usual family madhouse.
    
    As previously mentioned, most general cookbooks (such as Fannie Farmer,
    Good Housekeeping, etc.) have a chapter on place settings with
    diagrams.  Gosh, I haven't looked at this chapter in YEARS.  I can't
    recommend strongly enough that novice cooks purchase one good general
    cookbook for this and many other questions.  They are discussed in the
    cookbooks topic, which see.
    
    L

    If I remember correctly....
    
    salad fork, dinner fork on left of plate.  Napkin folded
    into a nifty pattern and set on dinner plate.  Knife, blade
    pointing toward plate, dessert spoon, soup spoon on right.
    Water glass on right, wine glass on left of water glass,
    coffee cup on left of plate.
    
    L

>    salad fork, dinner fork on left of plate.  Napkin folded
>    into a nifty pattern and set on dinner plate.  Knife, blade
>    pointing toward plate, dessert spoon, soup spoon on right.
>    Water glass on right, wine glass on left of water glass,
>    coffee cup on left of plate.

Reverse all for left-handed diners.

    Nope!  I AM a lefty, and asked that question.  That is still
    the "proper" set-up.....
    
    L

first, a lot depends on what is being served - i.e. if some of the 
people are having fish as starter or main course, fish knives, if 
available, should be substituted. 


more to the point, desert spoon and fork should be across the top of the plate 
with the spoon handle towards the right and fork handle to the left.

	        ---E
	       o----
	w W     __   I | O
	| |    /  \  I | |
	| |    |   | I | |
	| |    \   / I | |
	        --- 


From right to left (front): Soup spoon, starter knife, Main course knife,
plate, main course fork, starter fork. Bread plate with a butter knife would 
also go to the left of these with the knife on the plate, I believe. 

Dessert spoon and fork across the top. Knapkin is often in a variety of places:
	In a knapkin ring/holder; Artistically arranged and sitting on 
	the dinner plate or artistically in one of the three glasses.

The three glasses would be for water, red win and white wine.

[we are talking formal dinner here.]

-Mike

    Toward the back of "Joy of Cooking" there's an enlivening [:-)]
    dissertation on the placement of tools for a formal dinner.
    
    ed

    	Forget all the last replies, eat Japanese and use chop sticks!!

    then there would be the qeustion of whether or not the Japanese have
    spoons, to slurp or not to slurp, ...
    
    it never ends.
    
    ed

    The japanese do not need spoons to slurp but they do slurp...
    Ana
    

    the point there was that only American Japanese restaurants
    provide [Chinese] soup spoons.  I was advised by some
    comrades, while in Japan, that it was proper to slurp.

    do the chopsticks go on the plate, the side of the plate, or in your
    shirt pocket ;-) when setting the table?
    
    and where do you put the chopsticks when you want to take a break from
    eating?  is it nice to use the little chopstick rest?
    
    note that there are substantial differences between Chinese and
    Japanese manners, too. . .
    
    btw, in Thailand they use a fork and spoon (to get up all the yummy
    curry sauce).  That's why Thai restaurants don't put out chopsticks.
    
    :-)
    
    L